Portugal cancelling F35 order. Canada next!

SchlongConery · Mar 13, 2025

Realizing that a single lunatic President of the United States can simply turn off the multi-billion dollar fighter jets they sold you, and that the United States has sided with Russia over Europe, Portugal has ruled out replacing their F16's with F--35's .

Portugal Drops Plans for F-35 Citing U.S. Political Uncertainty

The recent shift in U.S. policy toward NATO has led the Portuguese Defense Minister to deem a potential F-35 procurement unlikely. In an interview with

theaviationist.com

The recent shift in U.S. policy toward NATO has led the Portuguese Defense Minister to deem a potential F-35 procurement unlikely.

In an interview with Portuguese media outlet Público published on Mar. 13, 2025, Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo dismissed the possibility of ordering the fifth-generation fighter, aligning with other European nations reconsidering their defense procurement strategies.

Trump’s controversial remarks about NATO, questioning member contributions and even suggesting the U.S. might not uphold its defense commitments, as well as the decision to halt the deliveries of weapons as well as the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine following the meeting with Zelensky at the White House, have raised alarms across Europe.

Q. The Air Force wants this replacement to be made with F-35s, which are American-made aircraft. What you are saying is that, due to the change in American foreign policy, it is less likely that Portugal will replace the F-16s with an American aircraft?

A: “The world has already changed. There were elections in the US, there was a position in relation to NATO and the world, stated by the Secretary of Defense and by the US President himself, which must also be taken into account in Europe and in what concerns Portugal. And this ally of ours, which has always been predictable over the decades, could bring limitations to use, maintenance, components, and everything that has to do with ensuring that aircraft will be operational and used in all types of scenarios.”

SchlongConery · Mar 13, 2025

In light of President Trump's declaration of economic war on Canada, repeated clear words expressing his desire to make Canada its 51st state and his disrespectfully calling our own Prime Minister of Canada, a "governor of the 51st state", Canada should immediately cancel the purchase of US F-35 fighter jets. The fact that the Republican House and Senate members know how destructive Trump is, they are willing to forego their oversight roles and oath to their Constitutionfor short term political survival, has exposed a fundamental flaw in the United States system of governance.

We only needed fighter jets to protect against Russia and to fulfil our NATO responsibilities. Now it seems that our biggest threat is the United States. No way we should buy their planes if they can simply shut them down. And same with the P-8 Posiedon surveillance and patrol aircraft. We don't need interoperability with the United States as Trump has already stated he is considering withdrawing from NATO and is no longer trusted as one of the Five Eyes.

Besides, the SAAB Gripen is better suited to our needs, budget and economy. I bet Saab would be happy to license production to Canadian factories as I think they are going to have a run on this aircraft and already can't produce them fast enough for their own needs. However, it does raise the question of the Gripen's engine. It is a Volvo licensed variant of the US GE F-404 turbofan. So it might be an issue. I'd bet that Rolls Royce, MTU and Safran are all being eyed up by SAAB to replace the US-licensed GE/Volvo turbofan.

Tariff Fight Raises Questions About Canada's F-35, P-8 Purchases

Canada says it's sticking with buying F-35s but there are calls to consider alternatives like the Saab Gripen.

www.avweb.com

The on-again, off-again export tariff tiff between the U.S. and Canada is prompting calls from some for Canada to reconsider more than $20 billion in contracts for two military aircraft procurements. Canada has committed to buying 88 F-35 fighters and 16 P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance platforms, but a rising sense of uneasiness with the U.S. has forced senior government officials to defend going ahead with the contracts. “We’ve gone through a long process of selecting the F-35 fighter jet. We remain committed to that," Defence Minister Bill Blair told reporters in early February just after the threatened 25% tariffs on almost all Canadian exports to the U.S. were paused. "My job was to make sure that the American industry and the American government understands the importance of our shared responsibility and relationship in getting that job done.”

Since then, President Donald Trump has amplified his calls to make Canada the "51st state" and a nervous state of heightened patriotism has erupted in Canada. Shortly after Trump partially paused tariffs that were set for March 4, the Toronto Globe and Mail, the country's largest newspaper, published an op-ed making the case to cancel the F-35s, saying Canada will never completely control the fighters. Lockheed Martin keeps eight million lines of code that control the aircraft's systems secret and anytime the plane flies it must first access that code. Michael Byers, the author of the op-ed, says it would be a simple thing to deny access to the code and render the planes useless. The country's second largest paper, the National Post, chimed in with its own op-ed, saying canceling the contract would be ridiculous.
The rising online tide of opposition to the F-35 acquisition has prompted fans of the Saab Gripen, the only other platform that was allowed to compete for the contract, to call for its reconsideration. The Gripen, one commenter opined, "doesn't come with a kill switch in the Pentagon" and deserves a second look. The discussion has also led to the renewed circulation of a Saab photo of a Gripen almost literally wrapped in a Canadian flag.