Spain's Ministry of Defence rules out buying F-35 fighter jets from United States in favour of supporting European industry

Amid tensions over the trade tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, which will reach 15% for the European Union, the Spanish government has refused to engage with the US president's tactics, working to redirect investments originally planned for across the Atlantic toward European industry instead. The Ministry of Defence has put an end to a multi-million-euro contract it was expected to sign with US company Lockheed Martin for the purchase of F-35 fighter jets.

The department headed by Margarita Robles has instead opted for European alternatives such as the Eurofighter or the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). The Navy plans to decommission its fleet of Harrier AV8Bs in 2030 and has been looking for a replacement for some time.

Last April, in the midst of escalating military spending, the government approved a plan to allocate nearly 10.5 billion euros to security and defence, with the aim of reaching 2% of GDP. However, the government sees acquiring a US aircraft as a key part of combat aviation as incompatible with investing 85% of the funds in Europe.

Prime minister Pedro Sánchez's office has already clashed with the US leader during the Nato summit after Moncloa's refusal to join the 5% increase in GDP to allocate it to defence. "Spain is terrible. They're the only country that won't pay in full," Trump said at a press conference.

A few weeks ago, when Trump and head of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen presented the trade tariff agreement, he made clear his intention to make the US the largest supplier of defence material, as the pact also included the EU's commitment to purchase a "huge" amount of US military equipment.

"They have agreed to buy a lot of military equipment. We don't know what that number is, but the good news is that we make the best (weaponry) in the world," Trump claimed.