The Lightning II fighter jet remains the most successful fifth-generation program; however, geopolitical tensions among NATO member states make the aircraft unattractive.
On Monday, New York magazine’s Intelligencer ran a Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II feature with the headline, “Would you Buy a Fighter Jet From Donald Trump? How the president spoiled the F-35, America’s most popular warplane.”
Author Jeff Wise suggested that Trump’s attempts to “buy” Denmark and make Canada the 51st state and his lack of commitment to standing by America’s European allies are factors that have led some NATO members to question whether the Lightning II is the right aircraft.
This has led to officials in Portugal and Canada opting to consider other options.
Buying the “New Tesla”
The UK-based Telegraph offered an equally harsh assessment of the F-35’s state, suggesting it “became the new Tesla.” The Telegraph referred to the electric car maker’s significant backlash due to CEO Elon Musk’s unwavering support for President Trump and his efforts to downsize the federal government.
Yet, it is still hard to ignore that the Lightning II remains the most successful fifth-generation program, with more than 1,100 delivered to customers worldwide. Some orders will take years to be filled, at least unless they’re suddenly canceled, as could be the case with Canada.
If other countries follow suit, over fears that the aircraft does have a seemingly dubious “kill switch” or that the United States won’t provide parts to keep it operational.
“Major allies have already raised doubts over future orders, while France announced last week a massive expansion in its domestic fighter jet production as Europe looks to ’onshore’ its defense industries,” The Telegraph reported, and added, “Allies are suddenly wary of relying on the United States to supply the spare parts and software updates needed to keep their F-35s in the sky.”
European Buyer’s Remorse on American Aircraft
Some of the current operators of the fifth-generation stealth fighter may now be experiencing a form of “buyer’s remorse,” and that has included those with Denmark’s defense committee.
The Nordic nation had been among the biggest supporters of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, but that has changed due to Washington’s support.
“As one of the decision-makers behind Denmark’s purchase of F-35s, I regret it,” Rasmus Jarlov, a member of parliament for the center-right Conservative People’s Party, wrote on social media earlier this month, per Business Insider.
Jarlov has expressed concern that Washington may maintain a “kill switch” that could make the aircraft inoperable.
“We obviously cannot take your word for it,” Jarlov wrote in reaction to the Pentagon’s attempts to dismiss such claims that any such kill switch was integrated into the aircraft or that Washington could remotely ground the fighter. Moreover, Danish lawmakers feared the F-35 could be used as a bargaining chip for Trump to obtain Denmark.
“I can easily imagine a situation where the USA will demand Greenland from Denmark and will threaten to deactivate our weapons and let Russia attack us when we refuse,” Jarlov added. He also maintained, “Buying American weapons is a security risk that we cannot run. We will make enormous investments in air defense, fighter jets, artillery, and other weapons in the coming years, and we must avoid American weapons if possible.”
He further called upon other NATO members to follow suit.
Europe Will Have Other Sixth-Gen Options to Buy
The United States may have indicated on Friday that it may have a lead in fielding a sixth-generation stealth fighter after Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that Boeing was awarded a contract for the F-47, the core system of systems in the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
Yet, Europe has two competing programs, including the UK-Italian-Japanese Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) and the Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS).
Thus, Boeing should not expect buyers in Europe or other allies and partners to express interest in the F-47. The issue will be whether going alone is the best action.
The F-47 is already expected to be costly, and Washington will have no partners to help. The competing platforms could even merge, resulting in a system that has widespread adoption out of the gate, which could drive down the costs significantly.
Instead, the United States will be left with a high-profile aircraft that might be the wrong option for future conflicts.
As Brandon J. Weichert wrote for The National Interest, “Not only is Boeing going to struggle to make this system, but the overall defense industrial base will be unable to produce these complex and expensive planes in any meaningful time. At a time when President Trump has made a priority of wrangling the out-of-control federal budget, with the aid of the ’Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) run by billionaire and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, the F-47 seems to be doing the opposite: feeding an unaccountable, elephantine, and needlessly expensive defense bureaucracy.”
And worst of all, NATO won’t be lining up to buy the F-47.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites, with over 3,200 published pieces and over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/ Mike Mareen.
