quote:

Originally posted by Tumbleweed:
They will be replacing their F-16s with European aircraft. I don’t think Trump understands the value, or even the concept of ‘trust’.

Portugal ruled out replacing its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets with more modern F-35s because of Donald Trump — in one of the first examples of the U.S. president killing a potential lucrative arms deal.
The country's air force has recommended buying Lockheed Martin F-35s, but when outgoing Defense Minister Nuno Melo was asked by Portugese media Público whether the government would follow that recommendation, he replied: “We cannot ignore the geopolitical environment in our choices. The recent position of the United States, in the context of NATO ... must make us think about the best options, because the predictability of our allies is a greater asset to take into account."


Further, Canada is facing its own ‘crisis of faith’ and reports are we’re already doing a sunk cost analysis on the F-35 program, upon which we’ve already contributed towards development. The Swedes make some outstanding aircraft for a fraction of the price, and we have a lot of aluminum starting to pile up.