Il Portogallo conferma l’F-35 statunitense come aereo da caccia preferito per sostituire la vecchia flotta di F-16
https://www.armyrecognition.com/news/aerospace-news/2025/portugal-confirms-u-s-f-35-as-preferred-fighter-jet-to-replace-aging-f-16-fleet
di TheoryOfDevolution
30 commenti
Good call. I really see no problem in that.
Yeah, so, about the Azores.
This article is about 2 weeks old but I figured it warrants discussion. Portugal famously [previously walked away from the F-35](https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/portugal-rules-out-buying-american-f-35-fighter-jets-citing-geopolitical-context/3509552) but now seems that it will re-commit to the programme. This is very surprising as Portugal had previously considered other planes such as the Eurofighter instead.
lol. Might wanna hold off on that.
STUPID.A.F.
Love how people here champion the Gripen when it has an American engine and uses their munitions.
A shame. Just a shame.
It’s funny that Europe thought Russia will invade to EU countries after Ukraine but now biggest and extremely possible threat is US.
But European fighters. It is time for independence from the USA.
Countries will keep buying F-35s as long as their is no 5th gen alternative.
F-35 is just miles ahead of any 4th gen jet
The F-35 is the best whether you like it or not. It doesn’t only benefit the US, many countries help build them.
There really can be no debate about the superiority of the F35 now. Between Israel having air superiority in Tehran, and the US in Caracas, if you don’t have stealth jets, you don’t have shit.
F35 has now been tested against Russian air defense, Chinese air defense, and Iranian air defense. Caracas coastline was full of all of it.
People in this sub looooved to call the f35 junk. Proving that this sub doesn’t know jack.
WTF?
Foda-se!
They don’t even have the excuse of being part of the US nuclear sharing program and therefore needing American planes to transport the bombs…
Ya, maybe don’t, when the selling country threatens a war of annexation against a European ally of yours.
There are no other comparable planes available. If you want combat power that you buy f35. If you want an airforce to patrol sky and do a flyby of a civilian airplane then buy one of those cheap Korean trainers.
No, the Air Force wants the F35 because it is by far the best plane in the market ATM…
The minister of defense stated some months ago that the F35 would be a bad decision for Portugal.
We are getting Grippens. Specially after this past week
I pray for the day Europe catches up.
r/BuyFromEU
They saw how well they worked against Venezuela’s air defense comprised of mostly Russian provided equipment and flip flopped.
Just to put it into perspective, multiple F-35s were used in that operation in Venezuela in which Maduro was captured.
Yet no one, not even Venezuela could tell until it was revealed later by the U.S.
That is how difficult it is for air defense systems and radars to detect an F-35. None of the alternatives come close.
Portugal hasn’t confirmed anything. The article’s source is [this interview](https://www.dn.pt/sociedade/general-cartaxo-alves-nunca-tivemos-tanta-gente-em-formao-na-fora-area-como-temos-agora), from December, where the chief of the Portuguese air force *suggested* the F-35 as the primary option to replace the F-16s, but always stating afterwards that there are others (not named). The decision proper, according to him, will be made sometime this year.
Europe can’t do shit on their own
Europe should demand that f35 shall work with servers located in the EU and independently from US located systems and the right to manufacture spare parts themself
Portugal confirmed no such thing. It’s a well known fact that the Portuguese Air Force favours the F-35 over the other options, but they aren’t the ones who decide.
We should not buy any US jets. No money for MAGAstan
**This is outdated news.** F-35 has the lowest range (distance it can travel without refueling). **Eurofigher was the winning choice** because of its long range. Portugal needs to cover a huge area over the sea, because that’s where the current threads come from (illegal boats). Portugal doesn’t need stealth aviation to destroy air defenses.
Unless they can get it in a similar configuration to the one Israel got, there’s no point in getting the F-35.
While it is an exceptional platform, it can become essentially bricked by a foreign country (the US) for whatever reason. What happens when Trump or the next POTUS just doesn’t want those planes in the sky?
This is depressing. We will deserve whatever will happen.
Hello, mods? Read the OP’s title and then click the link provided.
This is pure rage bait and the OP looks like a bot.
I’m confused by this one. I’m in Canada, anyone could help me understand why Portugal did not pick a European option?