From other sources it looks like Portugal never actually made concrete plans to procure F35s. It was just a possibility to buy a small number of around 20.
> Fast forward to March 2025, with the F-35 seemingly off the table, Portugal’s next move remains unclear. When asked about the possibility of acquiring the Dassault Rafale, Melo declined to comment. Various options will likely be considered, most probably including the Saab Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Planes that first flew over 30 years ago. I’m sure they’ve been upgraded but it doesn’t seem like a good plan. If Europe started designing a new fighter today, I wonder how long it would take to get to having it in service.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Having a platform that has been iterated on and which works tends to be a plus when you want operational robustness. A good example of this is the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
There is also the fact that with Trump in power, the operational scenario that the F-35 was built for probably no longer exists. It is built to be part of a much larger system. There are legitimate fears that the US can interfere with even relatively limited operational scenarios for the F-35. Leading a lot of countries who have bought them to now question if they can trust their planes.
It is also important to remember that planes like the Gripen have features that F-35 can never deliver on. Like low acquisition and operation cost, high degree of insulation from a politically unstable USA, ability to operate with minimal support structure etc. Also, don't forget that the F-35s in Europe aren't fully operational and that fully operational planes that are more advanced than those of the adversary are probably more than sufficient.
The Ukraine war was a good demonstration of how weak the Russian air force is despite having impressive looking planes.
From other sources it looks like Portugal never actually made concrete plans to procure F35s. It was just a possibility to buy a small number of around 20.
> Fast forward to March 2025, with the F-35 seemingly off the table, Portugal’s next move remains unclear. When asked about the possibility of acquiring the Dassault Rafale, Melo declined to comment. Various options will likely be considered, most probably including the Saab Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Planes that first flew over 30 years ago. I’m sure they’ve been upgraded but it doesn’t seem like a good plan. If Europe started designing a new fighter today, I wonder how long it would take to get to having it in service.
> Planes that first flew over 30 years ago.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Having a platform that has been iterated on and which works tends to be a plus when you want operational robustness. A good example of this is the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
There is also the fact that with Trump in power, the operational scenario that the F-35 was built for probably no longer exists. It is built to be part of a much larger system. There are legitimate fears that the US can interfere with even relatively limited operational scenarios for the F-35. Leading a lot of countries who have bought them to now question if they can trust their planes.
It is also important to remember that planes like the Gripen have features that F-35 can never deliver on. Like low acquisition and operation cost, high degree of insulation from a politically unstable USA, ability to operate with minimal support structure etc. Also, don't forget that the F-35s in Europe aren't fully operational and that fully operational planes that are more advanced than those of the adversary are probably more than sufficient.
The Ukraine war was a good demonstration of how weak the Russian air force is despite having impressive looking planes.
I don't know which Gripen they are looking to buy but there's an old one and a new one ("EF").
> but it doesn’t seem like a good plan
Is there alternative?