The Spanish defence ministry confirmed the shift, which reflects a strategic preference for European defence platforms. The original plan, budgeted at €6.25 billion in Spain’s 2023 defence allocation, was revised after an additional €10.5 billion was committed to defence this year.
The decision underscores Spain’s intention to invest in European industry, ruling out the Lockheed Martin-produced F‑35. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reaffirmed the country’s commitment to NATO’s 2% GDP defence spending goal but rejected proposals to raise the figure to 5%.
This marks a turning point in Spain’s military modernisation strategy, as the F‑35 had previously been viewed as a leading candidate to replace ageing aircraft. Attention is now focused on the Eurofighter, built by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, and the FCAS project, led by Dassault Aviation, Airbus, and Indra Sistemas.
Europe has increasingly pursued defence autonomy through joint industrial projects such as FCAS, aiming to reduce dependence on non-European suppliers. However, the FCAS programme has faced recent uncertainty, with Dassault Aviation expressing concerns over delays in partner decision-making.
