The military aviation industry in Europe has been relatively sluggish in recent decades. Most European countries are mainly equipped with US-made fighter jets. The enthusiasm for military aircraft developed in Europe is very cold. Although, some of the region's great powers. For example, Britain, France, and Germany are looking to develop their own next-generation fighters. However, due to the contradictions in internal coordination, it has been impossible to determine the final improvement plan. This also allowed the US military giant Lockheed Martin to take advantage of the opportunity to use its advanced stealth fighter F-35A "Lightning II" to win the fighter replacement plan of many European countries. This has also dealt a serious blow to Europe's domestic military aviation industry, making the already difficult to produce indigenous advanced fighter programs even more uncertain.
According to defense news on September 4, in the past four years, the famous Lockheed-Martin defense company in the United States has achieved extremely fruitful results in sales in Europe, and has persuaded six European countries to choose the fifth-generation fighter F-35A stealth fighter developed and produced by the American company. Although France, a major power in the region, has been calling on its neighbors to purchase "Made in Europe", whether it is the "Rafale" of France's Dassault, the JAS-39E "Gripen" of Sweden's Saab company or the "Typhoon" fighter of Eurofighter Company, they cannot beat the cross-generation air combat capabilities of the F-35A fighter, and they have been eliminated by customers in the competition.
Analysts say the success of the Low-Ma wave is due to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter's high degree of interoperability with allies and partners, especially within the NATO system, and the use of the same specifications of main battle equipment is conducive to coordinated operations between national forces. Not only that, but the F-35 series fighters already have a well-established and reliable upgrade roadmap. At the same time, the F-35A appeared at a time when European countries were looking to update their old fleets, and it could be said that the luck of The Company was "very good".
Among the new customers, Belgium, which became the first foreign arms sales customer for European F-35A fighter jets in 2018, has pledged to buy 34 F-35A fighter jets. Two years later, the Eastern European nation of Poland followed suit, planning to purchase 32 F-35A fighter jets.
By 2021, Switzerland and Finland are also choosing F-35A fighters to replace the old F/A-18 Hornet fighters, Switzerland has promised Lo-Ma to buy 36 Lightning II fighters, and Finland wants to buy 64. Recently, the German government has also publicly advertised that it will purchase 35 F-35A fighter jets because the aircraft can be loaded with US-made tactical nuclear weapons. Also, the Czech Republic has pledged to buy 24 F-35A fighter jets after the existing Gripen fighter jets are retired.
According to Low-Horse officials, due to the favor of European countries for F-35A fighters, the company eventually expects 550 F-35A fighters to be deployed on the European continent for a long time by 2030, including the USAfric F-35A fighter squadron deployed at Leckenheath Air Force Base in the United Kingdom. In addition to these 6 new user countries, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom in europe have already begun to install F-35A/B fighters.
As more european countries choose U.S. goods, this has put a lot of pressure on Europe's advanced military aviation capabilities. The acquisition of F-35A fighter jets has led to further tensions between Berlin and Paris, as the two countries are working with Spain to develop FCAS next-generation fighter jets. The "Storm" between Britain and Italy and Sweden will also be under pressure from F-35A fighter jets. Potential users or partners who spend too much money on other models are bound to reduce additional spending, which is not good news for any program.
The French government and industry leaders, in particular, have been stressing the need to "buy Made in Europe" and have publicly criticized neighboring countries' decision to buy joint strike fighter jets.
France's Dassault and Germany's Airbus Defense and Space have been deadlocked for months over the division of labor for SCAF's key project, the next-generation fighter.
However, some analysts also point out that France has not had a good reputation for foreign defense cooperation programs — for example, France withdrew from the European fighter program in the 1980s and instead developed its own aircraft, now the Rafale fighter.
At present, although the F-35 series fighters have indeed won a large number of European orders, it is still difficult if The Company wants to completely deal with this large market. Spain in the region has announced the purchase of 16 of the latest version of the Typhoon to replace the existing 20 old American-made E/F-18A Hornet fighters. The Spanish Defense Ministry also said that there are no plans to procure F-35A fighter jets "at the moment", stressing that Spain is firmly committed to the FCAS program jointly developed by the three countries.
The Portuguese Air Force, which still operates F-16AM/BM fighter jets, has not yet shown any keen willingness to replace its fleet, even though the country is also one of the potential users of the F-35A.
For Britain, which has become a user of F-35B fighter jets, the actual size of the F-35B fighter is still uncertain. Initially, Britain wanted to buy 138 F-35B fighter jets. For now, Britain has announced only two shipments of F-35B fighter jets: the first 48, and agreed to buy another 26 at the beginning of the year. This number is much less than the number promised earlier.
Richard Abrafia, general manager of Aerodynamic Consulting, believes that the new growth point of the F-35A fighter is likely to come from Eastern European countries and southern Europe. Reports indicate that Romania has expressed interest in acquiring F-35 fighter jets after 2030, and the country is currently replacing the original MiG-21 fleet with used F-16 fighter jets.
Meanwhile, Greece also submitted an official letter of request in June requesting the purchase of 20 F-35A fighter jets by 2028. A company spokesman said a conversation between state officials and Lockheed Martin was ongoing. It should be noted that Athens has previously purchased 24 Rafale fighters from France, and it remains to be seen which model the subsequent fleet replacement funds will be used for.