Overview

• Spain has indefinitely suspended its planned purchase of U.S. F-35 fighters, pausing a €6.25 billion budget allocation and halting ongoing RFI processes for the stealth jet.
• The government has mandated that 85% of its additional €10.471 billion defense funds be invested in European projects, prioritizing Eurofighter and the Future Combat Air System to strengthen strategic autonomy.
• Navy officials warn that retiring the Harrier AV-8B fleet in 2030 without a vertical-takeoff replacement leaves the Juan Carlos I carrier reliant solely on helicopters for several years.
• Defense Minister Margarita Robles has tasked shipbuilder Navantia with a feasibility study for a conventional aircraft carrier capable of launching and recovering fixed-wing combat aircraft.
• The opposition Partido Popular has formally requested Robles’s appearance before the Congress Defense Committee to clarify short-term solutions and the rationale behind abandoning the F-35.