Choose us, and you're investing in European defense capacity
Portugal stands at a crossroads familiar to smaller nations navigating the geometry of great-power alliances: the choice of a weapons system is rarely only a military decision. As Lisbon weighs replacing its F-16s — aircraft that have served since the Cavaco Silva era — Lockheed Martin is arguing that the F-35, the sole fifth-generation contender in the running, need not represent a surrender of European identity but rather an expansion of it. The pitch, delivered from Texas to Portuguese journalists, reframes a transatlantic transaction as a shared industrial future, raising the oldest question in alliance politics: what does sovereignty cost, and what does it buy?
- Portugal's F-16s, flying since 1994, are aging out of relevance, and the window for a consequential modernization decision is narrowing.
- European rivals — Sweden's Gripen and the multinational Eurofighter Typhoon — carry the political momentum of continental solidarity, putting real pressure on any American bid.
- Lockheed Martin is countering by rebranding the F-35 as already more than 25% European-made, directly targeting the autonomy argument that most threatens its candidacy.
- The company is dangling the prospect of expanded Portuguese industrial participation in the F-35 supply chain, turning a procurement choice into a jobs-and-expertise proposition.
- With proven fifth-generation operational data behind it, the F-35 positions itself not just as the most capable option, but as the one with the least uncertainty over a thirty-year horizon.
Portugal's air force is in the market for new fighter jets, and Lockheed Martin is making its case. The F-35 enters the competition with a structural advantage: it is the only fifth-generation combat aircraft on the table, facing European alternatives — Saab's Gripen and the consortium-built Eurofighter Typhoon — that carry continental prestige but belong to an earlier generation of air combat technology. Portugal's F-16s have been flying since 1994, and the country's modernization decision will shape its defense posture for decades.
Lockheed Martin is not pretending the political headwinds don't exist. European governments and defense industries are pushing hard for homegrown solutions, and that sentiment resonates in Lisbon. So the company is reframing its pitch: in a video call with journalists at Público, executives and a test pilot argued that the F-35 is already more than 25% European in its manufacturing footprint — not an American weapon imposed on an ally, but an international platform with genuine roots in European industry.
The offer goes further. Lockheed Martin is signaling that Portugal could deepen its role in the F-35 supply chain, potentially raising that European content share even higher. For a country committing to a decades-long relationship with a weapons system, the promise of industrial participation — jobs, technical expertise, influence — is not a minor footnote. The company is essentially arguing that choosing the F-35 is not choosing America over Europe, but choosing both.
The F-35's accumulated operational record reinforces the technical argument. Years of real-world deployment across multiple air forces have produced proven reliability and lessons learned that the European alternatives, capable as they are, cannot yet match at the fifth-generation level.
What Lockheed Martin is selling is a reconciliation of two visions: European industrial identity and integration into the world's most advanced military ecosystem. Whether Portugal finds that reconciliation convincing — or whether the pull of continental solidarity proves stronger — is the question the competition has yet to answer.
Portugal's air force is shopping for new fighter jets, and Lockheed Martin is making its pitch. The company's F-35 is the only fifth-generation combat aircraft in the running to replace Portugal's aging F-16s—planes that have been flying since 1994, purchased back when Cavaco Silva was still prime minister. That's a significant advantage in a competition where the European alternatives, the Gripen from Sweden's Saab and the Eurofighter Typhoon built by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo, carry the weight of continental pride and industrial preference.
But Lockheed Martin is not ignoring the political currents swirling around this decision. The company knows that European governments and defense contractors are pushing hard for a homegrown solution, and that sentiment carries real weight in Lisbon. So the American defense giant is reframing the F-35 itself as a European product—or at least, increasingly one. In a video call from Texas with journalists at Público, two company executives and a test pilot made the case that the F-35 is already more than 25 percent European in its manufacturing footprint. That's not a trivial claim. It suggests the jet is not some purely American weapon system being imposed on an ally, but rather a genuinely international platform with deep roots in European industry.
The pitch goes further. Lockheed Martin is signaling that Portugal could expand its role in the F-35 supply chain, potentially pushing that European content percentage even higher. For a country weighing whether to commit to a decades-long relationship with a weapons system, the promise of industrial participation matters. It means jobs, technical expertise, and a seat at the table in one of the world's most advanced military programs. The company is essentially saying: choose us, and you're not just buying American—you're investing in European defense capacity.
The F-35's operational track record is the other pillar of Lockheed Martin's argument. Unlike the Gripen and Eurofighter, which have combat experience but are not fifth-generation platforms in the same sense, the F-35 has been flying for years in multiple air forces. It has accumulated real-world operational data, lessons learned, and proven reliability. That experience translates into confidence—the kind that matters when a country is making a multi-billion-euro decision that will shape its air defense posture for the next three decades.
What Lockheed Martin is doing here is smart politics dressed up as technical argument. By emphasizing European manufacturing and the possibility of Portuguese industrial involvement, the company is trying to defang one of the strongest objections to choosing an American system: that it represents a loss of European autonomy and industrial capacity. If the F-35 is already a quarter European, and Portugal can push that higher, then the choice becomes less about American dominance and more about pragmatism—picking the most capable platform while maintaining a meaningful European stake in its future.
The competition for Portugal's fighter jet contract is really a competition over what kind of defense partner Portugal wants to be. The Gripen and Eurofighter represent one vision: European solidarity, industrial independence, a rejection of American technological dominance. The F-35 represents another: integration into the most advanced military ecosystem in the world, with all the capabilities and complications that entails. Lockheed Martin's message is that these visions are not mutually exclusive—that Portugal can have both the most advanced fifth-generation fighter and a meaningful role in European defense manufacturing. Whether Portugal believes that remains to be seen.
Notable Quotes
The F-35 is more than 25% fabricated in Europe, with Portuguese industry positioned to increase that percentage— Lockheed Martin executives and test pilot in video call with Público
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Lockheed Martin keep emphasizing the 25 percent European figure? That seems oddly specific.
Because it's the difference between selling a foreign weapon and selling a partnership. If Portugal hears "American jet," they think about dependency. If they hear "already a quarter European," they start imagining themselves as part of something larger.
But is 25 percent actually significant? That's still three-quarters American.
It's significant because it's real, and because it's a floor, not a ceiling. The company is saying Portugal could push it higher. That's the real offer—not just a plane, but a role in building it.
The Gripen and Eurofighter are European. Why would Portugal choose American?
Because the F-35 is fifth-generation and the others aren't, not in the same way. It's more capable. And because Lockheed Martin is essentially saying you don't have to choose between European and capable—you can have both.
What's at stake for Portugal in this decision?
Everything about how it sees itself militarily for the next thirty years. Are they a European power with European tools, or are they integrated into the American-led NATO ecosystem? The F-35 answer is: why not both?
Can Portugal actually influence the F-35 supply chain, or is that just sales talk?
It's both. Yes, Lockheed Martin has leverage and priorities. But Portugal is a NATO ally with a strategic location. If they buy the F-35, they become a customer with some say in how the program evolves. That's real, even if it's not unlimited.