Why Europe and Canada are exploring alternatives to American-made fighter jets

Questions are mounting in Canada and in Europe over whether big-ticket purchases of high-end U.S. weaponry, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, are still a wise strategic choice for Western countries worried about their investment in U.S. defense technology. “You’re not just buying an airplane, you’re buying a relationship with the United States,” said Winslow T. Wheeler, who spent three decades in U.S. Congress working for Democrats and Republicans on national security and defense issues. Lockheed Martin said in a statement on Tuesday that the defense contractor delivers “all system infrastructure and data required for all F-35 customers to sustain the aircraft.” European jet alternatives The Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale could see an increase in sales if other countries decide to forgo their F-35 purchases. David Jordan, a senior lecturer in defense studies at King’s College London and co-director of the Freeman Air and Space Institute, said that previously, European leaders felt it was easier and more cost-effective to lean on the U.S. defense industry to get access to advanced weaponry. Jordan said that U.S. defense contractors are likely concerned about Trump’s next move.