Robles does not rule out the possible purchase of F-35B fighters for the Spanish Navy

What's happening in Spain with the possible acquisition of the F-35B is already beginning to resemble a Venezuelan soap opera.

Those responsible for the Spanish Navy losing its carrier-based fighters
A disconcerting statement by the JEMAD on the possible purchase of the F-35 by Spain

On August 6, Pedro Sánchez's government leaked to the newspaper El País that Spain's purchase of F-35 fighters was "definitively on hold", meaning the Spanish Navy would lose its carrier-based combat aircraft once the Harrier II Plus become operational in 2030. The news was not denied by the government and became a matter of international interest, reaching as far away as the United States. That leak caused unrest in Washington, amid growing tensions between the Spanish and US governments.

Two weeks later, today the Efe news agency published an interview with Spain's Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, in which she talks about the F-35. And here's where the surprise comes. Regarding the F-35, Robles states: "there has certainly been no publicity from the Government regarding the exclusion of any program." This must be understood as a way of disavowing El País's information. The minister has had two weeks to do so. Apparently, she must have thought there was no rush.

Also speaking about the F-35, but without mentioning it in any specific quote (for this government, this stealth fighter is something similar to Voldemort in the Harry Potter adventures: "he who shall not be named"), Robles has said that these aircraft are not a priority for the Navy, which according to Efe "has its sights set on the 80 series submarines, the F-110 frigates and the combat supply ship (BAC)." The state agency adds these words from the minister: "We are with these programs and when the time comes, we will see".

Is Roble referring to when the time comes to decommission the Harrier IIs? Like the rest of the acquisitions by the Navy or the other branches of the Spanish Armed Forces, the purchases of a combat aircraft are not improvised on the fly: you do not go to a store and ask for 12 F-35s. These are acquisitions that have to be made in advance, because the planes take years to be manufactured and you must take into account whether they will arrive in time to replace the ones you already have, because otherwise you will lose that capacity, which is what will happen now with the Spanish Navy. To give us an idea, even if Spain decided to buy the F-35B now, it is very likely that it would not arrive in time to replace the Harrier IIs by 2030. Pedro Sánchez's government has let time pass at an astonishing rate.

Recall that in November 2020, the then Admiral Chief of the Navy Staff (AJEMA), Teodoro Esteban López Calderón (current Chief of the Defense Staff, JEMAD), pointed out that the only solution to replace the Harrier II was the F-35, adding: "We believe that we will be able to keep our Harriers in service until 2028", a date that was finally extended to 2030. He also said that "it is a program that will have a cost and will need to be launched in the next 5-6 years so as not to lose the capability they give us the Harriers, which are one of the key elements in our expeditionary capability."

It's been almost five years since that interview, and despite the passage of time, Robles continues to say that the F-35 is not a priority: and when will it be? Perhaps when we've sent the Harrier IIs to a museum and the Navy has run out of carrier-based close air support aircraft? Of course, this isn't serious. Spain has a Defense Minister who doesn't take her job seriously, who speaks lightly about key projects for the Spanish Navy, postponing them until a time when it will be too late to prevent our naval force from running out of carrier-based fixed-wing aircraft.

The most absurd thing is that this display of lack of seriousness is being made at a decisive moment for European defense, when other countries are committing large amounts of money to reinforce their armed forces against the threat of Russian expansionism, a threat that in the case of Spain is added to the threat of Morocco's claims on Spanish territories such as Ceuta, Melilla and other places in North Africa. Let us remember that Morocco has already shown its interest in the F-35, while if Spain rules out its acquisition, it would have stealth fighters in 2040 at the earliest, if the FCAS program does not go to waste due to French pressure.

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Photo: BAE Systems Air. A Spanish Harrier II Plus flying alongside a British F-35B at RIAT 2023 at RAF Fairford, England.