Summary
European nations refute claims that the U.S. has a “kill switch” for F-35 fighter jets, despite concerns raised after Trump suspended military aid and intelligence support to Ukraine.
While no evidence confirms such a switch, experts warn the U.S. could limit access to crucial software updates.
Belgium and Switzerland assert their F-35s remain autonomous but acknowledge reliance on U.S. data systems.
Set to receive 35 F-35s in 2026, some German politicians are questioning whether the purchase should have been made amid these concerns.
F35 is a major maintenance time sink. Something on the order of 10 mechanic-hours of maintenance for every flight hour. I’ve heard it costs something like 12k USD in maintenance just to start the engine and bring it to low idle.
I suspect it would take a lot less than six months to ground a fleet when the spare parts get cut off.
Spare parts are being manufactured in Europe too though. There’s a big maintenance hub in The Netherlands and Italy is producing complete F35s. I’m sure Europe can figure it out
ifwhen the US goes completely off the rails.My understanding is that it’s because it’s new and they haven’t optimized repair workflows yet (or hadn’t at the time all that reporting was being done).