The United States is intensifying its campaign to sell the F-35 to Portugal. Speaking in Lisbon today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would make Portugal a “very competitive” offer to replace its F-16 fleet. The development adds high-level political momentum to an increasingly intense competition for the Portuguese Air Force’s next fighter.
Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said after his meeting with Rubio that Lisbon was seriously considering the US proposal, while stressing that other options remained under study.
“The Portuguese state will always decide in accordance with the national interest,” Rangel told a press conference after the meeting. “There is one point that is also clear: We are seriously considering the F-35 proposal, just as we are considering others.”
Portugal currently operates 25 modernized F-16AM/BMs, including 21 single-seat F-16AMs and four two-seat F-16BMs, from Monte Real Air Base, or BA5. The Portuguese Air Force, known as Força Aérea Portuguesa (FAP), has not yet officially launched a replacement competition, but the aging fleet is increasingly becoming the center of attention in Lisbon.
Portugal has acquired a total of 45 F-16A/B Block 15 aircraft under the Peace Atlantis I and II programs.
The first 20 aircraft were delivered starting in 1994. These were new-build F-16A/B Block 15OCU aircraft, comprising 17 single-seat F-16As and three two-seat F-16Bs, and were used to equip Esquadra 201 “Falcões”.
A second batch followed in 1999, when Portugal received 25 former Block 15OCU aircraft from the US Air Force. Twenty-one were F-16As and four were F-16Bs, several of which were intended for replacement or attrition spares. These aircraft had accumulated approximately 3,000 flight hours and underwent an extensive modernization program to bring them to the F-16AM/BM configuration. This means the aircraft are largely comparable to the US Air Force’s F-16C/D Block 50/52 fleet.
Esquadra 301 “Jaguares” finally became operational with its upgraded aircraft in 2005, while Esquadra 201 only received its upgraded F-16s in 2011.
Since then, Portuguese Vipers have continued to benefit from incremental improvements. Their configuration advanced through several mission software standards, while the aircraft were equipped with night vision goggles, Joint Helmet-Mounted Cue Systems (JHMCS), and advanced targeting and weapons capabilities.
Among the most significant additions are the Northrop Grumman Litening II targeting pods and the ability to use weapons including the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), and the GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II dual-mode weapons.
Twelve former Portuguese F-16s were transferred to Romania under a deal signed in 2013, with deliveries taking place in 2016 and 2017. Romania then ordered five additional aircraft in 2019.
Structurally, the Portuguese F-16s could potentially remain in service until the mid-2040s. But maintaining their relevance in the face of increasingly sophisticated air forces would require continued investment in avionics, sensors, communications and self-protection systems.
The F-16AM/BM fleet continues to rely on the older AN/APG-66(V)2 pulse Doppler radar. Replacing it with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar such as Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 would significantly improve detection and tracking performance, but would come at a considerable cost.
Portugal faces a choice between continuing to invest in increasingly tired fourth-generation cells or moving straight to the fifth generation.
Since the end of the Cold War, Portugal has become much more involved in out-of-area operations and missions supporting NATO.
In doing so, the Portuguese F-16 fleet has accumulated an impressive operational record.
The fighters have been deployed several times on NATO air policing missions, including rotations to the Baltic States, Iceland, Romania and Poland.
The F-35A would give Portugal a fifth-generation fighter built around low observability, sensor fusion, advanced electronic warfare and networked operations.
The aircraft would also fit naturally into a NATO environment in which a growing number of European air forces are adopting the F-35.
More than 900 F-35s are already in service or on order across Europe, according to previous comments from U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John Arrigo. Washington has repeatedly argued that membership in this community would offer Portugal a substantial advantage in interoperability.
However, European competition includes the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and Saab Gripen E, with Airbus preparing a particularly aggressive campaign for the Typhoon.
Airbus has announced plans to submit an unsolicited Eurofighter proposal to Portugal in late October or early November. This package should encompass not only aircraft, but also financing, industrial participation and broader military cooperation.
The choice of the U.S. stealth fighter deepens Lisbon’s military relationship with Washington at a time when European governments are grappling with fundamental questions about their reliance on U.S. military capabilities.
Across the continent, uncertainty over Washington’s stance on NATO is encouraging European allies to examine ways to reduce their dependence on U.S. military technology, even as those same countries continue to increase defense spending and purchase American equipment.
If Washington manages to combine the capability advantages of the F-35 with an attractive acquisition and sustainment package, Portugal could find itself faced with a difficult choice between the strategic advantages of joining the growing European F-35 fleet and the industrial and political advantages of choosing a European fighter.
The final decision on the replacement of the F-16 will also determine which fighter jet will spearhead the Portuguese Air Force for the coming decades.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
Gn world
