Spain no longer considers the option of buying F-35 fighter jets manufactured in the USA.
Its choice is now between Eurofighter and the so-called Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a Ministry of Defense spokesperson stated on Wednesday, according to Reuters.
El Pais newspaper previously reported that the Government has abandoned plans to purchase the F-35, which is manufactured by the American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin (LMT.N).
The Government has allocated 6.25 billion euros in its 2023 budget to buy new fighter jets.
But the Spanish government's plan to spend the majority of the additional 10.5 billion euros for defense this year in Europe has made it impossible to acquire fighter jets made in the USA, the newspaper reported.
Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced earlier this year plans to increase defense spending to meet NATO's current target of 2% of GDP this year and subsequently refused to increase spending to 5% in the long term.
Sanchez's position has been sharply criticized by US President Donald Trump, who threatened to impose additional tariffs on the country's goods.
Spokespersons for Lockheed Martin and the US Embassy in Madrid did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
The Eurofighter is manufactured by Airbus (AIR.PA), while FCAS is developed by Dassault Aviation (AM.PA)