Where Is the Global Fighter Jet Market Headed?
F-35 sales were once called “America’s Belt and Road.” Does that still hold true?
In 2019, Foreign Policy published an article arguing that sales of F-35 fighter jets are essentially Washington’s version of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative—a “globe-spanning economic and security project” that leaves other nations dependent on the United States. But times are changing, as aviation expert Richard Aboulafia wrote earlier this month, and Washington and the F-35 may not dominate the global fighter jet market forever.
In 2019, Foreign Policy published an article arguing that sales of F-35 fighter jets are essentially Washington’s version of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative—a “globe-spanning economic and security project” that leaves other nations dependent on the United States. But times are changing, as aviation expert Richard Aboulafia wrote earlier this month, and Washington and the F-35 may not dominate the global fighter jet market forever.
This edition of Flash Points examines the fighter jet market, where it might be headed, and the role that the U.S. aviation industry will play in its future.—Chloe Hadavas
An unidentified participant walks past a poster advertising U.S. defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter over a Berlin skyline at the Berlin Security Conference in Berlin on Nov. 29, 2017.John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images
The Fighter Jet Market Enters Its Multipolar Era
Richard Aboulafia assesses whether the F-35—and the United States—can keep up with new competition.
U.S. President Donald Trump stands with an F-35 on the South Lawn of the White House on July 23, 2018.Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
F-35 Sales Are America’s Belt and Road
The United States uses the fighter jet program to further its own influence while leaving allies dependent, Jonathan D. Caverley, Ethan B. Kapstein, and Srdjan Vucetic write.
A Swedish Air Force JAS 39 Gripen-E jet fighter flies over Gotland island in the Baltic Sea on May 11.
Why Can’t Sweden Sell Its Fighter Jets?
When it comes to flaunting its defense industry, Stockholm is shy—and it’s hurting Swedish companies and handing lucrative contracts to competitors, FP’s Elisabeth Braw writes.
A KJ-2000 airborne early warning and control system leads J-10 fighter jets flying past a Chinese flag during a military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing on Sept. 3, 2015.Andy Wong – Pool /Getty Images
China Has Nothing to Gain From an Aerospace Alliance With Russia
Beijing is a rising power with a growing domestic aviation industry—and it no longer needs Moscow’s help, Richard Aboulafia writes.
A Finnish Air Force fighter jet takes off in Joutsa, Finland, on Sept. 28, 2022.Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images
Nordic Air Force Takes Flight
NATO may soon have an alliance within the alliance, FP’s Jack Detsch and Brawley Benson report.
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