{"id":27394578,"date":"2026-10-09T10:48:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/f-35-for-portugal-rubio-f-16-replacement-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T10:49:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T08:49:06","slug":"f-35-for-portugal-rubio-f-16-replacement-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/f-35-for-portugal-rubio-f-16-replacement-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"F-35 for Portugal: Rubio Makes His Pitch to Replace the F-16"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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Not this time. At a joint press conference in the Pal\u00e1cio das Necessidades in Lisbon on 8 October, a reporter asked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio which jet Portugal should buy to replace its ageing <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-16-fighting-falcon\/\">F-16 Fighting Falcons<\/a>. He did not hedge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think they should buy the F-35 because we think it\u2019s the best fighter jet in the world,\u201d Rubio said, before promising a proposal \u201cvery competitive with every other plane that is offered on the table\u201d. The man standing beside him, Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, answered more carefully: no decision has been taken, and Lisbon is looking at the American offer seriously, as it looks at others.<\/p>\n<p>That one exchange sums up where an F-35 for Portugal stands. Washington wants the deal for Lockheed Martin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-35-lightning-ii\/\">F-35 Lightning II<\/a>. Portugal has not even opened a formal competition. And Airbus, Dassault and Saab are already in the room.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f8;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:26px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:17px;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>What happened:<\/strong> US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Portugal to choose the F-35 at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, Lisbon, 8 October 2026<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Portugal\u2019s position:<\/strong> No decision taken and no formal tender launched; the F-35 offer is being considered alongside others<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Current fleet:<\/strong> Upgraded F-16AM\/BM Fighting Falcons at Monte Real (Base A\u00e9rea n.\u00ba 5), flown by Esquadra 201 \u201cFalc\u00f5es\u201d and Esquadra 301 \u201cJaguares\u201d; reported as 25 to 28 aircraft depending on the source<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Origins:<\/strong> 45 F-16s acquired under the Peace Atlantis I and II programmes; first deliveries 1994<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Rivals:<\/strong> Eurofighter Typhoon (Airbus, unsolicited bid expected late October or early November 2026), Dassault Rafale, Saab Gripen E<\/p><p style=\"margin:5px 0\"><strong>Back story:<\/strong> In March 2025 Defence Minister Nuno Melo questioned buying American, citing the predictability of allies<\/p><\/div>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What Rubio actually said<\/h2>\n<p>The State Department transcript shows the question came from the Portuguese press pool: was Lisbon choosing on political rather than military grounds, and were European rivals putting the F-35 at a disadvantage? Rangel took it first, stressing that the decision belongs to the whole government and that the defence ministry will play a large part.<\/p>\n<p>Rubio then went further than most secretaries of state would on an open procurement. He acknowledged repeatedly that the choice belongs to Lisbon, then made the commercial case anyway, pointing to the interoperability of flying the same jet as the United States.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/marco-rubio-secretary-of-state-portrait.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"flex-shrink:0\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/marco-rubio-secretary-of-state-portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Marco Rubio\" style=\"width:96px;height:96px;border-radius:50%;object-fit:cover;object-position:center 25%;display:block;border:2px solid #ddd\"><\/a><div><em>&ldquo;Obviously, I\u2019m not here to promote the airplanes made by some other country, so we want them to buy the F-35 and we think it\u2019s the best plane in the world.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Marco Rubio<\/strong> &mdash; US Secretary of State, joint press availability with Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, Lisbon, 8 October 2026 (State Department transcript)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>He also reminded his hosts of shared history: the United States and Portugal, he said, built Portugal\u2019s F-16 fleet together, through decades of shared maintenance, training and joint operations.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/portuguese-air-force-f-16am-15112-monte-real.jpg\" alt=\"Portuguese Air Force F-16AM 15112 in flight at Monte Real Air Base\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Portuguese Air Force F-16AM 15112, delivered under Peace Atlantis I, at the 2022 open day at Monte Real, home of both Portuguese F-16 squadrons. Photo: Alan Wilson \/ CC BY-SA 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The F-16s that need replacing<\/h2>\n<p>Portugal bought the F-16 to replace the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/a-7-corsair-ii\/\">A-7 Corsair II<\/a>. Under the Peace Atlantis I and II programmes it acquired 45 Block 15 jets: 20 new-build aircraft delivered from 1994, then 25 former US Air National Guard airframes. The fleet was brought to F-16AM\/BM standard under the Mid-Life Update, much of it carried out in Portugal.<\/p>\n<p>The fleet has shrunk since. Twelve F-16s went to Romania under a 2013 deal, with five more following later. How many remain depends on who is counting: Reuters puts it at 28 upgraded F-16s, while The War Zone lists 25 F-16AM\/BMs, 21 single-seaters and four two-seaters. All of them fly from Monte Real near Leiria, and they have stood NATO air-policing duty from the Baltic States and Iceland to Romania.<\/p>\n<p>The jets are not falling apart. But the Portuguese Air Force chief, General Jo\u00e3o Cartaxo Alves, told Di\u00e1rio de Not\u00edcias in December 2025 that the replacement should have started about two decades earlier, according to AeroTime, and put the likely buy at 14 to 28 aircraft.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Hv1aiF94YJA\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:-10px 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Marco Rubio\u2019s answer on the F-35 at the Lisbon press conference with Paulo Rangel, 8 October 2026. Video: Forbes Breaking News<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From \u201cobvious choice\u201d to open question<\/h2>\n<p>For a while an F-35 for Portugal looked like a foregone conclusion. In April 2024 the air force chief of staff was reported to have spoken of 28 F-35As by 2030, before the defence ministry said there was no current plan to buy them.<\/p>\n<p>Then, in March 2025, Defence Minister Nuno Melo told the newspaper P\u00fablico that the geopolitical environment had to shape the choice. His words, as translated by The Aviationist, became the most quoted line of Europe\u2019s brief F-35 wobble.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><em>&ldquo;The predictability of our allies is a greater asset to take into account.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Nuno Melo<\/strong> &mdash; Portuguese Defence Minister, interview with P\u00fablico, March 2025 (translation as published by The Aviationist)<\/div><\/div>\n\n<p>Washington has spent the months since trying to win the argument back. In February 2026 US Ambassador John Arrigo told CNN Portugal the F-35 would put the Portuguese Air Force among Europe\u2019s top tier. Rubio\u2019s visit was the most senior version of the same message yet.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/usaf-f-35a-beja-portugal-2024.jpg\" alt=\"Two US Air Force F-35A Lightning II jets arriving at Beja, Portugal\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Two F-35As of the 493rd Fighter Squadron arrive at Air Base No. 11, Beja, on 31 May 2024 for the Beja International Airshow, which the US Air Force described as the first landing of its fifth-generation fighters on mainland Portuguese soil. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Renee Nicole S.N. Finona \/ DVIDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The European rivals are already in Lisbon<\/h2>\n<p>Lisbon is not short of alternatives. Airbus has said it will table an unsolicited <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/eurofighter-typhoon\/\">Eurofighter Typhoon<\/a> proposal, with financing and industrial participation, in late October or early November, as we reported in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/eurofighter-portugal-airbus-unsolicited-bid-f-16-replacement-2026\/\">Eurofighter for Portugal: Airbus Bids Before the Tender Exists<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Dassault, signing for its <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/rafale\/\">Rafale<\/a> partners Thales and Safran, put its name to a memorandum of understanding with the Portuguese aerospace and defence cluster AED in September, covered in <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dassault-rafale-portugal-aed-cluster-mou-f-16-replacement-2026\/\">Rafale for Portugal<\/a>. Saab\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/saab-gripen\/\">Gripen E<\/a> completes the field.<\/p>\n<p>The Europeans are selling work for Portuguese industry and a seat in Europe\u2019s own combat-air future; Melo has said Portugal wants to join either FCAS or GCAP, initially as an observer. The Americans are selling the jet that most of Portugal\u2019s NATO neighbours already fly.<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/portuguese-f-16-b-52h-bomber-task-force-2021.jpg\" alt=\"Portuguese Air Force F-16s flying in formation beside a US B-52H bomber\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Portuguese F-16s, led by a jet in the jaguar special scheme of Esquadra 301 \u201cJaguares\u201d, escort a B-52H of the 96th Bomb Squadron during a Bomber Task Force mission over Portugal, 2 June 2021. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Allred \/ DVIDS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What happens next<\/h2>\n<p>Nothing is signed, and nothing is even formally open. The decision sits with the government of Prime Minister Lu\u00eds Montenegro, with the defence ministry steering the process, and Rangel was careful to say he could add nothing further.<\/p>\n<p>What Rubio\u2019s visit changed is the temperature. An F-35 for Portugal is now an explicit American foreign-policy ask, made in public, in Lisbon, by the secretary of state. Whatever Portugal chooses, the choice will now be read as a statement about which allies it trusts, and that is exactly the debate Melo opened in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The jaguars at Monte Real have a few good years left. The argument over what replaces them will not wait that long.<\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: US Department of State, transcript of the joint press availability of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, Lisbon, 8 October 2026; Reuters via Cyprus Mail and Arab News, 8 October 2026; The War Zone (Thomas Newdick), 8 October 2026; Observador and Not\u00edcias ao Minuto, 8 October 2026; AeroTime, 23 February 2026; The Aviationist, 13 March 2025; Wikipedia, Portuguese Air Force, Monte Real Air Base and F-16 operators; US Air Force \/ DVIDS imagery captions.<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Is Portugal buying the F-35?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Not yet. Portugal has not launched a formal tender to replace its F-16s and has made no decision. After meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 8 October 2026, Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said Lisbon is looking at the American F-35 proposal seriously, in the same way it is looking at the other offers.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What did Marco Rubio say about the F-35 for Portugal?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">At a joint press conference in Lisbon on 8 October 2026, Marco Rubio said the United States thinks Portugal should buy the F-35 because it considers it the best fighter jet in the world. He promised a very competitive proposal, cited interoperability with US forces, and said the final choice belongs to the Portuguese government.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many F-16s does the Portuguese Air Force operate?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Reported figures vary between about 25 and 28 upgraded F-16AM\/BM Fighting Falcons. Reuters puts the fleet at 28, while The War Zone counts 25, of which 21 are single-seat and four two-seat. All are based at Monte Real Air Base near Leiria with Esquadra 201 and Esquadra 301.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which fighters are competing to replace Portugal\u2019s F-16s?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Four types are in contention: the Lockheed Martin F-35A, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale and the Saab Gripen E. Airbus plans an unsolicited Eurofighter proposal in late October or early November 2026, and Dassault signed an industrial memorandum of understanding with the Portuguese AED cluster in September 2026.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did Portugal question the F-35 in 2025?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In March 2025 Defence Minister Nuno Melo told P\u00fablico that the geopolitical environment had to be considered and that the predictability of allies was a greater asset to take into account. The remarks were widely read as doubts about relying on the United States, and Portugal has kept European options open since.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where did Portugal\u2019s F-16s come from?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Portugal acquired 45 F-16 Block 15 aircraft through the Peace Atlantis I and II programmes: 20 new-build jets delivered from 1994 and 25 former US Air National Guard aircraft. The fleet was upgraded to F-16AM\/BM Mid-Life Update standard, and Portugal later sold 17 F-16s on to Romania.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is Portugal buying the F-35?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Not yet. Portugal has not launched a formal tender to replace its F-16s and has made no decision. 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The fleet was upgraded to F-16AM\/BM Mid-Life Update standard, and Portugal later sold 17 F-16s on to Romania.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/eurofighter-portugal-airbus-unsolicited-bid-f-16-replacement-2026\/\">Eurofighter for Portugal: Airbus Bids Before the Tender Exists<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/dassault-rafale-portugal-aed-cluster-mou-f-16-replacement-2026\/\">Rafale for Portugal: Dassault Signs a Deal With Portuguese Industry<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/first-german-f-35-lands-ebbing-fort-smith-luftwaffe-training-2026\/\">First German F-35 Lands at Ebbing to Start Luftwaffe Training<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/brazil-built-gripen-e-first-flight-embraer-gaviao-peixoto-2026\/\">Brazil-Built Gripen E Flies: Embraer\u2019s First F-39 Takes Off<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Standing next to Portugal\u2019s foreign minister in Lisbon on 8 October, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the sales pitch in plain words: buy the F-35. Lisbon says it is listening, and listening to the Europeans too.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":27394561,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27394578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>F-35 for Portugal: Rubio Makes His Pitch | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In Lisbon, Marco Rubio called the F-35 the best fighter in the world. 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