F-35s are the most advanced fighter jets in the world, capable of flying at 1,200mph while staying virtually invisible to enemy radar, equipped with unrivalled surveillance capabilities and a devastating array of missiles. From its base in Fort Worth, Texas, Lockheed Martin every year churns out roughly 150 of the state-of-the-art planes, which have quickly become the backbone of modern Western air forces. As they are shipped out around the world, billions of dollars flow back into the US defence industry.
But the planes need more than computer chips and galvanised steel to get off the ground: they depend on trust between the US and its allies, which has rapidly drained after Donald Trump suggested he could annex Greenland or Canada , and fell out spectacularly with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky . Countries are now asking if they can still rely on America – and F-35s look as if they could be caught in the crossfire. Such is the anger at the US that some commentators are now comparing them to Teslas .
The electric vehicles looked like the cars of the future not so long ago, until they were boycotted for their association with the Trump administration via the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk . On Friday, Mr Trump poured salt in the wound as he suggested selling “toned-down” jets to the US’ allies, “because someday they’re not our allies, right?” He was referring to a new generation of F-47 jets – but the aircraft is decades away, and the only im.
