This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Reuters is reporting that the United States is considering expanding sales of Lockheed Martin-made F-35 fighter jets to five new countries, including Romania, Poland, and Greece.
The news agency reported on April 4 that Vice Admiral Mathias Winter, who is chief of the military’s F-35 office, said that “future potential Foreign Military Sales customers include Singapore, Greece, Romania, Spain, and Poland.
The comments came in written testimony by Winter submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives and seen by the news agency.
Belgium in 2018 was the first new customer for the F-35 in several years, deciding on the U.S.-made warplane in a $4.55 billion deal over the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Nine other countries have signed up to buy the fighter-jets — Britain, Australia, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey.
However, Washington has suspended Turkey’s participation in the F-35 program over Ankara’s decision to purchase Russian S-400 missile defense systems against U.S. and NATO opposition.
Other U.S. allies, including Finland, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates, have also considered purchasing F-35 jets.
