Austria Calling the F-35: Throughout the Cold War, Austria adopted a strict policy of neutrality. In fact, Vienna is bound to its 1955 Austrian State Treaty – ratified to end 17 years of occupation by foreign troops – and by its constitution, which prohibits entry into military alliances as well as the establishment of foreign military bases on Austrian territory. Moreover, Austrian neutrality was modeled on that of Switzerland due to pressure from the Soviet Union.
Though Austria will likely never join NATO due to its commitment to its neutrality, NATO-Austrian relations are conducted through the Partnership for Peace (PfP) framework, which Vienna officially joined in 1995. Austria has actively participated in peace-support operations, which included sending a battalion to the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1996 to 2001. In addition, Austrian forces joined the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in 2002, providing expertise and logistical support.
Coming Soon: Austria Getting F-35?
Even as many Austrians still believe their country should remain neutral – in no small part to the devastation the country faced in two World Wars – Vienna could move even closer to NATO as there is now talk of it adopting the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.
Janes reported that the Central European nation is now mulling the F-35 as a potential replacement for its fleet of Eurofigther Typhoons. Vienna had recently published its 16 billion euro ($15.5 billion) defense budget through to 2027, and Janes’ military analysts were informed that the Austrian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has begun collating information, and even enabling a valuation assessment on the possible acquisition of the fifth-generation stealth fighter over the course of the next decade.
Lightning IIs to Strike Europe
The F-35 continues to take Europe by storm. That fact remains clear, even as French leaders had called upon its neighbors to “buy European,” and the F-35 has consistently beat out homegrown candidates in the most recent fighter jet competitions, including the Dassault Rafale, Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen, and the Eurofighter Typhoon developed by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.
Lockheed Martin, which is now the largest American defense contractor, predicted that more than 550 F-35s will be stationed in Europe by 2030 – including the U.S. Air Force squadrons based at Royal Air Force (RAF) Lakenheath in the UK. The quick adoption of the fighters is also notable. It was only in 2018 that Belgium had become the first Foreign Military Sales customer of the F-35 from Europe when it committed to buying 34 F-35A aircraft. Two years later, Poland followed and now plans to procure 32 F-35As.
F-35 image. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
A U.S. Navy F-35C Lightning II fighter jet performs during the California International Air Show in Salinas, California, Oct. 29, 2021. The F-35C has a larger wingspan and internal fuel capacity as well as stronger landing gear than the F-35A and F-35B variants. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew D. Sarver)
Multiple NATO states have also adopted the fighter, including the Netherlands and Norway – while the Czech Republic recently selected the F-35 over the JAS 39. Germany has also moved forward to procure the fighter, and even neutral Switzerland is on track to have the stealth fighter patrol its airspace over the Alps. Austria will certainly be in good company should it move forward with the Lightning II.
A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,000 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.
