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The U.S. ambassador to Portugal, John Arrigo, has urged Portugal to replace its F-16 fighter jets with Lockheed Martin's F-35 to enhance interoperability with European air forces. Arrigo aims to assist Portugal in increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.

He noted over 900 F-35s are in service or on order in Europe. The ambassador also discussed U.S.-China relations, emphasizing that the U.S. is not pushing Portugal to choose between the two nations. Portugal joined China's Belt and Road Initiative in 2018.