Portugal wary of Trump's NATO policy in pick of fighter jets

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal could replace its ageing American-made F-16 fighter jets with European jets rather than F-35s following U.S. President Donald Trump's policy shifts, the country's defence ministry said on Friday.

Defence Minister Nuno Melo told Portugal's Publico newspaper the unpredictable nature of Trump's policy towards NATO and Europe could determine the country's pick of aircraft.

"The recent U.S. stance in the context of NATO and the international geostrategic dimension, makes us think what are the best options, because the predictability of our allies is a factor to be reckoned with," he said.

Trump's apparent lurch toward Russia in his second term in the White House has shocked traditional NATO allies in Europe. Trump has also demanded that Europe's NATO members ramp up their defence spending and questioned his country's predominant bankrolling of NATO.

"This ally of ours, that has behaved in a predictable fashion for decades, could impose limits on the use, maintenance, components, and all that is linked to having the aircraft operational," added Melo, a member of Portugal's centre-right government, which this week moved into a caretaker position ahead of an election on May 18.

The defence ministry said on Friday that Melo was not ruling out the potential acquisition of F-35s but that they were being considered along with "different models available in Europe" as part of a process still in preliminary stages.

"The current geopolitical context shows the need to reinforce the European pillar of NATO defenses, and that includes the strengthening of respective production in the areas of defence," the ministry added.

The European Commission wants EU countries to outline their most pressing defence needs and launch "large-scale pan-European flagship projects" to enable Europe to defend itself against potential a Russian attack. The Commission has said European equipment should be purchased where possible.

(Reporting by Andrei Khalip, editing by Aislinn Laing and Christina Fincher)