Dutch Defense Minister Gijs Tuinman surprised the public with the claim that software independence is possible for F-35 jets, suggesting that one could literally "jailbreak" an F-35 like an iPhone, media reports citing his remarks in a podcast indicated on Sunday.
When asked if Europe can modify it without U.S. approval, Tuinman said: "That’s not the point... We’ll see whether the Americans will show their true colors," a transcript shared by the widely popular Clash Report page on X indicated.
And then, according to the transcript from the podcast with BNR Nieuwsradio, he further said: "I'm going to say something I should never say, but I'll do it anyway. Just like your iPhone, you can jailbreak an F-35. I won't say more about it."
The transcript of the podcast was shared by the BNR Nieuwsradio as an article as well.
"The F-35 is truly a shared product. The British make the Rolls-Royce engines, and the Americans simply need them too," he also said.
Tuiman did not provide more clarity on what he thought when sharing this view, but his remarks come amid a rupture in trans-Atlantic ties and Washington's pressure on Europe to do more about defense and the continent's security.
To date, Israel is the only country known to have successfully negotiated a deal giving it the right to install domestically-developed software onto its F-35 jets, still considered to be the most advanced on the market at the moment.
