According to a video from 4:29 posted on Fox News, on Wednesday July 8, 2026, national security analyst Hal Kempfer explained why some European allies have grown cautious about their reliance on American weapons systems.
Kempfer discussed a lingering question among European nations about whether the United States retains the ability to disable advanced weapons systems it sells to allies, specifically referencing the F-35 fighter jet.
He explained that this concern, raised previously, has never fully gone away despite American assurances
In his words, Hal Kempfer said, “One of the things that came up last year was will some of our advanced weapon systems like the F-35, do we have an off switch? Do we have the ability to turn off some of these weapons if we ever wanted to, and whereas we said no we don’t, the reality is they’re very dependent on US contractors, US defense contractors to support all these things,” he said.
Kempfer noted that this dependency on American contractors has led several countries to consider developing their own weapons systems, supply chains, and production lines rather than remaining reliant on the United States.
He pointed to the recent Patriot missile shortage as a clear example, explaining that Ukraine’s urgent need for more missiles cannot be met quickly, even if the political decision is made to send them, because production has not kept pace with demand.
This concern over dependency, Kempfer explained, is part of the reasoning behind the new fifty billion dollar European weapons initiative announced at the summit.
Allies are increasingly weighing the benefits of American technology against the risks of relying on a single supplier for critical defense capabilities, a debate that is likely to continue shaping NATO discussions in the months ahead….See More