Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

Germany could break a deal to buy 35 F-35A fighter jets if the United States decides to incorporate a remote “kill switch into the aircraft, German newspaper BILD reported. Although experts have rejected this possibility, this issue demonstrates growing mistrust between the US and Europe.

The newspaper highlights that after the US remotely disabled the target acquisition and detection capability on the HIMARS systems already delivered to Kiev, Europe fears that Washington could remotely disable its weapons in Europe.

“If we have to fear that the US might do with future German F-35s what it is doing now with Ukraine, we might consider canceling the deal,” the newspaper quotes Wolfgang Ischinger, former head of the Munich International Security Conference, as saying.

At the center of Germany’s concerns are 35 F-35A fighter jets, worth €8.3 billion, because the US supposedly could incorporate a “kill switch” into them for remote use.

Joachim Schranzhofer, head of communications at defense company Hensoldt, was quoted by BILD as saying, “The F-35 kill switch is not just a rumor. A simpler way is through a mission planning system that will not allow the fighter to land.”

The article concludes that building the infrastructure for fighter jets will cost Berlin several billion euros more.

Earlier, the US Department of Defense said that it had been ordered to suspend all assistance to Ukraine. A Pentagon spokesman told the agency that the decision to halt arms deliveries applied equally to weapons that were on their way to Ukraine at the time.

Following talks on March 11 in Saudi Arabia between Ukraine and the US, which culminated in Kiev announcing it was ready to accept an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia, Washington said it would immediately restart intelligence sharing and security assistance suspended following an unprecedented spat between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the White House.

Poland, through which 95% of US military aid to Kiev passes, confirmed on March 12 that US military aid had resumed.

“We already have information today that the first shipments of equipment that were suspended last week and already delivered to Poland will be able to reach Ukraine,” Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters.

The sudden cut of military aid and the fear of kill switches show that the US is not a reliable partner. Yet, despite this, European countries have placed their security in the hands of the US since World War II and created a dependence. Europe’s heavy dependence on US weapons means that if Washington were to cut off its military cooperation with the EU, it would have a serious problem.

Some weapons that directly depend on at least some element supplied by the US include, obviously, the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets, which rely on the US Autonomous Logistics Information System for maintenance support and software updates; drones, such as the ubiquitous MQ-9 Reaper, which relies on satellite communication and US software support; and the Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, which relies on US intelligence sharing.

However, experts have dismissed the notion that the US could put a “kill switch” in the F-35. Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British military intelligence, told MailOnline, “the US can't remotely disable F-35 jets. There’s no ‘switch’ they can flip to stop it midflight or on the tarmac.”

Even if this is true, it still demonstrates the growing distrust between the US and EU since Trump came to power and began forcing Ukraine to pursue a peace deal with Russia through a ‘carrot and stick’ method.

Earlier this month, only one in six Germans polled described the US as a partner who Germany can trust, and three-quarters believe that NATO members cannot currently rely on the US for protection. Eighty-four percent said that NATO is important for securing peace in Europe, but one in two said they favor establishing a European military alliance, indicating growing support for greater European independence.

This growing distrust and push for greater European independence comes as Trump reportedly said he wants to redeploy 35,000 active American soldiers out of Germany.

A source from the White House told The Telegraph that the US president is frustrated that Europe is not contributing sufficiently to its own defence and believes they are “pushing for war.” US National Security Council spokesman, Brian Hughes, told the newspaper that “while no specific announcement is imminent, the US military is always considering the redeployment of troops around the world to best address current threats to our interests.”

Although it is unlikely that a “kill switch” can be placed on the F-35, the US has other methods to sabotage the military equipment it sells. This will only widen the differences between the US and the EU and propel the EU to take charge of its own affairs instead of relying on the US.