MADRID, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Spain is no longer considering

the option of buying U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and is choosing

between European-made Eurofighter and the so-called Future

Combat Air System (FCAS), a defence ministry spokesperson said

on Wednesday.

El Pais newspaper had reported earlier on Wednesday the

government had shelved plans to buy the F-35, which is

manufactured by U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin ( LMT ).

The government had earmarked 6.25 billion euros ($7.24

billion) in its 2023 budget to buy new fighter jets, El Pais

said.

But the Spanish government's plan to spend most of the

additional 10.5 billion euros for defence this year in Europe

made it impossible to acquire U.S.-made fighter jets, the

newspaper reported.

Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced

plans earlier this year to increase spending on defence to meet

the current NATO target of 2% of gross domestic product this

year, and later refused to raise spending to 5% in the longer

run.

Sanchez's position was heavily criticized by U.S. President

Donald Trump, who threatened to impose additional tariffs on the

country's goods.

Spokespeople for Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) and the U.S. embassy in

Madrid did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eurofighter is manufactured by Airbus, BAE systems

and Leonardo, while FCAS is being developed

by Dassault Aviation, Airbus and Indra Sistemas

.

($1 = 0.8634 euros)