Switzerland signs $6.25 billion deal to buy three dozen F-35 fighter jets

Europe, News September 21, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

Swiss officials signed a $6.25 billion deal to procure F-35A jets from the United States as part of its military upgradation program. The deal is faced with a lot of local criticism as the government signed it without waiting for a proposed referendum.

According to a Swiss government press release, the deal was signed by Switzerland’s Armaments Director Martin Sonderegger and the Swiss F-35A Program Manager Darko Savic in Bern, on September 19, 2022. The fighter jets would be delivered between 2027 and 2030. Switzerland is seeking to replace its aging fleet of the F/A-18 Hornets and F-5 Tigers fighter jets with the new F-35A jets.

The deal was signed after Switzerland’s House of Representatives approved the purchase through a bill on September 15, 2022. Swiss defense officials also signed a deal with the F-35A manufacturer, Lockheed Martin for the maintenance and training.

The first eight of the 36 fighter jets would be produced at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth production facility in Texas, U.S., where they would also provide training to the Swiss pilots. The remaining 24 jets would be assembled by the Italian aerospace company, Leonardo, at their Final Assembly and Check-Out (FACO) facility in Cameri, northern Italy.

*^{F-35 fighter aircraft taking off for a training flight at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria. (Image Credit: Royal Netherlands Air Force/via NATO)}*

Last month, the government opposition in Switzerland succeeded in approving a petition from the parliament to conduct a popular referendum before finalizing the deal. The opposition proposed a referendum citing that the deal was too expensive and there was no need to spend that much money on warplanes given Switzerland’s conventional neutral position.

The Swiss Air Force mostly uses fighter jets for air patrols in its European skies and not in conflicts abroad. The opposition also showed its reservations about tying Swiss security with the U.S., which would affect the country’s decades-long position of neutrality.

The Swiss government, however, proceeded to sign the deal without waiting for the proposed referendum arguing that the parliament has already agreed to the purchase and several contracts had already been signed so that any timetable for a referendum would be too late to make any amendments in the deal.

The demand for F-35 fighter jets has seen an unprecedented increase since the Russian invasion of Ukraine started. Canada, Finland, and Germany are also among other Western countries that have also opted for the F-35 in favor of European jets. Before finalizing a deal for F-35A fighter jets, Switzerland was considering purchasing Eurofighter Typhoon jets jointly produced by Italy’s Leonardo, the U.K.’s BAE Systems, and Airbus. French-made Rafale jets and Boeing’s Super Hornet jets were also under consideration by the Swiss defense authorities.