Switzerland would bear costs if it forgoes F-35 jet purchase

Forgoing the purchase of F-35 fighter jets would cost Switzerland Keystone-SDA

If Switzerland decides not to buy 36 F-35 fighter jets from the United States, it will have to bear the costs, says the Swiss government in response to doubts expressed in Parliament. It assumes that the US will honor its commitments.

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Switzerland can terminate the contract at any time up to delivery of the jets, the government said on Monday in response to several parliamentarians. If there are no penalties, Switzerland would still have to bear any resulting costs. These costs cannot be estimated.

While the total cost of the acquisition is around CHF6 billion ($6.8 billion), Switzerland has so far paid around CHF700 million. The Federal Council has no intention of terminating the contract. This would “considerably” weaken Switzerland’s defense capability, which would no longer be able to effectively protect its airspace from the 2030s onwards.

The government assumes that Washington will respect its legal obligations and the agreed fixed price. Asked whether it would still buy a fighter jet from the US today, it pointed out that the F-35 will be the most widely used fighter jet in Europe by the end of the decade, given that several European countries have also opted for this model.

Several parliamentarians have also expressed concern that the US government controls the software updates needed to operate the jets. Outside Europe, the US is one of Switzerland’s most important partners, reassured the government, which is counting on dialogue and collaboration, while taking care to preserve Swiss independence.

The government is aware of Switzerland’s dependence on foreign arms suppliers. It wants to reduce this dependence as far as possible, by purchasing domestically and diversifying foreign suppliers. These issues are to be incorporated into the armaments policy strategy by mid-year.

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Translated from German by DeepL/jdp

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