Navigation

Boeing drops out of fighter contract race

United States aircraft manufacturer Boeing has decided not to submit a bid for the replacement of the Swiss air force's ageing F-5 Tiger fighter jets.

This content was published on May 1, 2008 - 16:38

The US firm was one of four companies asked by Swiss procurement agency armasuisse to tender for the contract.

Boeing said the decision not to bid was based on a "thorough review of Switzerland's requirements for partial replacement of its Tiger fighter aircraft."

The American firm was expected to put the Super Hornet jet forward, its next-generation version of the F/A-18 Hornet already operated by the Swiss.

Boeing said the air force's requirements meant that its aircraft was too advanced for the project. It added that its decision would not affect earlier contracts with the Swiss authorities for the upgrade of the Hornet fleet.

Three companies are still in the running for the contract: Sweden's Saab with its Gripen fighter, France's Dassault with the Rafale and the EADS consortium with the Typhoon. Their bids should be submitted by the middle of the year.

In compliance with the JTI standards

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

Sort by

Change your password

Do you really want to delete your profile?

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.

Discover our weekly must-reads for free!

Sign up to get our top stories straight into your mailbox.

The SBC Privacy Policy provides additional information on how your data is processed.