Switzerland must pay more than originally planned for US F-35 fighter jets

Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister said on Wednesday that Switzerland may cut its order of 36 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 stealth fighters after failing to push through a fixed-price deal with the US government, driving up the cost by as much as CHF1.3 billion ($1.6 billion). Keystone-SDA

Switzerland has been unable to push through a fixed-price deal (CHF6 billion) with the United States for 36 new F-35 fighter jets. Following talks, the US is sticking to its position, which will result in additional costs of CHF650 million to CHF1.3 billion ($808 million to $1.6 billion). The Swiss government is therefore examining various options.

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Over summer, Switzerland and the US were unable to reach agreement on the issue of the fixed price for the procurement of the new fighter jets, the Swiss government announced on Wednesday. The US was not prepared to deviate from its position, it said.

According to the Federal Council, the “intensive talks with high-ranking representatives of the White House” were therefore unsuccessful. Defence Minister Martin Pfister was also unable to placate his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on the phone regarding the price issue.

Procurement stop is not an option

The fixed price of CHF6 billion for the jets, which has repeatedly been communicated by the Federal Council, is therefore no longer valid.

“As a result of the talks, Switzerland must accept that the price per production batch corresponds to the value negotiated between the US government and Lockheed Martin,” says the Swiss government.

It is unclear what the final figure will be. The range of possible additional costs for the procurement of the F-35 fighter jets extends from CHF650 million to CHF1.3 billion, according to Swiss government estimates.

The Federal Council says the exact total costs for the procurement cannot be determined right now. These depend largely on inflation in the US, the development of commodity prices on the global markets and other factors such as price increases due to the tariffs imposed by the US worldwide, it says.

In view of the new developments, the Federal Council has now instructed the defence ministry to re-analyse fighter aircraft procurement. Various options are to be examined in depth by the end of November. However, the government reaffirms that it remains committed to the procurement of the US F-35 jets.

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Adapted from German by DeepL/sb

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