Fighter jet purchase “worrying” but legal, says Swiss audit body

The purchase of F-35A jets has been fraught with difficulty and some controversy. © Keystone / Urs Flueeler

Switzerland’s procurement of F-35A fighter jets from the United States has been declared lawful by a parliamentary audit commission.

But the House of Representatives body said on Friday that some government actions during the process were “worrying” or “inappropriate”.

The CHF6 billion ($6.2 billion) fighter jet deal was approved by parliament in 2019 and was rubber stamped by Swiss voters the following year. 

But the government has been dogged by allegations of questionable behaviour during the procurement process and faces yet another possible challenge by referendum.

In July, Swiss public broadcaster SRF revealed a failed last-ditch French effort to persuade Switzerland to buy its Rafale jets.

The parliamentary audit body said it was “worrying” that more weight was given to technical specifications than the political or economic consequences of rival bids. This made it difficult to assess which deal was in the best overall interests of the country.

Defence Minister Viola Amherd was also chided for delays in sending information to other ministers, which was deemed “inappropriate” by the audit committee. But the probe also found that no minister had broken the procurements law.

The report apportioned no blame to the Federal Armaments Office for any problems during the fighter fleet procurement.