Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Swiss voters could have final say on buying new US fighter jets

F-35 jet in Switzerland.
An F-35A fighter jet lands at the Emmen military airfield on March 18, 2022. © Keystone / Ennio Leanza

A left-wing coalition has gathered enough signatures to challenge the Swiss government’s plan to purchase F-35A fighter jets from the United States.

Political groups behind the “Stop F-35” initiative, which opposes the government’s plan to buy 36 new F-35 fighter jets from Lockheed Martin, handed in over 120,000 signatures to the Federal Chancellery on Tuesday, more than the 100,000 required.

A CHF6 billion ($6.2 billion) deal to buy replacement fighter jets was approved by Swiss parliament in 2019 and was rubber-stamped by Swiss voters the following year. But opponents soon started collecting signatures to force a new popular vote.

After carrying out evaluations, the Swiss government said the F-35A offered the best quality-price ratio compared to its competitors – Boeing’s Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, and Airbus’s Eurofighter Typhoon.

However, the “Stop F-35” campaigners claim that the US jet is an attack plane that is too expensive and unsuited to Switzerland’s modest air defence needs.

The opponents claim that the operating costs will be high, even if the purchase price is relatively low, and this has been proven in studies carried out in Canada, the US and Norway.

Price guarantee?

It is still unclear if and when the vote may take place. The coalition – the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA) – says a popular vote could take place before March 12, 2023.

The government initially planned to wait for the outcome of this initiative before closing the deal. However, with the outbreak of war in Ukraine and moves by other countries to re-arm, it reconsidered and signalled an intention to sign the contract before it expires in March 2023. This has been criticised by politicians on the left.

The government fears that the same price or delivery deadline offered by the US might not be guaranteed if the deal has to be renegotiated or pushed back, particularly as other countries, including Finland, Germany and Canada, are also queuing up to buy the jets.

More

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

Switzerland to stop giving money to Palestinian relief organization UNRWA

More

Swiss Senate committee wants to stop UNRWA funding

This content was published on Switzerland should stop payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) immediately, according to a Senate committee.

Read more: Swiss Senate committee wants to stop UNRWA funding
More wind energy is being produced in Switzerland than ever before

More

Record year for wind power in Switzerland in 2024

This content was published on Wind generated 160 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity across Switzerland last year, according to the Swiss Wind Energy Association (Suisse-Eole). It was a "good year but less exceptional than 2023", it said.

Read more: Record year for wind power in Switzerland in 2024
Confederation moves ahead with PFAS management

More

Swiss authorities draw up new rules to manage PFAS

This content was published on The Swiss federal authorities are working on drawing up regulations for toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”. A government report is expected by the end of the year.

Read more: Swiss authorities draw up new rules to manage PFAS
Toggenburg entrepreneur Eugen Kägi has died

More

Swiss businessman Eugen Kägi dies

This content was published on Eugen Kägi, who helped build the family-run firm behind the popular chocolate-covered Kägi-fret wafers, died on February 13, aged 96, it was announced on Tuesday.

Read more: Swiss businessman Eugen Kägi dies
Young person learning English

More

English and other foreign languages on rise in Switzerland

This content was published on The proportion of people in Switzerland whose main language is not one of the four national languages – German, French, Italian or Romansh - has risen significantly in recent years.

Read more: English and other foreign languages on rise in Switzerland

In compliance with the JTI standards

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

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR