Defence minister warns Switzerland needs more fighter jets amid rising threats

Defence Minister Martin Pfister: "Switzerland could be affected even without Russian tanks appearing at its borders." Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

After Friday’s decision to cut back on F-35 orders, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister warned that more fighter jets are urgently needed, pointing to growing threats to Switzerland and the challenge of funding new military plans.

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According to Pfister, the Swiss government still has several options on the table, including a possible VAT rise. After Friday’s decision to buy fewer F-35 fighter jets than originally planned, Pfister set out his position in SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau” radio programme.

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Asked to rate the threat to Switzerland on a scale of one to ten – with ten meaning conventional war – he put it at seven. Pfister pointed to massive rearmament as the reason: Russia has shifted to a war economy and is churning out weapons in huge quantities, while European countries are also pouring money into defence.

“On top of that, international rules are being ignored more and more, and political power is being imposed through military force,” said Pfister.

Pfister says 36 fighter jets are the ‘bare minimum’

According to the defence minister, if the war spreads further across Europe, Switzerland could be drawn in even without Russian tanks on its borders. Its airspace could become a long-range target. “There could also be coercion through threats of damage being inflicted by air strikes. These are realistic scenarios and Switzerland would not be immune,” Pfister warned.

Pfister said he was pleased the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive body, now plans to proceed with the F-35 purchase, approved by voters at CHF6 billion ($7.5 billion). But he warned: “We’ve had to make it clear that 36 jets are the absolute bare minimum. It would be irresponsible not to have a political debate about whether that’s enough.”

The Federal Council will decide at the end of January whether to go ahead with all 36 jets, depending on priorities and how the defence minister proposes to fund it. In the longer term, the defence ministry believes Switzerland needs between 55 and 70 modern fighter jets to be ready for a potential conflict.

VAT rise back on the table

Media reports say Pfister proposed a 0.5 percentage-point VAT increase to the government, but the idea met resistance. “Nothing is completely off the table yet,” he said. “There could be another savings programme, but hitting the target in the next few years with relief packages will be tough.”

Parliament has set a goal of spending 1% of GDP on the army by 2032, but the relief package is proving difficult.

Teaching Swiss pupils to spot disinformation

Pfister says society needs to become more resilient, starting with tackling disinformation. “We need a form of ‘spiritual’ national defence,” he said. “Not a cultural programme, but something focused on resistance and resilience.”

The Federal Council now wants to review how well school curricula teach pupils to deal with false information. “Disinformation poses a real threat to free speech and democracy,” Pfister warned.

Translated from German by AI/sp

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