Today June 30th, the Swiss Bundesrat announced its preference for an order for 36 F-35 fighter jets. The parliament still has to approve. Multiple opposition parties have voiced their preference for a European candidate, being the Rafale or Typhoon.
It also wants to procure 5 units of the Patriot air defense system from the US manufacturer Raytheon.
Defense Minister Viola Amherd explained at the press conference that the evaluation had allowed a clear decision: “The aircraft type scored best in the three main criteria of effectiveness, product support and cooperation,” the DDPS chief explained. According to Amherd, the long-term investment in the new fighter jet and the air defense system is a necessary investment in the future that will pay off for Switzerland in the long term.
The new fighter jets are expected to cost a maximum of 6 billion francs. For the new longer-range ground-based air defense system (Bodluv GR), 2 billion francs have been budgeted. On September 26, 2020, the people narrowly approved a corresponding planning resolution at the ballot box.
According to Martin Sonderegger, head of armaments, numerous companies in Switzerland benefit from so-called offset deals with the manufacturing country. Moreover, the contracts with the manufacturers of the two selected systems would only be concluded after the parliamentary deliberations.
In the case of both the Lightning fighter and the GR Patriot ground-to-air missile, the evaluation showed that the two chosen candidates offer the highest benefits and the lowest costs. According to the Federal Council, the difference between the F-35 and its competitors is in the region of 2 billion Swiss francs. Lockheed Martin’s aircraft also achieved the best results in terms of cooperation.
According to Darko Savic, project manager “New Fighter Aircraft” at Armasuisse, the number of flight hours can be reduced by about 20 percent with the use of the F-35 fighter jets. Among other things, this is because pilot training can increasingly take place on simulators. The noise impact on the population, however, will remain more or less the same. This is due to the fact that the F-35 generates more noise during take-off than the F/A-18 currently in service.
Army chief Thomas Süssli warned that hybrid warfare had intensified. Swiss security policy must prepare for this nasty scenario, he said. Among the necessary means, he said, were combat aircraft that would guarantee airborne security in both wartime and peacetime. With the two systems chosen, he said, this could be ensured. There was no alternative to fighter aircraft and ground-based air defense systems.
Federal Councillor Amherd is aware that the DDPS cannot afford to make any mistakes in this procurement. She has therefore commissioned a Zurich law firm to conduct a plausibility study regarding the procurement of the new fighter jets. The study had covered the evaluation, award criteria, as well as the financial assessment of the various offers. “The law firm came to the conclusion that the decision of the Federal Council is plausible,” the defense minister stressed.
In response to a question to that effect, Federal Councillor Amherd makes it clear that the decision in favor of the F-35 was made solely on the basis of technical and financial criteria. If the Federal Council had not wanted to buy a fighter jet from certain countries, it would have had to exclude them from the outset. During the tendering process, it was clear to the manufacturers, parliament and the people that these were the rules of the game. These conditions would still apply and make it impossible to take political arguments into account.
According to Amherd, the parliament can express its opinion on the 2022 army message and, for example, discuss the costs. However, the defense minister made it clear that parliament cannot choose a different type of aircraft. She said it was clear to the manufacturers that there would be no contract if the voters approved a possible popular initiative against the procurement.
Nevertheless, the group Switzerland without an Army (GSoA) as well as the SP and the Greens have already announced that they will fight the procurement of an American fighter jet with a popular initiative.
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