Swiss go American after deciding to buy F-35A fighter jets and Patriot missiles
Switzerland has chosen Lockheed Martin's F-35A Lightning II as its next-generation fighter plane, the government said on Wednesday, a move that will likely trigger another hotly-disputed referendum over the plan.
Neutral Switzerland will buy 36 F-35As after an evaluation
found it had "the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall
cost," the government said.
The decision is bound to outrage anti-armaments campaigners
and left wing parties who will now launch a campaign for a national referendum
on the issue, the third Swiss vote on buying fighter jets.
Voters seven years ago rejected the purchase of Gripen jets
from Sweden's Saab, while the 6 billion Swiss franc ($6.5 billion) funding,
which led to the decision to buy the F-35As, was only narrowly approved in a
vote last year.
Many oppose the idea, saying Switzerland doesn't need
cutting-edge warplanes to its defend Alpine territory which a supersonic jet
can cross in 10 minutes.
"The American jets are simply too expensive," said
Priska Seiler Graf, a member of parliament for the left-leaning Social
Democrats (SP).
"It's not just about buying them, but the upkeep and
operating costs will be massive over time," she added. "We should
seek a European solution ... we don’t want to be dependent on the United
States."
The F35-A beat bids from Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, the
Rafale from France's Dassault and the four-nation Eurofighter built by Germany
and Spain backed Airbus , Italy's Leonardo and Britain's BAE Systems .
The government also decided to buy the Patriot
surface-to-air missile system from U.S. manufacturer Raytheon , choosing it
over an offer from Franco-Italian group Eurosam , as it looked to update its
air defences.
"The Federal Council is confident that these two
systems are the most suitable for protecting the Swiss population from air
threats in the future," the government said in a statement.
The F-35A "achieved the best result because it has a
marked technological advantage over the other candidates", it said.
The total costs for the F-35As, at 15.5 billion francs, was
2 billion francs cheaper than the next lowest bidder, the government said, when
it came to buying and operating the aircraft over their 30 year life-span.
The Swiss decision was closely watched as the first of three
face-offs ahead of aircraft procurement decisions in Finland and Canada.
U.S. President Joe Biden had lobbied for American companies
when meeting his Swiss counterpart while in Geneva for his summit with Russian
President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
There was speculation the Swiss could split the fighter and
air defence deals between continents, but by doubling down on U.S. suppliers
the government is likely to antagonise the 49.8% of Swiss voters who opposed
the funding last year.
Anti-arms campaigners say Switzerland, which last fought a
foreign war more than 200 years ago and has no discernable enemies, does not
need cutting-edge fighters..
But supporters have said Switzerland needs to be able to
protect itself without relying on others.
Lawmaker Seiler Graf said the SP and the Green parties in
parliament would oppose the purchase of American jets, and would easily gather
the 100,000 signatures needed to trigger a vote.
"We were very close to winning last September in the
vote on the jets, and I think we will have a very good chance now.”
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