Switzerland wants to complete the F-35 fighter deal
Neutral Switzerland has not fought in a foreign conflict since the Seventh Coalition War in 1815, most recently in open warfare during the Short Sonderbund war, an internal conflict in November 1847. However, to maintain its neutrality, Switzerland operates a modern military force. Although it has not engaged in any conflicts with other countries for two centuries, it participates in international peacekeeping missions and is also part of NATO Partnership for Peace (PFP) program..
It’s unlikely that Switzerland will ever follow Europe’s other historically neutral nation – Sweden – and seek NATO membership, but the Swiss military will soon be operating aircraft used by several NATO members: the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II
Bern is expected to sign a contract by the end of the month to buy 36 F-35A fighter jets and will likely go ahead without waiting for a referendum on the $5.5 billion deal. Switzerland last year opted for the F-35 as its next-generation fighter jet, angering opponents who said they would make sure a referendum was held over what they called an unnecessary “Ferrari” option to tip.
September 2020, The Swiss electorate had agreed to 6 billion Swiss francs ($6.4 billion) to be spent to replace the Swiss Air Force’s aging fleet of F-5 Tigers and F/A-18 Hornets by 2030. Last June, lawmakers in Bern appeared to have struck a bargain deal with Lockheed Martin to provide 36 F-35A aircraft for just over CHF5 billion, and warned this month it was unclear whether the purchase could be made on the same terms if the deal would have to be renegotiated after the offer expired next year.
The outbreak of war in Ukraine and other European countries’ rearmament efforts have prompted the Swiss government to move faster than some in the historically neutral country would have liked – and various left-wing groups have rallied signatures to force another vote.
Opponents of the F-35 purchase decision have claimed the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet is unsafe and unsuitable for Switzerland’s military needs, and also suggested that the government underestimated the cost of maintaining and operating the Lightning II . However, supporters have highlighted the F-35’s capabilities and the fact that it will offer greater interoperability with many other nations that have or will adopt the aircraft from Lockheed Martin.
Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd stood by the government’s decision to purchase the F-35A and referred to other European countries that have also purchased the Lightning II, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark.
“They all did their own evaluation processes and also came to the conclusion that this is the best aircraft,” Amherd told reporters last year. “I don’t think all of these assessments have come to the wrong conclusions.”
So far, the F-35 has been chosen by more than a dozen nations and the fifth-generation stealth aircraft will be operated from 26 bases worldwide, with nine nations operating F-35s on their home soil. Today, more than 700 F-35s are in service, with more than 1,190 pilots and 9,750 maintenance personnel trained on the aircraft.
Peter Suciu, who has been Senior Editor since 1945, is a Michigan-based author who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites. He writes regularly on military hardware and is the author of several books on military headgear, including A gallery of military headgear, which is available on Amazon.com. Peter is one too Contributing Author for Forbes.