Switzerland leads discussions with the United States after Washington has tried to increase the price of new fighter planes that Berne buys for its air force, the government announced on Wednesday.
In 2021, Berne chose the F-35A Lightning II of Lockheed Martin as a new generation fighter, for a fixed amount of around 6 billion Swiss francs ($ 7.4 billion) for 36 aircraft, a decision that had aroused controversy in neutral Switzerland.
However, the joint office of the American program supervising the project indicated last year that the price could be higher, and the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency informed Switzerland in February that the fixed price resulted from a misunderstanding.
According to the Swiss government, Berne has been informed that the price of the F-35 is revised upwards due to the increase in raw materials and energy costs, as well as the increase in inflation in the United States. The bill could thus increase from 650 million to $ 1.3 billion.
“A contract is a contract,” said Urs Loher, director of the Swiss Defense Supply Agency Armasuisse. “With the acquisition of F-35A fighter planes, we are suddenly faced with a different reality, despite a clearly fixed price. »»
As the agreement prevents any legal settlement of the dispute, a diplomatic solution will have to be found, the government said.
Defense Minister Martin Pfister said discussions were currently underway with the American authorities.
“We always believe that a solution will be found with the American authorities, because they also have an interest in being perceived as a reliable contractual partner,” said Mr. Pfister, adding that in the last appeal, Switzerland could cancel the contract.
The decision to buy the F-35A has been challenged in Switzerland, opponents, deeming useless to replace the former F/A-18s of the country with a “Ferrari” option deemed superfluous. Critics believe that Switzerland does not need cutting -edge war planes to defend its territory, that a supersonic plane crosses in ten minutes.
The F-35A has outstripped the offers of the F/A-18 Super Hornet of Boeing, of the Rafale produced by Dassault in France, and the Eurofighter, the fruit of a collaboration between Leonardo (Italy), Bae Systems (United Kingdom) and Airbus for Germany and Spain.
Switzerland, however, claims to remain committed to the F-35A, stressing that the cancellation of the order would have serious consequences.
“Switzerland would no longer be able to guarantee the security of its airspace and its population from 2032, because the current F/A-18 would arrive at the end of life,” warned Mr. Pfister.
(1 $ = 0.8067 Swiss franc)
