Switzerland will not be able to impose fixed prices in the United States for the purchase of the 36 F-35 combat aircraft. Washington does not want to change position in this case, announces the Federal Council. The total costs will therefore exceed six billion francs.
In recent weeks, “intensive discussions” have taken place with high-ranking representatives from the White House about the fixed price for the acquisition of the new F-35 combat aircraft. The question of the prize was also addressed on a phone between the American Minister of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and the federal adviser Martin Pfister, head of the Department of Defense (DDPS).
These discussions clearly showed that the United States is not willing to change position, the government noted in a statement on Wednesday. Switzerland must therefore accept that it will not be able to impose a fixed price, as it understood. The price per production price will correspond to the negotiated value between the American government and the manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
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Currently, it is therefore not possible to determine the exact total cost of the acquisition. This results in the potential additional cost for the acquisition of F-35, already communicated at the end of June, between 650 million and 1.3 billion Swiss francs, writes the Federal Council.
The latter “maintains his acquisition project” of the F-35. The Federal Council therefore instructed the DDPS to deepen the work on different options and to submit it by the end of November a proposal concerning the rest of the procedure.
ats/edel