Washington has refused to guarantee a fixed price for Switzerland’s 36 F-35 fighter jets, reported RTS. The total bill will therefore exceed the CHF 6 billion approved by voters. After weeks of talks with senior White House officials—including a call between America’s defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, and Switzerland’s defence minister, Martin Pfister—the United States has declined to budge. Prices will follow the production-lot terms negotiated by the Pentagon with Lockheed Martin.
Pfister insists there is no scandal, arguing Bern still considers the contract to include a fixed price, but concedes the other side does not and holds more leverage. He rejects suggestions of mismanagement by Swiss authorities, including his predecessor, Viola Amherd.
Project sustained, costs uncertain
The government is keeping the acquisition on track but cannot yet pin down the final cost. It estimates potential overruns of CHF 650 million – 1.3 billion. The defence ministry (DDPS) has been told to develop options by end-November. These include buying fewer than 36 aircraft; adjusting industrial-offset commitments to secure partial compensation; seeking a supplementary credit from Parliament; or a mix of all three. The DDPS will also test whether current air-defence requirements still match the 2017 Future of Air Defence baseline. A task force has been set up to look at this.
Political parties split along familiar lines
The Socialists want the purchase scrapped and European alternatives explored; they say overruns would breach the six-billion cap approved at the ballot box and demand a new vote. The Greens call for an immediate stop, the freezing of staged payments and swift debate on a motion to abandon the F-35. The Liberal-Radicals accept the higher price as a painful but appropriate decision, deem the jet indispensable, and demand clarity on how the fixed-price expectation arose. The Centre backs proceeding and respecting the six-billion envelope. The Green-Liberals want a plan that keeps within the cap—say, 30 jets instead of 36. Switzerland’s military argues the F-35 remains the best, most interoperable option and warns against reacting to America’s 39% tariffs by ditching the programme.
A voter-approved constraint—and a timetable
The Federal Council must square the 2020 mandate to buy new fighters within CHF 6 billion with today’s higher price. A supplementary credit (which the government may try to route through Parliament without a referendum), fewer aircraft, or slimmer offset deals—worth up to CHF 800 million—are on the table; a hybrid is the likeliest Swiss compromise, Pfister hinted. No decision is expected before tariff talks with the United States conclude—Washington aims to wrap them up by the end of October—leaving November for Bern’s next move.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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