Swiss Review 4/2020

Swiss Review / July 2020 / No.4 22 New fighter jets for Switzerland Should Switzerland spend six billion francs on new fighter jets? Swiss voters will make their decision on 27 September 2020. It is a hotly contested issue, not least given the ‘crash landing’ suffered by the Federal Council six years ago. MIREILLE GUGGENBÜHLER The flight characteristics of the F/A-18 are well suited to Switzerland’s natu- ral topography. Narrow mountain valleys and very short runways are no problem for this US-made Boeing air- craft. This, at least, is what the Swiss Air Force thinks. However, both the F/A-18 fighter jet and its counterpart the F-5 Tiger (made by Californian manufacturer Northrop Corporation) are past their best and need to be re- placed. Federal Councillor Viola Amherd (CVP), who has headed Switzerland’s defenceministry since the beginning of 2019, made her position clear shortly after assuming her role. She said that the purchase of new fighter planes is key to the future of the Swiss Armed Forces. Apart from buying new jets, modernising Switzerland’s air defences also means investing in a new ground-based air defence sys- tem – without which the armed forces would be “unable to protect our country and people from air- borne attacks”. Parliament shares this assess- ment. Majorities within the Council of States and the National Council support Amherd’s wish that new fighter aircraft be procured for no more than six billion Swiss francs by the end of 2030. This investment would entail a compensatory ar- rangement, whereby the foreign com- panies chosen to deliver the fighter jets would have to do business in Switzerland equating to 60 per cent of the contract value. Opposition to the aircraft pur- chases comes from outside parlia- ment. The Group for a Switzerland For Viola Amherd, the fundamental is- sue is whether Swit- zerland still wants an air force at all. Photo: Keystone without an Army teamed up with Switzerland’s left-wing parties and pacifist organisations to force a ref- erendumon thematter, meaning that voters can now approve or reject the necessary six-billion-franc credit and the compensatory arrangements on 27 September 2020. No to the Saab Gripen This is the second time within just a few years that Switzerland’s voters will have decided on whether the gov- ernment can buy new fighter planes. Voters blocked the deal to purchase 22 SwedishGripen fighter jets fromSaab in 2014, with 53.4 per cent voting no. Just as now, it was the Group for a Swit- zerland without an Army and other organisations that had called a ref- erendum opposing the transaction. Their main argument was that the Gripen would turn out to be much pricier for Switzerland than the quoted 3.1 billion francs, and that the existing fleet of F/A-18 fighter jets would suffice for aerial policing oper- ations. They also said that it was un- clear whether the newGripenmodel – still in the development stage –would ever fly. Six years on and things have changed. Whereas in 2014 the onus was on replacing Switzerland’s Tiger jets first of all, the fundamental issue now – at least according to the govern- ment – is whether the country still wants an air force at all. Compared to six years ago, the Federal Council has also taken a different approach by choosing not to earmark any particu- lar successor model. The government The F/A-18 fighter jet – outdated for Swiss purposes. Photo: Keystone Politics