23 CHRISTOF FORSTER The procurement of new fighter jets will not be as straightforward as the Department of Defence (DDPS) originally hoped, it emerged in mid-August. Switzerland was unable to negotiate a fixed-price deal with the United States for its F-35 order, Federal Councillor Martin Pfister told the media on 13 August 2025. Pfister had talked one-to-one with Pete Hegseth on the phone. The US Secretary of Defense was very courteous but refused to budge. Washington would not deviate from its position. Consequently, the purchase of 36 jets could entail extra costs of anywhere between 650 million and 1.3 billion Swiss francs – as it currently stands. The government now has a fresh debate on its hands on the merits or otherwise of procuring the F-35s – the very thing it wanted to avoid. The news has been greeted with dismay by the left-wing parties in Berne, who accuse the Federal Council of having misled the electorate. Fixed price? Getting a fixed price had become a mantra during the procurement process, with Pfister’s predecessor Viola Amherd and the DDPS promising for years that the F-35s would cost no more than six billion francs. The fixed price would also take inflation into account. Not everyone was so sure, including journalists. The Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) issued a clear warning in 2022, suggesting that the fixed price was not a foregone conclusion. The SFAO earned a sharp reprimand from the DDPS for this intervention. Questioning the deal would seriously jeopardise Switzerland’s interests, the DDPS claimed. Those in charge at the SFAO back then have expressed irritation at the DDPS for having so readily ignored the misgivings of legal experts. The DDPS could have removed all legal ambiguity by resuming negotiations, they said. The contract had not been signed at that point. A short time later, the US embassy in Switzerland stated that the procurement of the F-35s would involve a fixed price. The DDPS sought legal advice on the matter. According to the US law firm Arnold & Porter, there was little risk of the price increasing. Arnold & Porter noted that written correspondence between Switzerland and the US had made explicit reference to fixed prices that take account of inflation. The US government could only change tack in exceptional circumstances – and the risk of this happening was low, it said, given that the jets had been fully developed and Switzerland’s specifications were unchanged. The DDPS had good reason to feel confident, based on this assessment. Borrow more money – or order fewer jets? But the report also included a warning: under US law, additional costs can be passed on to Switzerland. It was unclear whether the Swiss government could still pay a fixed price if such an eventuality arose. This is because the contract precluded any dispute being settled by a court of arbitration. Disagreements would probably have to be resolved through diplomacy. But unfortunately, diplomacy has now run its course. The Federal Council intends to go ahead with the purchase, regardless of additional costs. It will evaluate various options before the end of November. One is to buy fewer jets in order to stick to the six-billion cap approved at the ballot box. Another is to ask parliament for an additional loan, which may or may not have to go to a public vote, said Pfister. It looks like the final chapter of this story is still far from completion. New fighter jets – no fixed price after all The Federal Council long assumed that it would be able to buy fighter jets from the US at a fixed price – just as the electorate had been promised. But the government’s F-35 order could now cost over a billion francs more. A climbing F-35. The fact that the expected cost of this aircraft is rising sharply in spite of “fixed prices” has been the subject of some highly charged political debate in Switzerland. Photo: Keystone Swiss Review / October 2025 / No.4 Politics
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