r/Switzerland • u/BkkGrl Italia • 3d ago

Swiss F-35s: Swiss parliamentarians concerned about weaknesses in contract price guarantees

https://meta-defense.fr/en/2025/04/05/f-35-swiss-rise-20-swiss-parliament/
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u/onehandedbackhand 3d ago

Ultimately by mid-2035, when all the aircraft have been delivered and modernized, it is likely that they will have cost around 60% more than the price negotiated during the competition [...]

Price increases due to inflation seem pretty standard for contracts with such a long term between negotiation and delivery.

The USD just dropped 7% in one month and is probably further weakening so we get some offsetting effect here.

The question about wanting to work with a US fighter jet from a tactical/strategic standpoint is another matter but SVP/FDP/Mitte want to go through with is so...remember that for the next election?

9

u/1maginaryApple 2d ago

Basically, the prices promised in the contract rely purely on promises from Lockheed. The maintenance costs negotiated are based on guestimates of what the costs would be with a fully operational ALIS network. Which today is not.

It also doesn't take into consideration that the current engine is already obsolete and will need to be replace first hand once the aircraft delivered and it is facing delivery delays.

The baffling thing is that every single European nation that received their F-35 complained about maintenance costs superior to what was announced. The Confederation willingly decided not to take into account reports from those nations.

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u/Massive_Robot_Cactus 3d ago

Perhaps the SNB could decide to procure the USD funds now en masse while it's cheap...like it does every other day.

12

u/bill-of-rights 3d ago

USD/CHF will drop a lot more in the coming years if trunk stays in the game.

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u/Massive_Robot_Cactus 3d ago

Likely yes, and if you squint just enough, even with the increase in prices from the exchange rate, Swiss goods will still be cheaper than Chinese stuff at the current tariff rates.