Federal Council determines next steps regarding procurement of fighter aircraft
Swiss Government
Press release
Published on 13 August 2025
Berna, 13.08.2025 -- Talks held over the summer have made it clear that the USA is not prepared to deviate from its position. Consequently, Switzerland is unable to assert a fixed price for the F-35A fighter aircraft. At its meeting on 13 August, the Federal Council determined the next steps and instructed the DDPS to examine various options in depth by the end of November.
In recent weeks, intensive discussions have been held with senior White House representatives regarding a fixed price for the procurement of the new F-35A fighter aircraft. The price issue was also addressed during a telephone conversation between US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Defence Minister Martin Pfister.
Switzerland unable to assert a fixed price
The discussions clearly showed that the USA is not prepared to deviate from its position. The result is that Switzerland must accept that the price per production batch corresponds to the value negotiated between the US government and Lockheed Martin and that it is not possible to assert a fixed price.
This also means that it is not possible at the present time to calculate precisely the total cost of the procurement. This will depend on a range of factors such as inflation in the USA, the development of commodity prices on the global markets and other factors such as price increases due to the tariffs imposed by the USA worldwide. This explains the possible additional costs for the procurement of the F-35A ranging between CHF 650 million and CHF 1.3 billion communicated at the end of June.
Options being examined in depth - working group to validate air defence principles
The Federal Council has taken note of the outcome of the negotiations with the US government, the abandonment of the fixed price and the resulting additional costs due to inflation. The Federal Council remains committed to procuring the F-35A. The aim is to protect Switzerland from airborne threats by acquiring a fighter aircraft that has a significant technological advantage over other aircraft and is now in widespread use across Europe. The Federal Council has therefore instructed the DDPS to intensify its work on various options.
The DDPS will examine whether current air defence requirements still correspond to the principles on which the evaluation of the F-35A was based - in particular the 2017 report 'Air Defence of the Future'. A working group within the DDPS, headed by the future commander of the Air Force, Major General Christian Oppliger, will critically validate the assumptions made at the time and reassess the equipment objectives pertaining to air defence, taking into account the security and financial policy situation.
The DDPS will submit a proposal regarding the next steps to the Federal Council by the end of November.
Publication of legal assessments
Given that diplomatic talks have been concluded, the Federal Council has decided to publish the legal assessments obtained by the DDPS from a Swiss and US law firm.
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