Swiss government criticised for F-35 price failings

Criticism from the parliamentary oversight body over failure to adhere to the F-35 fixed price — Former Defence Minister Viola Amherd.

Keystone-SDA

The failure to adhere to the fixed price agreed for the procurement of the new F-35 fighter jets is linked to administrative failings. The parliamentary oversight body has heavily criticised the actions of the Swiss government and the defence ministry.

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According to the House of Representative’s Committee on the Examination of Public Accounts (GPK-N), no flat-rate fixed price has been agreed with the US, as stated in a report published on Tuesday. Against this background, the committee said it could not understand the defence ministry’s categorical statements to parliament and the public.

Furthermore, the parliamentary supervisory committee went on to state that the organisation of the negotiations was not appropriate. The defence ministry did not manage the negotiations closely enough, it said, adding that the flow of information was insufficient.

The additional costs that Switzerland will incur when purchasing the US F-35 fighter jet continue to be a concern.

Swiss Politics

Renewed controversy in Switzerland over US fighter jets – explained

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Jul 2, 2025

The Swiss defence ministry has repeatedly insisted that 36 American-made F-35A fighter jets would be delivered at a fixed price of CHF6 billion. Now the US is demanding hundreds of millions more,

Harsh criticism

A year ago, the government announced that the fixed price for the 36 fighter jets originally ordered could not be met. It requested a supplementary credit of just under CHF400 million ($495 million) to cover the additional costs claimed by the US. The government later announced that, due to the additional costs, only around 30 new fighter jets could be procured.

The GPK-N subsequently launched an investigation. In its 95-page report, it lists, in chronological order, several points of criticism that point to a failure on the part of the authorities. Among those who do not come out of this well are former Defence Minister Viola Amherd, and the former project manager of “Air2030”, Darko Savic. Both had resigned from their posts in the spring of 2025. It was only after this that the exact extent of the additional costs came to light.

The GPK-N was negatively surprised to discover that the defence ministry had not established a negotiating mandate in the run-up to the price negotiations with the US and that the negotiations were overseen by an extremely small group of people. “In certain phases, even the most basic form of oversight was lacking – specifically, a simple dual-control principle,” the investigation report states.