Experts faced crucial questions on the type decision on Friday. Meanwhile, more and more details about the negotiations are known.
Germany and France are unhappy that the Federal Council has given preference to the American F-35 fighter plane. "Switzerland is giving us a middle finger," said a disappointed MEP in an interview with this newspaper. Friday morning, during a press briefing, the armaments authority Armasuisse and officials of the Department of Defense (DDPS) tried to calm things down. At the same time, new explosive details are known. An overview.
Political counter-exchanges until the end?
Switzerland had no other choice but to buy the jet that would be the most efficient militarily and financially. This is what Defense Minister Viola Amherd underlined when she announced the type decision. It also drew on expertise from the Federal Office of Justice. According to the report, an agreement based on foreign policy considerations would not have been admissible.
However, we now know that there were negotiations with France - and to a lesser extent with Germany - on political counter-trade agreements until the very end. This was done at the request of Switzerland, as sources confirmed to this newspaper. At present, there is no concrete information, neither in Switzerland nor abroad, on the advantages offered to Switzerland. They say that Germany and France are very unhappy at the diplomatic level because they were made to believe until the end that they could win the competition of fighter planes thanks to additional political concessions.
Pälvi Pulli, one of the closest advisers to Federal Councilor Viola Amherd (Die Mitte), said on Friday that the cost-benefit analysis had been available since the end of March. The Zurich law firm Homburger then checked the plausibility of the results. The image had "cleared up fairly quickly." Mr. Pulli confirmed that the three producing countries, the United States, France and Germany, had contacted DDPS on various occasions. There were "clarifications on future cooperation with producer countries on security policy and beyond".
Experts from the Confederation did not say when negotiations between Switzerland and neighboring countries Germany and France, covering purely political agreements, began or when they ended. They dodged the corresponding questions at Friday's press conference.
Hope for the indulgence of the outsider
Wants to continue using French airspace for joint exercises with the French Air Force: Div. Peter "Pablo" Merz, again colonel at the staff.
Neither the DDPS nor the Air Force see relations with France and Germany in danger. The new Air Force Chief, Division Commander Peter Merz, expressed hope that existing relations with the French Air Force would be maintained. He said he hoped the air policing agreement with France in particular would stay in place. "We always had to expect that we would disappoint two out of three producing countries," said Pulli, a DDPS strategist. France and Germany remain "very good partners" of Switzerland.
No long-term contracts with the United States
Lockheed Martin's winning bid is binding, also in terms of operating costs. Darko Savic, project manager for the new combat aircraft at Armasuisse, confirmed information from this newspaper according to which the cost commitments made by the USA only concern the first ten years of operation. For the remaining twenty years, the DDPS had made calculations "realistic and containing the essential cost elements and experience with the F / A-18".
Therefore, there is no cost guarantee for the period 2040 to 2060. "It would not be serious from a business point of view," said Mr. Savic. No service contract would be made with the United States that would be valid for the entire 30-year life of the F-35. The federal government's financial legislation does not allow this, he said.
Pilot training in Switzerland
The Swiss Air Force wants to install four F-35 training simulators in Payerne. The so-called initial training for first flight instructors and instructors will take place over six months in the United States, said Savic. The actual training of the pilots will then follow in Switzerland. The training infrastructure should also be in place by then.
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