Switzerland’s Federal Council determined at its meeting on June 30 that the procurement of 36 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation multi-role fighters represented the most suitable solution for protecting the Swiss population from future air threats.
The Council said it would recommend that the Swiss Parliament approves the acquisition under the Air2030 programme, which it considers offers the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall cost. To complement the fighters, the Council also recommended the purchase of five Raytheon-produced Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries as its new system for longer-range ground-based air defence purposes.
![F-35A in Swiss AIR 2030 trials Payerne 07-06-19 [VBS-DPPS/Aldo Wicki]](https://fullfatthings-keyaero.b-cdn.net/sites/keyaero/files/inline-images/F-35%20in%20Swisss%20trials%20Payerne%207-6-19%20VBS-DDPS%20Aldo%20Wicki.jpg)
In a referendum on September 27, 2020, a planning decision was adopted, which set a budget cap of CHF6bn for the procurement of the new fighter aircraft. The Federal Council based its decision to buy the F-35A on a comprehensive technical evaluation of four candidate fighter aircraft: the…
