Switzerland May Cut F-35 Order From 36 to 30 Jets After Fixed-Price Deal Dispute

Switzerland is set to buy around 30 F-35A fighter jets instead of the 36 it originally planned, after a parliamentary inquiry concluded that no flat-rate fixed price was ever agreed with the United States, according to Swiss government statements and Swiss media reports. The government has not yet fixed the final number.

The Federal Council, Switzerland’s government, responded to the inquiry on October 23, accepting six of the seven recommendations of the National Council’s Control Committee (CdG-N) in full and one in part.

No Binding Fixed-Price Agreement Found

Switzerland selected Lockheed Martin’s F-35A in June 2021, after voters narrowly approved a funding ceiling of CHF 6 billion for new combat aircraft in September 2020. The government planned to buy 36 jets within a commitment credit of CHF 6.035 billion, and Swiss officials repeatedly described the price as fixed.

The CdG-N concluded in a report dated September 8 that Switzerland had negotiated a fixed-price clause, but that it did not amount to the flat-rate fixed price that had been communicated. The defense department and the Federal Council should not have assumed one, the committee said. Under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system, the final price is only set once the U.S. government signs its contract with the manufacturer, so it cannot already be fixed in the agreement between Bern and Washington. The committee also noted that U.S. authorities partly sent contrary signals, for example in a press release from their embassy in Switzerland.

The committee criticized the defense department’s “absolute” communication to parliament and the public, the fact that few of the people involved had read the full contract, and the late briefing of the full Federal Council on rising costs. It said doubts raised by the Swiss Federal Audit Office in 2022 should have led to a critical review.

According to the Federal Council, the F-35 program office first flagged a risk of extra costs in August 2024. At the end of February 2025, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency told Switzerland in writing that the fixed price was a misunderstanding. In August 2025, the government said the fixed price was no longer valid and estimated additional costs of CHF 650 million to CHF 1.3 billion.

Under FMS, payments for Swiss arms purchases are pooled in a single U.S.-managed account. In March, Swiss officials said the U.S. had redirected F-35 funds to cover delayed Patriot costs.

Switzerland May Receive Six Fewer Fighters

On March 6, the Federal Council said it was renouncing the original number of 36 aircraft. It said another credit of about CHF 1.1 billion would be needed to buy all 36, and it declined to ask for it for financial reasons. Instead, it requested a supplementary credit of CHF 394 million to cover cost increases the U.S. attributes to inflation, commodity prices and other factors. Both chambers of parliament approved that credit on September 15.

The defense department estimates that this money will buy 30 jets. The exact number can only be determined once Washington has negotiated contracts with the manufacturers for the remaining aircraft and engines. Switzerland must tell the U.S. the final number by the second quarter of 2027 at the latest.

Defense Minister Martin Pfister told Swiss broadcaster SRF on September 22 that the costs of the first batch are known, but later batches have not yet been negotiated. Based on calculations and talks with the Americans, he said, the government assumes the money will be enough for 30 aircraft. The government has warned that fewer jets would reduce the air force’s endurance and performance, citing a defense department assessment that comprehensive air defense would need 55 to 70 modern fighters.

Government Accepts Procurement Criticism

In its response, the Federal Council called the committee’s report balanced and nuanced. It said that procurement would be run more transparently, risk management improved and the legal service of the procurement agency Armasuisse strengthened. It accepted the sixth recommendation, on contract negotiation procedures, only in part.

The government rejected the impression that only the project manager had read the contract in full. It said other Armasuisse staff had read the contracts in detail, and that the defense department’s leadership, including then Defense Minister Viola Amherd, had examined the passages on the fixed price.

The committee acknowledged that Armasuisse and the department had tried to enforce the fixed price with the U.S. Pfister told SRF that the report found officials had believed in the fixed price, adding that it is now clear Switzerland has none, “and that is a problem.”

In the parliamentary debate in September, the left criticized a “fixed-price fiasco”, while centre-right speakers said there was no alternative to the F-35. Some Swiss lawmakers had already called for the deal to be scrapped after U.S. tariffs in 2025, while Spain has shelved its own F-35 plans.

Deliveries Remain Planned

Switzerland has not abandoned the program. Assembly of the first Swiss F-35A began in the United States in May, and a Swiss delegation signed a structural component of the aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas, on September 21, according to the Swiss government.

The first eight jets are due to be based at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Arkansas from mid-2027 to train Swiss pilots and ground crews. The first aircraft are expected in Switzerland from mid-2028, with deployment at Payerne from mid-2028, Meiringen from 2030 and Emmen from 2032.