Switzerland will choose between F35-A, Eurofighter, Rafale and F / A-18
On Sunday, September 27, Switzerland in a referendum to choose whether to buy military aircraft. At stake are Lockheed Martin's F35-A, Airbus' Eurofighter, France's Dassault's Rafale and Boeing's F / A-18 Super Hornet.
Neutral Switzerland could become the last buyer of the F-35s.
In fact, it happens that on Sunday the Swiss people are called to the polls to vote on various referendums, and among them there is a very particular one.
Citizens are asked to invest 6 billion Swiss francs to renovate the now obsolete aircraft with which the skimpy Swiss aviation defends its airspace.
THE VOTE
The institutional bodies of Switzerland are all in favor of the purchase : thus the Federal Council, i.e. the executive body, and then the Parliament (which voted on the matter with 123 yes and 68 no) and the Council of State, namely the lower room (33 yes and 10 no).
YES
If a majority of voters say yes, the Federal Council will be asked to decide on the type and number of aircraft and you will then have to submit the decision to Parliament for final approval.
The models being examined by the Swiss authorities are, in addition to the F35-A of Lockheed Martin , the Eurofighter of Airbus, the Rafale of the French Dassault and the F / A-18 Super Hornet of Boeing.
THE PLANES IN THE RACE
Switzerland is a neutral country, and many citizens are reluctant to spend that amount of money on weapons of war, especially thinking that other small countries like Malta or Luxembourg do not have them.
But airspace needs to be defended, and the planes currently available will go out of service around 2030.
The government, of course, in case of approval, has thought about making sure that part of the money allocated for the planes remains within the borders of the country: the purchase contract is structured so that the manufacturer that wins the contract awards subcontracting contracts. for at least 60% of the amount available to Swiss companies, and in addition it will be necessary to ensure that that money is distributed equally among the various cantons.
THE POLLS
The latest poll conducted by RTS sees the yes win with a majority of 58%. As for the parties, their positions are varied; in favor of the plan are PDC, PRL and UDC, against the Greens, the socialists and parliamentarians without affiliation.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/la-svizzera-scegliera-tra-f35-a-eurofighter-rafale-e-f-a-18/ on Sat, 26 Sep 2020 06:14:08 +0000.