Why Switzerland buys American: Lockheed Martin’s F-35 and Raytheon’s Patriot
Switzerland has chosen Made in the USA for its largest investment in armaments in the history of the Confederation: around 17.4 billion euros. Pietro Romano's article
Switzerland chose Made in United States (of America) for its largest investment in arms in the history of the Confederation, some 17.4 billion euros. A not insignificant sign for European producers. And which demonstrates how the arrival at the White House of a democratic president (and consequently "intrusive" on the European front) such as Joe Biden is destined in the coming years to make the difference between American production and that of the Old Continent, with all the predictable repercussions of the case also on the Italian companies, starting with Leonardo. Previously, in fact, Switzerland had optioned European manufacturers for the adaptation of its armaments. But when it came to really choosing, the Americans prevailed.
Going into details, the Swiss government has decided that the new fighter planes it will equip its military aviation will be the F-35 A Lightning produced by Lockheed Martin . Bern has put on the agenda the purchase of 36 aircraft for the equivalent of just over five billion Swiss francs in cost alone, destined to rise to 15.5 billion over thirty years of use, adding to the initial cost the operating costs and aircraft maintenance.
The Swiss executive has also decided that the new long-range surface-to-air defense system will be the Patriot manufactured by Raytheon. Again over three decades, this supply will cost 3.6 billion Swiss francs between purchase, use and maintenance. Government choices will have to be examined by Parliament but it does not seem that difficulties can arise on the political front. Rather, there is the possibility of a call to a referendum vote by the organization "Groupe pour una Suisse sans armée", already threatened, which thanks to the popular vote had already managed to cancel the previous government choice in favor of the Swedish Saab fighter. , the Gripen E.
Paradoxical is one of the reasons given by official government sources as a determining factor: the lower cost of aircraft compared to European products, namely the consortium Typhoon Eurofighter, the French Rafale, the Swedish Gripen. The Swiss Confederation's yes to Lockheed Martin's offer came in the aftermath of the accusations by the Democratic chairman of the Washington House of Representatives armaments commission, Adam Smith. Smith harshly criticized Lockheed Martin for the exorbitant costs of the F-35 and in particular for the excessive operating expense, which has now risen to 38 thousand dollars an hour. An attack that did not raise the opposition of the Republicans, moreover, in tune with the battle of former President Donald Trump precisely against the exaggerated costs of the F-35. Trump managed to reduce them compared to his entry into the White House but not so much as to make the fighter aircraft chosen by Italy also economically sustainable. Despite what the Swiss government claims.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/perche-la-svizzera-compra-americano-f-35-di-lockheed-martin-e-patriot-di-raytheon/ on Fri, 02 Jul 2021 08:13:19 +0000.