Switzerland earmarks Swfr6 billion for fighter replacement | World Defense

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Switzerland earmarks Swfr6 billion for fighter replacement

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  • 17 MAY, 2019
  • SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM
  • BY: MICHAEL GUBISCH
  • LONDON
  • SWITZERLAND EARMARKS SWFR6 BILLION FOR FIGHTER REPLACEMENT
Switzerland's government has allocated Swfr6 billion ($5.85 billion) to replace by 2030 the nation's ageing Boeing F/A-18 and Northrop F-5 fighters as part of a wider overhaul of its air defences.

The government states that the federal defence department has been tasked to draft by early September a procurement proposal, which has then to be approved first by the country's parliament and then voters via a referendum.

However, that public vote will only cover the programme's budget – not the type and number of aircraft to be procured.

That is to be decided by the government – based on expert advice – after a referendum, says Viola Amherd, the head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport.

In January, the government received proposals covering the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35A, and Saab Gripen E. Ground and flight tests of the candidate aircraft at Payerne air base are scheduled to be completed in July.

Under the replacement plan, foreign suppliers will have to offset 60% of the contract value – 20% directly and 40% indirectly – via Switzerland's defence and security industry.

Cirium's Fleets Analyzer shows that the Swiss air force has 30 F/A-18s and 36 F-5s in operation.

The F/A-18s will reach the end of their service life by 2030, while the F-5s can only be operated for air policing operations in daylight and good visibility, the government says. It argues that the F-5s would "not stand a chance against a modern opponent".

In addition to the fighter replacement, the government has allocated Swfr2 billion for the procurement of a new ground-based air defence system with a longer range than existing equipment.

Amherd asserts that without new aircraft and a new ground-based air defence system, the nation will not be able to ensure airspace security.

 

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Saab’s Gripen is out of the running in Swiss aircraft race
By: Sebastian Sprenger
14 June 2019

8057

The new "E" version of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter is presented by Saab on May 18, 2016. (Anders Wiklund/AFP via Getty Images)

COLOGNE, Germany — The Gripen fighter just can’t seem to land in Switzerland, as its manufacturer Saab has dropped out of the race to supply the country with a new fleet of combat aircraft.

The company, which is based in Sweden, issued a statement on its website Thursday saying it will no longer partake in flight demonstrations of the Gripen jet planned for June 24-28 in Payerne, Switzerland. Saab had planned to present a developmental Gripen E plane and possibly an older but already fielded "C" variant.

According to the company, the decision came after the Swiss procurement agency, armasuisse, “formally recommended” that Saab stay home. “The reason is that the flight tests have been designed to only evaluate aircraft that are operationally ready in 2019," the statement reads.

Saab goes on to say that Switzerland should have known all along about the status of the Gripen E development. The jet “will enter into operational service years before Switzerland has scheduled deliveries and will meet all its defined capabilities,” the company claims.

The likelihood of the jet failing one or more of the seven test missions designed for all competitors had become apparent over some time, an armasuisse spokesman told Defense News. From a Swiss perspective, nudging Saab to retreat was meant to be a face-saving move for the Swedes.

The Swiss have not revealed where the Gripen E offer was thought to be lacking, saying only that all the components and sensors must have the highest technology-readiness level in current aircraft configurations.

The elimination marks the second defeat for the Gripen in the neutral country of Switzerland in recent years. The population voted down a procurement of the jet in 2014 in an acrimonious referendum that the government wants to avoid repeating at all costs. This time around, officials want to put the $6 billion-plus aircraft acquisition up for a population-wide vote only in general terms, leaving the choice of a model up to government analysts later on.

The remaining lineup of contenders are the F-18 Super Hornet, the Eurofighter, the Rafale and the F-35A.

 

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Saab’s Gripen is out of the running in Swiss aircraft race
By: Sebastian Sprenger
14 June 2019

View attachment 8057
The new "E" version of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter is presented by Saab on May 18, 2016. (Anders Wiklund/AFP via Getty Images)

COLOGNE, Germany — The Gripen fighter just can’t seem to land in Switzerland, as its manufacturer Saab has dropped out of the race to supply the country with a new fleet of combat aircraft.

The company, which is based in Sweden, issued a statement on its website Thursday saying it will no longer partake in flight demonstrations of the Gripen jet planned for June 24-28 in Payerne, Switzerland. Saab had planned to present a developmental Gripen E plane and possibly an older but already fielded "C" variant.

According to the company, the decision came after the Swiss procurement agency, armasuisse, “formally recommended” that Saab stay home. “The reason is that the flight tests have been designed to only evaluate aircraft that are operationally ready in 2019," the statement reads.

Saab goes on to say that Switzerland should have known all along about the status of the Gripen E development. The jet “will enter into operational service years before Switzerland has scheduled deliveries and will meet all its defined capabilities,” the company claims.

The likelihood of the jet failing one or more of the seven test missions designed for all competitors had become apparent over some time, an armasuisse spokesman told Defense News. From a Swiss perspective, nudging Saab to retreat was meant to be a face-saving move for the Swedes.

The Swiss have not revealed where the Gripen E offer was thought to be lacking, saying only that all the components and sensors must have the highest technology-readiness level in current aircraft configurations.

The elimination marks the second defeat for the Gripen in the neutral country of Switzerland in recent years. The population voted down a procurement of the jet in 2014 in an acrimonious referendum that the government wants to avoid repeating at all costs. This time around, officials want to put the $6 billion-plus aircraft acquisition up for a population-wide vote only in general terms, leaving the choice of a model up to government analysts later on.

The remaining lineup of contenders are the F-18 Super Hornet, the Eurofighter, the Rafale and the F-35A.

 

BATMAN

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Gripen C /E both are perhaps the best choice for country like Switzerland.
Twin engine doesn't suit Switzerland.
This knock out is red tape knock out. Very untypical of Swiss.
 

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Swiss Citizens Have Just Given The Go Ahead To The Purchase of New Fighter Jets For The Air Force

September 27, 2020
David Cenciotti
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A Swiss Air Force Hornet takes off from Meiringen Air Base. (Image credit: Alessandro Fucito).

With a really thin margin of just 9,000 votes, Swiss citizens have approved the multi-billion procurement of new fighter jets to replace both the F-5 and F/A-18 jets in service today.


The majority (50.2%) of Swiss voters gave the go ahead to the purchase of new combat aircraft on Sept. 27, 2020. The referendum called the citizens to say yes or no to a government-backed plan 6.49B USD funding packet to find a replacement for the F-5 Tiger and F/A-18C/D Hornet jets currently in service with the Swiss Air Force.

It was the third nationwide vote in almost 30 years about the purchase of new combat aircraft for the Swiss air force. The latest attempt was in 2014, when a referendum rejected the acquisition of the Saab Gripen (to replace the F-5E).

As a consequence, the Swiss Air Force launched “Air 2030” program aimed to the selection of its future fighter and, as part of the program, the air arms carried out the evaluation of four candidate aircraft: the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale, and the Lockheed Martin F-35. A fifth candidate, Gripen E, was retired before its evaluation initially planned for the end of June 2019, after the Swiss procurement agency, “formally recommended” that Saab stayed home as flight tests had been designed to only evaluate aircraft that were operationally ready in 2019.

On Jan. 10, 2020, armasuisse issued the second RFQ for new fighter aircraft to the government authorities where the four potential suppliers are located: Germany (Airbus Eurofighter), France (Dassault Rafale) and the U.S. (Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35A).
“The second request for proposal is based on the analysis of the first proposal and on findings from flight, simulator and ground tests as well as audits with armed forces operating the evaluated fighter aircraft. In the second request for proposal, the companies contacted via the government authorities are requested to submit the most advantageous offer for Switzerland.

The proposal should include the following elements:
  • prices for 36 and 40 aircraft, including defined logistics and weapons, as a binding starting point for the detailed negotiations with the selected candidate after the type selection
  • offers for cooperation between the armed forces and the procurement authorities of Switzerland and those of the supplier country
  • envisaged or already initiated offset projects”
By November 2020, the Swiss Government is expected to receive this second offer and will proceed with the final evaluation of four fighter models bidding for the contract. The winner should be announced in the second quarter of 2021. The delivery of the new aircraft is slated to start in 2025 and end in 2030, if everything goes as planned.

“In principle, voters will have no further say on the type of new fighters to be purchased. However, the Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA), which led the opposition campaign, has already said it will launch a people’s initiative to challenge the government’s choice,” Swiss media outlet Swissinfo.ch reported. However, Defence Minister Viola Amherd “said this will not derail her plans to finalise the contract by 2021.”
 

BATMAN

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Spending on F-18 is total waste. Totally disappointed at the outcome of polls. Should have invested those billions on cyber security.
 

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Lockheed’s F-35 topples competition in Swiss fighter contest

By: Valerie Insinna  
7 hours ago

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Switzerland plans to spend up to $6.5 billion to buy 36 F-35A fighter jets. (Senior Airman Kristine Legate/U./S. Air Force)

WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has emerged victorious in Switzerland’s $6.5 billion fighter competition, beating out entrants from Eurofighter, Dassault and Boeing.

Over the course of the program, Switzerland plans to spend up to 6 billion Swiss francs (U.S. $6.5 billion) to buy 36 F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing models to replace its aging Hornet fleet, the government announced Wednesday.

Switzerland will also purchase five Patriot missile defense systems from Raytheon Technologies, which defeated the SAMP/T system from France’s Eurosam.

The win is a massive coup for Lockheed, strengthening the company’s F-35 sales campaign in Europe and dealing a harsh blow to the Eurofighter Typhoon — which is manufactured by a consortium comprising Italy’s Leonardo, the U.K.’s BAE Systems, and Airbus, which represents Spain and Germany. Lockheed also beat out the Dassault Rafale and Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

In a news release announcing the decision, the Swiss Federal Council stated that the F-35 promised the highest performance for the lowest price, with Lockheed’s proposal coming in at $2.16 billion less than its nearest competition over a 30 year forecast.

Meanwhile, the F-35 scored better in effectiveness, product support and cooperation than the Rafale, Super Hornet and Typhoon. The Federal Council pointed specifically to the Joint Strike Fighter’s survivability and situational awareness as selling points that were seen as advantageous for the Swiss Air Force’s air-policing mission.

“In terms of effectiveness, the F-35A achieved the best result because ... it includes entirely new, extremely powerful and comprehensively networked systems for protecting and monitoring airspace,” the Federal Council stated.

“We are honored to be selected by Switzerland and look forward to partnering with the Swiss government, public, air force and industry to deliver and sustain the F-35 aircraft,” said Bridget Lauderdale, Lockheed’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. “With the selection, Switzerland will become the 15th nation to join the F-35 program of record, joining several European nations in further strengthening global airpower and security.”

The F-35′s victory was forecast by Swiss broadcaster SRF, which reported last week that the F-35 had scored best in the performance evaluation. According to SRF, Switzerland would be able to purchase more F-35s with its budget than the competing aircraft.

However, political and industrial considerations also played a role in the decision. Throughout the competition, the Swiss government made clear that competitors must provide a robust package of offsets meant to boost Switzerland’s defense-industrial base. The Federal Council noted that the F-35 did not achieve the best performance in the area of offsets.

Although the Swiss decision did not lay out which competitor offered the best offset package, Airbus had provided the Swiss government a 700-page dossier on economic offsets, Reuters reported on June 27. That proposal included an offer to conduct final assembly of the Typhoon in Switzerland.

To meet industrial participation requirements, Lockheed proposed a batch of offsets that included domestic production of about 400 F-35 canopies and transparencies, the creation of a maintenance hub in Switzerland that would maintain European F-35 users’ canopies and transparencies, and the creation of a Swiss cyber center of excellence.

It also offered to sweeten the pot with an option to conduct the final assembly of four F-35 aircraft at existing Ruag facilities in Emmen. However, company officials acknowledged that would add a “significant cost” to the program.

Meanwhile, Boeing highlighted the ease of transition from Hornet to Super Hornet, stating that Switzerland would save money by reusing up to 60 percent of its “existing and intellectual infrastructure.”

In a statement, Boeing said it was disappointed by the Swiss decision.

“We believe that the Boeing F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet is the right choice for Switzerland, as it would bring unmatched capability and lifecycle value to the Swiss Air Force, including our industrial partnerships and robust services offerings. We look forward to a full debrief to better understand the decision,” the company said.

The Swiss decision is unlikely to face any headwind in the United States, which preemptively cleared both the F-35 and F/A-18 sales to Switzerland in September 2020.
 

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Air Forces Monthly, Issue 402, Sept 2021, Page 7
 
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