Swiss AF New Fighter
 

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/ar...ets-task-force

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland could eventually be in the market for as many as 70 new fighter jets or as few as 20 under scenarios laid out on Tuesday by a defense ministry task force examining how to replace the neutral country's aging air force fleet. The most expensive and powerful option would be to buy 55-70 aircraft and ground-based air defense weapons for an estimated 15 billion to 18 billion Swiss francs ($15.3-$18.4 billion), according to the report.

It did not say which aircraft the government should consider. The least expensive option would be procuring 20 jets and accompanying ground-based air defense systems for 5 billion francs. Other options called for buying 40 or 30 new aircraft plus surface-to-air defense support.

Switzerland is looking to replace its fleet of Boeing McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C and D Hornets and outdated Northrop F-5 Tigers, all of which are scheduled to be retired in the 2020s. The cheapest option would mean keeping the F/A-18s in service longer than planned, the panel said.

It suggested the government decide by 2020 what kind of jets to buy and to finance the deal via the regular defense budget. That would help avoid the risk of having to subject the purchase to a popular referendum under the Swiss system of direct democracy. Voters in 2014 shot down plans to buy 22 Gripen E fighters made by Swedish company Saab AB.

Whatever it is, it will need a good angle of climb.

The Swiss take almost as long as India to decide on a new fighter - they have referendums, they have links with all sorts of other countries, they hate shelling out cash and they love to drive a hard bargain..............

We could learn from them.

Er Harrier?:rolleyes:

I get what you are saying, but in the extreme if you kick the can too far down the road (like Canada or the Swiss) you end up with 40-50 year old aircraft that are way obsolete and some literally falling out the sky...

Good angle of climb? Try the Lighting, and I don't mean the new one.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKBN25G1XS

Poll shows Swiss back $6.6 billion plan to buy new fighter jets

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss voters are set to approve a 6 billion Swiss franc ($6.6 billion) purchase of new fighter jets in a referendum next month, a poll for broadcaster SRF showed on Thursday.

The survey by gfs.bern found 58% of respondents favoured the government’s plan while 39% opposed it and 3% had no opinion. The vote is planned for Sept. 27 and will decide whether to approve the purchase without knowing who will win the contract. The poll of 29,450 eligible voters had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

European aerospace group Airbus, France’s Dassault, Sweden’s Saab, and Boeing and Lockheed Martin from the United States bid for the contract in January. Swiss authorities later excluded Saab from the race, saying its entry was not developed enough.

Switzerland’s ageing stable of Boeing McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C and D Hornets and Northrop F-5 Tigers is scheduled to be retired within years. Airbus’s Eurofighter, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, and F-35As made by Lockheed Martin are in the running. New jets are to be delivered by 2025.

Neutral Switzerland, which last fought a short war in 1847, has struggled in the past to persuade citizens to back a deal for new fighters. In 2014, around 52% voted against a 3.5 billion franc plan to buy 22 Gripen fighter jets from Saab.

That's some referendum!

What happened to the Gripen? it won last last time!

I also think the Finns are not far off choosing a new fighter soon.

Shall be interesting to watch

That's just the number of people partecipating to the poll.

Elegible voters are around 4.5 milions

They may not have fought a war, but in recent history they've been able and active in defending their airspace, even against larger and more capable forces.


JAS

There were a few tussles with the Luftwaffe in 1940-41 as well. The Swiss came out of them better than the Germans did apparently.

Do you mean the P-38?

FB

Wasn't that a German pistol?

The Harrier lost out to the F-5E. The Swiss visited Wildenrath as part of the evaluation

HQ,

I think you mean the MP38, later replaced by the MP40. To the best of my knowledge!

FB

No, he means the Walther P38 pistol.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....702c554536.jpg
Think this is the P38 meant (replacement for the Luger P08)?