Swiss government accepts most recommendations after F-35 price dispute

Switzerland’s Federal Council has accepted six of seven recommendations from parliamentary oversight following criticism of the F-35 fighter jet purchase, SRF reported. It says it will make arms deals more transparent, improve risk management and strengthen the legal service at the Federal Office for Defence Procurement, known as armasuisse.

The government rejected claims that the US contracts had barely been reviewed. It said it regretted the impression that only the project manager at the time had read them in full. Alongside the former head of armaments, other armasuisse specialists had studied the complete texts, while the department and former defence minister Viola Amherd had examined the pricing clauses in detail.

In September, the National Council’s Control Committee criticised the project, saying the promised fixed price for the jets had never existed. Defence Minister Martin Pfister had previously acknowledged that the available funds would likely cover 30 jets rather than 36. Parliament recently approved an additional credit of 394 million francs.