F-35 Nabs $6.5B Swiss Deal; 'Lowest Operating Costs' - Breaking Defense

Switzerland this morning picked Lockheed Martin’s F-35A over the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon for its $6.5 billion fighter program. The win is quite a bright spot for the F-35 — which is under funding pressure from the US Air Force and Congress because of what are estimated to be its sky-high sustainment costs.

“It’s a very solid win. Switzerland has no industrial or program stake in the program, and Swiss procurement, like the country, is largely neutral, so this reflects very well on the F 35’s overall technical appeal,” said aviation analyst Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group in an email.

The decision to buy 36 F-35s today was made by the Swiss Federal Council (along with a decision to buy five Patriot missile defense batteries from Raytheon) and now goes to Parliament for approval.