Swiss government accepts shortcomings in F-35 procurement process

Six recommendations accepted put the Federal Council on record that Switzerland’s F-35 procurement needs changes in how future defence purchases are managed. In a statement on Friday, October 23, the government said it would make procurement more transparent, improve risk management and reinforce the legal department at the Federal Office for Defence Procurement, known as Armasuisse.

The response follows criticism from a parliamentary oversight body over the fighter-jet deal and the failure of the promised fixed price to hold. The Federal Council accepted six of the body’s seven recommendations. Its decision signals a commitment to address weaknesses in procurement practice, while drawing a line at one claim: the government says the US contracts were not barely reviewed.

The dispute has direct consequences for Switzerland’s planned fleet. Defence Minister Martin Pfister has said the available funds would probably buy 30 F-35s rather than 36, and parliament has approved an additional CHF 394 million.

Transparency and risk management are the centrepieces of the Federal Council’s planned response. The government said future defence procurement should be conducted more transparently and that risk management should improve. It also plans to strengthen the legal department within Armasuisse, the federal office responsible for defence procurement.

Those steps address the oversight body’s broader criticism of how Switzerland handled the F-35 purchase. By accepting six recommendations, the government has committed to changes in the way defence deals are prepared and assessed. The measures are aimed at future purchases, while the current F-35 contract remains at the heart of the dispute over cost and the promised fixed price.

For Swiss defence procurement, the announcement puts legal capacity alongside transparency and risk controls as priorities. Armasuisse’s legal department is to receive added strength as part of the response. The Federal Council presented these measures as lessons to be applied after the F-35 controversy, rather than accepting the allegation that officials had largely left the US contracts unread.

The Federal Council disputes the claim that the contracts were barely scrutinised. It said it regretted the impression that only the project manager at the time had read the documents in full. According to the government, other Armasuisse experts also studied the contracts in their entirety.

The defence ministry and former Defence Minister Viola Amherd, the government said, examined the pricing clauses in depth. That account directly contests the criticism of how the US agreements were reviewed, even as the Federal Council accepts most of the parliamentary body’s recommendations on procurement practice.

The argument over who examined the contracts has become part of the wider controversy surrounding the F-35 deal. The oversight body criticised the failure of the promised fixed price to materialise. The Federal Council’s response acknowledges the need for changes to future procurement while defending the level of contract review carried out by officials and political leaders.

The fixed-price dispute has put the planned fleet size under pressure. In September, the parliamentary oversight body criticised the fact that the promised price for the jets had not materialised. The defence ministry had repeatedly maintained that 36 American-made F-35A fighters would cost CHF 6 billion.

Pfister has since said the available funds would probably cover 30 jets rather than 36. Parliament approved a supplementary credit of CHF 394 million, or about $476 million, as Switzerland contends with additional costs in the purchase.

The Federal Council’s response now links that controversy to changes it says it will make in future defence procurement: clearer processes, stronger risk management and more legal capacity at Armasuisse. The government has accepted most of the oversight body’s recommendations, while maintaining that officials and senior defence figures did review the contracts. Those commitments and the funding decision frame the next phase of Switzerland’s F-35 purchase.