Chaos in fighter jet procurement Federal Council buys F-35 flying blind - even the Pentagon has no idea of the price

For the first time, the US Department of Defense publicly confirms that the price of the fighter jets is not guaranteed. The Pentagon itself has not yet signed the contracts with the manufacturer.

According to the Tamedia newspapers, Switzerland will probably not have clarity on the additional costs for the F-35 fighter jets for another two years. This is stated in the minutes of a commission meeting, which were made available to the newspapers. It is a preliminary estimate and the additional costs are "considerable" compared to 2022, when the procurement contract between the two countries was concluded.

When asked by the newspapers, the Pentagon said that Switzerland would incur additional costs of 610 million dollars. This was the first time that the US Department of Defense had publicly confirmed that the price for the fighter jet procurement was "not guaranteed". However, it is an "estimated price increase", as the contract with the manufacturer Lockheed Martin for the first eight aircraft has not yet been signed, as previously reported by "Le Temps".

The prices of the production lots for the 24 additional F-35 aircraft, which will not be delivered to Switzerland until 2028, have not yet been negotiated, Tamedia continued.

Trump's tariff war also to blame for additional costs

The Pentagon cites inflation, rising global commodity prices and supply chain disruptions as reasons for the higher costs. However, Donald Trump is also to blame for the additional costs, according to the newspapers. The aviation and defense industries are among the sectors in the US that have been hit hardest by the US president's tariff policy. The majority of the aluminum required for the aerospace industry comes from Canada. Trump recently extended the punitive tariffs on aluminum and steel.