In the race to win a contract as Switzerland’s new fighter jet supplier, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 JSF was victorious in beating out competitors from Eurofighter, Dassault, and Boeing. Switzerland has agreed to buy 36 F-35As to replace its aging fleet of F/A 18 Hornets. Switzerland will become the 15th nation to join the F-35 program.
The F-35 beat out Boeing’s Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, and Eurofighter’s Typhoon in effectiveness, product support, and cooperation, but most notably in survivability and situational awareness. Lockheed’s proposal came in at $2.16 billion less than the second-lowest bidder over a 30-year forecast. Valerie Insinna of DefenseNews writes (abridged):
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has emerged victorious in Switzerland’s $6.5 billion fighter competition, beating out entrants from Eurofighter, Dassault and Boeing.
Over the course of the program, Switzerland plans to spend up to 6 billion Swiss francs (U.S. $6.5 billion) to buy 36 F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing models to replace its aging Hornet fleet, the government announced Wednesday.
Switzerland will also purchase five Patriot missile defense systems from Raytheon Technologies, which defeated the SAMP/T system from France’s Eurosam.
The win is a massive coup for Lockheed, strengthening the company’s F-35 sales campaign in Europe and dealing a harsh blow to the Eurofighter Typhoon — which is manufactured by a consortium comprising Italy’s Leonardo, the U.K.’s BAE Systems, and Airbus, which represents Spain and Germany. Lockheed also beat out the Dassault Rafale and Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
In a news release announcing the decision, the Swiss Federal Council stated that the F-35 promised the highest performance for the lowest price, with Lockheed’s proposal coming in at $2.16 billion less than its nearest competition over a 30-year forecast.
