Swiss officially receive Eurofighter offer

Airbus and the German government announced on 18 November that a formal offer has been submitted to Swiss defence procurement agency Armasuisse to provide Eurofighter Typhoon for the Air2030 fighter modernisation programme. 

‘The offer has been prepared in cooperation with the other Eurofighter nations as well as the industrial partners Leonardo and BAE Systems,’ Airbus noted in a statement.

The German ambassador to Switzerland, Michael Flügger, argued that procurement of Typhoon would enable closer interoperability between the Swiss and German air forces, given the recent official order from Berlin for 38 Tranche 4 Eurofighters. 

Dirk Hoke, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said the proposal includes provision of construction data ‘and other important information’ to the Swiss authorities.

If Berne chooses to buy Typhoons, he added, ‘Switzerland will be given complete and independent control of the Eurofighter, guaranteeing full transparency’.

Under Air2030, Switzerland intends to buy 36-40 aircraft to replace its fleet of F/A-18 Hornets and F-5 E/F Tigers. A national referendum held on 27 September this year resulted in a slim majority in favour of proceeding with the programme.

Other contenders besides Eurofighter Typhoon include the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale and the F-35A from Lockheed Martin.

The total programme is expected to be worth around CFH6 billion ($6.07 billion), Shephard Defence Insight notes. The Swiss Air Force will decommission its F-5 fleet before the new multirole fighters are delivered, with the F/A-18s expected to be retired by 2030.

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