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switzerland's decision to select the f-35 for its air force reportedly angered french president
emmanuel macron who canceled a meeting with the swiss president after the military deal withdrew
according to the srf the negotiations between switzerland and france have also generated
resentment between the swiss foreign and finance ministries and the defense ministry the three
ministries as well as the french embassy in burn and cabinet representatives declined to comment
in july 2021 switzerland chose us-made f-35 lightning two fighters over french
rafale jets for its fighter fleet which was a clear insult to france as the swiss
government prepares for a deal for the f-35 this year local media reports have exposed
french plans to wu switzerland in favor of rafale france is offering switzerland
a financial incentive to buy french rafale fighter jets instead of u.s f-35a aircraft
according to classified documents obtained by swiss public broadcaster srf report swiss info
bartering was still going strong last summer according to documents found by srf with france
determined to convince switzerland to change its mind and by rafale jets despite the recent
decision to buy the american f-35 swiss voters ratified the six billion swiss francs 6.2 billion
dollars purchase of the f-35a in 2020 a year after receiving parliamentary approval in 2019
however another popular campaign targeting the f-35 for its high cost began soon after
the referendum approving it american fighter jets for the swiss air force
the campaign against the f-35 garnered enough support and signatures to hold
another referendum on the aircraft however the swiss government announced in may that
it would proceed with signing the deal for the f-35 without waiting
for the outcome of this referendum france is reportedly starting to build hatred against the
f-35 in switzerland hoping to be reconsidered by geneva the document that made the bid to
switzerland was signed by the french minister of economy and finance bruno lumiere on june 28 2021
dot an unnamed source told srf that a swiss government minister had requested
a counteroffer from france in addition to seeing the letter
low mayor proposed in the letter to recalibrate the swiss french agreement on cross-border
workers taxes in favor of switzerland to around 3.5 billion swiss francs in addition
he pledged france's support for switzerland as the country negotiates a challenging period in
its relations with the european union however this does not affect the swiss point of view
when evaluated from the perspective of the larger global arms market the rise of the rafale once
dubbed the cursed plane and now seen as a success story doesn't look astonishing says alexander
vatrivers weapons expert and editor of the west military review rms to france 24 excluding orders
from the us itself lockheed martin has sold nearly 1 000 f-35s globally in addition more
orders allow u.s manufacturers to reduce their prices which dassault aviation cannot achieve
according to dassault aviation's official terminology both aircraft fall into the same
market segment multi-purpose or omnipurpose fighter jets they can achieve air superiority
the traditional objectives of a fighter jet and bombing and ground support missions in
a single mission however the f-35 has a wider range and is also a stealth fighter
unlike the rafale the main advantage of the french aircraft is strategic according to vartravers the
main selling feature of the rafale jet is its ability to secure a potential american embargo
if the u.s imposes economic sanctions it is better not to
rely entirely on washington for defense supplies
he claims that the rafale like the russian system allows people to diversify furthermore american
fighter jets also enjoyed political support and influence which led to them winning several deals
the rafale poses stiff competition with the stealthy fifth generation f-35 last year dassaud
aviation signed a historic contract with the united arab emirates for 80 rafale fighter jets
the final cost of purchasing the f-35a has also raised concerns from the federal audit office
government auditors issued a study expressing concern that the actual costs would exceed
the estimated six billion swiss francs however the federal arms office armasues
which is in charge of the acquisition moved quickly to assuage auditors concerns
according to armasues costs will be limited by a legally binding agreement with the u.s government
which would acquire aircraft from lockheed martin for a certain price and sell the fleet
to switzerland for the same price this shows that all of france's efforts are now in vain
and that no concessions made to the swiss government will change the decision in its favor