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U.S. Redirects Swiss F-35 Funds to Patriot Air Defence System
5 Articles
5 Articles
Despite the blockade, funds for the F-35 are used for the Patriots, causing budget deficits and criticism from the Swiss parliament
Swiss defence contract: when Washington cleverly bypasses Bern's blockages The Swiss defence contract with the United States has just experienced a dramatic turnaround that perfectly illustrates the unbalanced power relations in the global military industry. Washington managed to circumvent the freezing of Swiss payments for Patriot systems by redirecting the funds that Bern had set aside for the acquisition of its F-35 fighter aircraft. This ma…
Switzerland stopped paying for Patriot air defense systems last fall because deliveries were years behind schedule. However, research by Swiss public broadcaster SRF has revealed that the payment moratorium is ineffective. The United States is simply re-allocating the money that Switzerland had transferred to the F-35 fighter jets to the Patriot program, SRF wrote.
The Swiss tried to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the massive delays and rising costs of purchasing American Patriot systems. Last year, they suspended payments. Now it turns out the Americans didn't care. They took the money, which the Swiss were transferring to purchase another weapon, the F-35.
U.S. redirects Swiss F-35 funds to Patriot air defence system
According to Swiss public broadcaster SRF, the redirection has allowed funding for the Patriot system to continue largely unaffected. The arrangement is possible under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales programme, which pools payments from foreign customers into a single fund. Urs Loher, head of national armaments at armasuisse, confirmed the transfer of funds but said he could no longer disclose the exact amount. He described it only as “a low thr…
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