Arms companies tout war planes to Swiss government

Four arms companies have submitted proposals to the Swiss government, bidding to be the manufacturer of the countries new fleet of war planes to replace the again F-5 and F/A-18 fleet. The contract is worth $6.5bn for between 36 and 40 planes. The bids have been submitted by:

• Airbus, with the Eurofighter,
• Boeing with the F/A-18 Super Hornet,
• Lockheed Martin with the F-35A,
• and Dassault with the Rafale.

The Swiss government will make a final decision in summer 2021. Earlier this year a referendum on the decision was narrowly won by supporters of the new fighter jets. The Swiss government has said that some of the manufacturing has to take place locally. Airbus has said that they would build all 40 planes proposed in Switzerland. If the government chooses the F35 then Lockheed Martin will establish a "hub" for producing a range of parts in Switzerland - such as canopies and transparencies - and complete the final assembly of four of the jets in Switzerland, to allow local engineers to learn more about how the plane is manufactured.