defence
Swiss parliament approves CHF3.4 billion defence package
Parliament has approved CHF3.4 billion in defence credits, including funding for F-35 fighter jets, while rejecting an additional CHF500 million for air-defence munitions. The article would examine Switzerland’s changing security priorities and the political divide over defence spending.
CHF3.4 billion in new defence credits has cleared both chambers of the Swiss parliament, giving the armed forces a broad mandate to advance modernisation projects and continue the procurement of F-35 fighter jets.
The National Council approved the government’s Armed Forces Message without amendment on Tuesday, September 15, following the Council of States. The package allocates around CHF2.4 billion to defence procurement, CHF562 million to military property projects and CHF394 million to the F-35 programme.
The vote settles the immediate parliamentary stage for the credits. It also exposes a sharp disagreement over what Switzerland should fund first. The National Council rejected a proposed CHF500 million increase for air defence munitions by 104 votes to 91, with one abstention.
The decision comes as lawmakers debate the country’s military readiness, procurement capacity and oversight standards. Centre-right parties backed the government’s aircraft programme despite a recent parliamentary finding that the fixed-price agreement repeatedly cited for the F-35 purchase had never existed. The left and centre-left used that finding to challenge confidence in the process.
F-35 Funding Survives the Fixed-Price Controversy
The F-35 programme received CHF394 million despite a procurement controversy. A majority in the National Council rejected calls to halt or reduce the supplementary credit, arguing that Switzerland has no credible alternative to the new fighter aircraft.
The decision followed a report by the National Council’s Committee on the Examination of Public Accounts. The committee found that the fixed price for the US-made jets, which officials had repeatedly communicated, had never actually existed. Critics described the episode as a “fixed-price fiasco” and said it had damaged public confidence in the purchase.
Defence Minister Martin Pfister addressed the report during the debate for the first time. He said the government would issue a statement “very soon, and not just in December”. Pfister called the report “nuanced, objective and interesting” and said it offered a “good basis for improvements to processes within the defence ministry”.
The report has not changed the parliamentary direction. The approved credit allows the army to continue preparations for the fighter jet procurement while the government works on its response to the oversight findings.
Lawmakers Draw the Line at Extra Air Defence Munitions
The National Council rejected CHF500 million in additional air defence munitions. The money would have supported ammunition for long and medium-range ground-based air defence systems, along with systems providing indirect fire support at medium range.
The Security Policy Committee had recommended the increase, arguing that Switzerland needed to replenish reserves quickly. The Swiss People’s Party and the Radical-Liberal Party said procurement delays, strong international demand and rising prices made rapid action necessary.
The proposal failed after opposition from the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party, the Green Party and the Liberal Green Party. Linda De Ventura of the Social Democrats warned against what she called a “rush job”, while the centre-left questioned whether the additional funding had been sufficiently defined.
The vote separates the approved modernisation package from the committee’s larger ammunition plan. Parliament has authorised the government’s existing procurement credits, but it has withheld the extra reserve funding sought by the committee. Further defence requests are expected on the agenda during the winter session, according to the source report.