Swiss inquiry reveals US warned defence officials of F-35 cost risks before Amherd resigned
A Swiss parliamentary audit found that former Defence Minister Viola Amherd withheld US warnings about F-35 fighter jet cost risks before resigning in 2025.
Parliamentary inquiry into fighter jet procurement
A report published in September 2026 by the Swiss parliamentary Control Committee (GPK) found that Switzerland never secured a binding fixed price for its acquisition of F-35 fighter jets from the United States. The findings contradict years of public assurances given by the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) and procurement agency Armasuisse. According to the committee, US officials included a specific clause in contractual documents but informed Swiss project lead Darko Savic that US law and treaty parity with other partner nations prohibited a guaranteed fixed price. The GPK found no evidence that Savic relayed this restriction to superiors, while describing the leadership of former Federal Councillor Viola Amherd as inadequate.
He was probably the creative father of the fixed-price narrative.
Concealed warnings and sudden resignations
The audit revealed that the DDPS received a diplomatic non-paper from US authorities in December 2024, shortly before Christmas. The document warned Swiss officials that the F-35 procurement could incur additional costs beyond original budget projections. Amherd did not immediately inform the rest of the Federal Council upon receiving the document, waiting two months until March 2025 to brief her cabinet colleagues. On 8 January 2025, Savic resigned from his position as project manager, followed one week later by Amherd's announcement that she would step down from the Federal Council at the end of March 2025.
- Swiss voters approve funding for new fighter aircraft in a referendum
- Viola Amherd announces selection of the F-35 as Switzerland's next fighter jet
- Federal Audit Office notes procurement documents state only estimated operating prices
- US delivers diplomatic non-paper warning Switzerland of potential F-35 cost overruns
- F-35 procurement project manager Darko Savic resigns
- Viola Amherd announces resignation from the Federal Council effective March 2025
- Amherd informs the Federal Council about potential F-35 cost increases
- Parliamentary Control Committee publishes report rejecting fixed-price claims
- First F-35 fighter jets scheduled to arrive in Switzerland
Operating costs and maintenance contracts
Discrepancies in the acquisition extended beyond purchase pricing into long-term fleet maintenance. Following the Swiss government's type selection of the F-35 on 30 June 2021, Savic announced that operating costs were contractually guaranteed for ten years with binding commitments running through 2040. The Federal Audit Office (EFK) challenged these assumptions in spring 2022, pointing out that official files only cited estimated prices. Armasuisse confirmed in September 2026 that no comprehensive maintenance agreement running to 2040 exists, with Switzerland instead negotiating single-year service contracts for the aircraft fleet.
Every master carpenter would have known better. Nobody today offers a fixed price for a kitchen that is delivered in five years.
Political reactions and parliamentary inquiry demands
The findings have provoked widespread criticism across party lines, marking the sharpest controversy in the jet acquisition since the September 2020 referendum. Members of parliament from left and right factions described the management of the procurement as a fiasco and dilettantism. In response to the revelations, the Social Democratic Party announced plans to introduce a motion during the autumn parliamentary session demanding a Parliamentary Investigation Commission (PUK) to investigate the defence department. Switzerland is scheduled to receive its first batch of F-35 jets in 2028.
