Switzerland fighter replacement appears set for indefinite delay

The Swiss defence minister has called for the country's CHF2.2 billion (USD2.1 billion) fighter procurement programme to be delayed indefinitely, according to a Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) statement issued on 28 December 2009.

According to the statement, DDPS head Ueli Maurer asked the Swiss Federal Council in October 2009 to "put off the purchase of new fighter aircraft for the time being" and instead divert the funds to the cash-strapped army.

This is at odds with a government announcement also made in October that reaffirmed Switzerland's commitment to purchasing a partial replacement for the air force's 54 Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II multirole fighter fleet. Additionally, Swiss media reports on 5 January suggested that the cabinet was committed to the original timescale.

The council was originally due to approve the programme in July 2009 but this was put back until the release of a security policy report by the DDPS into the issue. The release of this report, which is due to look at the options available and review the fighter programme in the context of the armed forces' current critical financial situation, was itself delayed from December 2009 to the second quarter of 2010.