Swiss authorities have delivered their verdict, and it will be the F35A which will equip the Swiss Air Force in order to replace the F/A 18 Hornet and F5 Tiger II currently in service. According to the press release released, the American aircraft showed itself to be far superior to its competitors with a total of 336 points, taking the advantage over the 3 other aircraft in 3 of the 4 criteria, namely combat performance, maintenance and availability, as well as in cooperation, visibly only giving in in the area of compensatory offers, which was predictable after the last minute offer made by Airbus DS regarding the relocation of the production line of the Typhoon in Swiss. The overall amount of the contract, 5,06 billion Swiss Francs, or €4,61 billion, would be nearly 2 billion francs lower than the best competing offers, while, still according to the press release, the device would offer the best “guarantees” of technological superiority in the next 30 years.
Regarding the anti-aircraft system, the Patriot would have, in the same way, taken a large lead over the Franco-Italian SAMP / T, by taking the advantage in the 4 selection criteria over its European competitor. Likewise, with an envelope of 3,6 billion Swiss francs, it would be far below the price offered by Europeans. The Swiss authorities also had their decision audited by an independent law firm, which delivered a “plausible” verdict. The Swiss press release is thus perfectly clear, argued and without appeal. However, it is questionable whether the Swiss authorities live in a parallel universe to draw such conclusions.
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