11 September 2010

Swiss Freeze Fighter Purchase

I think that the Swiss decision to delay any decision on fighter purchases has a number of causes.

First, they realize that changes in banking regulation may cut seriously into their revenues, and second, I think that they may be able to get some lightly used fighters cheaply from bankrupt nations like Spain, who is on the hook for a significant numbers of Eurofighter Typhoon:
Switzerland on Wednesday postponed its search for new air force fighter jets for several years, just weeks before it was expected to announce a decision on the multibillion dollar tender.

Swiss Defence Minister Ueli Maurer said at a news conference that the postponement of the replacement of about half of the Swiss army's ageing fleet of F-5 Tiger aircraft "will last at most until 2015".

The tender launched in January 2008 led to a fierce battle between European aerospace group EADS's Eurofighter, French firm Dassault's Rafale and the Gripen built by Sweden's Saab.
I think that this impacts Saab more than Dassault or Eurofighter, as they really need a foreign client for their Gripen NG.

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