Switzerland to Hold Referendum on US F-35 Purchase... Concerns Over Contract Disruptions

Second Referendum Held Amid Left-Wing Party Opposition
Vote Must Be Conducted Before March Contract Expiry for Handover

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Switzerland has announced that it will hold a referendum on whether to purchase the United States' latest fighter jet, the F-35. This is the second referendum following one in 2020, as left-wing parties have campaigned against the purchase and once again put the decision to a public vote. There are concerns that if the referendum is not held by the contract expiration date in March next year, the purchase and delivery process could face disruptions.

According to Swiss local media Swissinfo on the 23rd (local time), the Swiss government stated that more than 120,000 citizens signed a petition requesting a referendum on the F-35 purchase, and thus decided to hold the referendum. In Switzerland, the law mandates that if more than 100,000 signatures are collected on a specific national issue, a referendum must be held.

Accordingly, the referendum to decide on the F-35 purchase will be held for the second time. Previously, in 2020, a referendum was held regarding the decision on the next-generation fighter jet. At that time, 50.1% of the public supported the Swiss Ministry of Defense's decision, resulting in the selection of the F-35 model, which the Ministry had announced as the next-generation fighter jet to be introduced.

Following this, the Swiss government announced that it would purchase a total of 36 F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. company Lockheed Martin for $6.2 billion (approximately 8.313 trillion KRW). However, left-wing parties such as the Swiss Social Democratic Party opposed the purchase and launched a signature campaign to promote the current referendum. They have criticized the F-35 as being excessively expensive relative to Switzerland's defense situation and budget, and as having performance that is not suitable.

With the referendum method and voting date yet to be decided, there is a possibility that if the referendum is not held before the contract expiration date of March 12 with Lockheed Martin, the F-35 purchase contract itself could be overturned. Swissinfo quoted a Swiss government official saying, "Since other countries including Finland, Germany, and Canada are also awaiting purchase decisions, if the referendum outcome is not decided by March, the deal itself may need to be renegotiated or the delivery schedule of the fighter jets could be significantly delayed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.