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Monday, September 15, 2008

Swiss air force: Acquisition ambitions

It has only been 12 years since the Swiss air force received delivery of the first of 34 F/A-18 fighters purchased from the US. And then the F/A-18 Hornet only became the flagship of the air force after years of fierce political opposition and a drawn-out process that went as far as requiring public approval in a national referendum in June 1993.

Switzerland, with its system of direct democracy is virtually the only country in the world where major arms acquisitions can go to a national vote, and the expensive F/A-18 required exactly such. A similar fate now also looms for whichever fighter the Swiss air force adds to its wishlist next as a desired replacement for the outdated fleet of F-5 Tigers from the 1970s.

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