Replacement of Swiss Fighter Jets Postponed

[+Erik]

 

Replacement of Swiss Fighter Jets Postponed

 

Defence Talk — By SwissInfo on August 27, 2010

 

The Swiss government has delayed the partial replacement of the army’s Tiger fighter jets for financial reasons, the Federal Chancellery announced on Wednesday.

 

The government confirmed it planned to replace 54 “obsolete” planes but has postponed the purchase until 2015 at the latest, on the recommendation of Defence Minister Ueli Maurer. Some jets in the Tiger fleet are over 30 years old.

 

Buying 22 new planes would have cost up to SFr4.8 billion ($4.6 billion). In a statement, the government said it could not use supplementary credits under the current budget constraints to buy the replacements, and existing resources had to be used to cover other army costs.

 

The defence and finance ministries will decide by the end of 2011 how much can be spent on replacements and when.

 

The decision stirred up various reactions. The Swiss People’s Party said it was regrettable but understandable. The Social Democrats were pleased, saying it would have been wrong to spend the money when other budget cuts were being made elsewhere.

 

The Group for Switzerland without an Army commented that the outcome showed the planes were not urgently needed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Defence Talk

[+JediMaster]

The Tigers are old and do need to be retired. Whether they actually need more planes to replace them is a different argument. The Swiss Air Force is hardly busy operationally, so I'd dare say their Hornet fleet is sufficient.

[+daddyairplanes]

If its to only be their Hornet fleet they will want some more due to wearing em out faster with both roles. right now i believe their bugs are only employed as interceptors. but with the US Navy gettin rid of legacy Hornets the Swiss should be able to get em cheap.

[Slartibartfast]

If its to only be their Hornet fleet they will want some more due to wearing em out faster with both roles. right now i believe their bugs are only employed as interceptors. but with the US Navy gettin rid of legacy Hornets the Swiss should be able to get em cheap.

 

But it depends on how much those legacy Hornets have been used in regards to flying hours Carrier shots and traps etc... because it could work out more expensive in the long run getting them fixed... Or they could go for the Gripen from a fellow Neutral...

[+daddyairplanes]

true about the condition but the navy tends to retire planes before flight hours are up due to the number of carrier landings an airframe makes. the Swiss i believe would be making gentler landings. although i agree with the Gripen option myself:good:

[+FastCargo]

Also, the question can be raised about the fleet 'mix'. Tigers are considered light, while a legacy Hornet might be considered a medium class fighter.

 

If they are looking for a light fighter replacement, anything much bigger than a Gripen might be overkill.

 

However, if they are looking for an overall replacement, they may want to step up to something larger like later Vipers or MiG-35 class systems.

 

FC