With their current warplanes scheduled to be out of service by 2030, Swiss voters will face a referendum next week on the issue of whether to spend $6.6 billion buying a new Air Force, or just not have an Air Force in the future.
There is substantial support for not having the planes at all, with MPs noting that Switzerland has no enemies, calling it “absurd” to drop $6.6 billion to replace planes they don’t need and will never use in a war that’s never coming.
A small Swiss Air Force has existed for a century, but never been used for anything since they’ve not been in any wars in that time. Proponents of just not having one note that Ireland, Malta, and Luxembourg don’t have jets, so its plausible to not have them.
“Who is our enemy? Who is attacking a small, neutral country — surrounded by NATO?” asked Priska Seiler Graf, a member of parliament for the left-leaning Social Democrats. “It’s really absurd.” The Social Democrats are mockingly calling the whole project a collection of “expensive toys.”
Lawmaker Thomas Hurter from the self-described right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party, a former air force pilot, said Switzerland had to protect itself without relying on other countries. “If we don’t replace these old aircraft, that means we have no air force, there is no protection any more and we are not fulfilling our constitution,” he said.
Someone is getting massive kickbacks for promoting government funding of those fighters.
Perhaps the only sane country.
Does Switzerland still have a Navy? It used to have one years ago.
Switzerland doesn’t need an air force. It is not in danger of being invaded by any other nation. The USA should set an example for other nations by ending its wars, bases abroad & cutting back on military spending.
There are other small nations that have only helicopters, and many that in the past had only extremely obsolete aircraft gifted to them by a major power in lieu of scaping them. Even Greece as a major NATO ally was flying retired US Air Defense Command interceptors. Central America actually fought each other with WW2-era prop planes.
It is not just a few countries that have done without top of the line modern fighters. It is most countries.