US circumvents Swiss payment freeze for Patriot air-defence system

Switzerland halted payments for US Patriot surface-to-air defence systems last autumn after learning deliveries would be delayed by several years. But the Swiss public broadcaster SRF reveals that the freeze is having little effect: the US has been redirecting Swiss payments intended for the F‑35 fighter jet to cover Patriot costs. Urs Loher, director of national armaments at the Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse), confirmed the US move and told SRF how much money has already been shifted. But under pressure from US authorities, he can no longer disclose the exact figure. He describes it only as “a low three-digit million amount” – meaning well over CHF100 million ($126 million). The US is thus circumventing the payment freeze by redirecting Swiss F‑35 fighter jet funds to the Patriot system. How is this possible? In the US, arms deals with foreign countries always go through the US government’s Foreign Military Sales Program (FMS). Within this programme, the ...