Swiss to reduce F-35 fighter jet order from US as costs rise

ZURICH, ‌Dec 12 (Reuters) - Switzerland said on Friday it would reduce ‍the ‌number of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighter jets it ⁠is buying from the United ‌States so it can stick to the original budget plan after the cost of the order rose.

Bern chose the F-35A as ⁠its next-generation fighter plane in2021 for what it considered a fixed price of ​6 billionSwiss francs ($7.54 billion) for 36 jets. ‌The United States later ⁠said that sum was a misunderstanding.

Following a cabinet meeting, the government said it had instructed the defence ministry to ​procure the highest possible number of F-35As within the 6 billion franc budget for new jets that was narrowly approved by the public in a 2020 referendum.

"Due to ​foreseeable ‍cost overruns, maintaining the ​originally planned number of 36 F-35As is not financially feasible," the government said in a statement.

Still, the government said that pending examination of whether further steps are needed to boost Switzerland's defence capabilities, the cabinet could make a decision ⁠that would potentially enable it to reach the original target of 36.

The Swiss government ​this summer restated its commitment to buying the jets even after the United States put 39% tariffs on Swiss goods exports. Following a deal last month, ‌the Swiss said on Wednesday those tariffs had now been reduced to 15%.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Matthias Williams)