COLOGNE, Germany and WASHINGTON – Four aircraft makers have submitted final bids for a $ 6.5 billion Swiss aircraft program, with Airbus and Lockheed Martin touting different approaches to assembling their aircraft locally.

November 18 is the deadline for a hopeful quartet of vendors, which also includes Boeing and Dassault, to deliver a vision – and pricing – for one of Europe’s largest procurement programs.

Switzerland is looking for between 36 and 40 new aircraft to monitor the country’s airspace. The level of participation of local industry is a major factor for Swiss people who are known to be independent-minded.

Airbus got help from four Eurofighter operators – Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK – who sent their ambassadors in Switzerland to a November 19 press conference to discuss prospects for a bigger industrial and political partnership that would follow Eurofighter elections.

Switzerland is expected to make a decision as early as summer 2021, following a referendum vote this September that narrowly illuminates the budget.

Airbus’ bid includes the final assembly of all aircraft via partner companies in Switzerland, details of which the companies will announce in December.

Michael Flügger, Germany’s ambassador to Switzerland, touted the possibility of cooperating in Eurofighter-based airspace patrols along the Italian-Swiss-German axis. In addition, he said, the joining of Switzerland with an airplane club means the country can “export” the noise of training flights to remote areas of other partner countries.

Franz Posch, who heads the Airbus campaign in Switzerland, told reporters that the company’s plans to assemble 40 notional planes locally would “more than meet” the offset requirements set by the Swiss government.

Lockheed Martin, with its F-35, also has high hopes for Swiss competition, hoping to expand the aircraft’s user base in Europe. The company’s offer includes a basic program of 36 jets, with options for four additional aircraft, said Mike Kelley, who is leading the company’s F-35 effort in Switzerland, at a Nov. 19 round table meeting with reporters.

While Switzerland will be able to buy parts through a spare parts pool shared by all F-35 operators, the offer also contains a six-month-used spare parts package – a separate spare part pot to be managed by the Swiss government, necessary to meet Swiss autonomy requirements. .

To meet industry participation requirements, Switzerland will have the opportunity to domestically produce about 400 canopies and transparencies for the F-35 aircraft, and Lockheed will establish a European center for maintenance, repair and overhaul of the F 35 canopy and transparency in Switzerland. In addition, the country will undertake specific F-35 engine and airframe maintenance projects focused on maintaining the operational autonomy of the Swiss Air Force, Kelley said.

Lockheed also plans to partner with Swiss industry to create a cyberspace excellence center, which will prototype a unique data network for Switzerland and build a test site that will allow Swiss companies to test cyber capabilities in a secure environment.

On top of these efforts, Lockheed is offering Switzerland one final industry participation opportunity. For an additional fee, Switzerland will be able to carry out the final assembly of four F-35 aircraft at the existing RUAG facility in Emmen, enabling Swiss technicians currently working on its aging Hornet fleet to build deeper knowledge of aircraft design.

The options will add “significant costs” to the total program, said Kelley, but could allow for overall savings over the life cycle of the program.

Boeing, meanwhile, has positioned its offering of its F-18 Super Hornet fleet as a logical extension of Switzerland’s existing F-18 infrastructure. “As an F / A-18 operator, Switzerland will have the option of reusing up to 60 percent of its existing physical and intellectual infrastructure, making the transition to the Super Hornet easier and more cost-effective over the life of the aircraft,” the company said in a statement.

The aircraft offer, the statement added, would “easily fit” into Switzerland’s current F-18 operating budget.

The cost reference came after Swiss officials stressed that the fighter aircraft portion of the Air 2030 air defense modernization program includes a cost ceiling of 6 billion Swiss francs (US $ 6.6 billion), taking into account potential price cuts along the way.

“Currently, Boeing is working with more than 100 current and new partners across Switzerland to identify the right opportunities for the new Fighter Aircraft industry plans,” the company said.

Dassault France, with its bid for the Rafale, was the only vendor who kept his cards close to his chest. Citing a commitment to confidentiality, a spokesman told Defense News that the company had no plans to describe its offer or the “nature of the relationship” between the Swiss and French governments for that purpose.