US Circumvents Switzerland’s Patriot Payment Freeze via F-35 Funding

The United States has found a way to get around Switzerland’s decision to suspend payments for Patriot air defense systems.

Although Bern officially halted these payments in September 2025, the U.S. is still receiving money, according to SRF.

Washington is doing this by using funds that Switzerland is paying under its contract to purchase F-35 fighter jets.

According to Switzerland’s head of armaments, Urs Loher, the amount involved significantly exceeds $112 million. He did not disclose the exact figure due to pressure from U.S. authorities, describing it only as ‘in the low hundreds of millions.’

This workaround is possible because of the structure of the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, through which all U.S. defense deals are processed. Under this program, the Pentagon maintains a single pooled fund for all of Switzerland’s military contracts, allowing the U.S. to shift money between different projects if one of them faces a funding shortfall.

These actions by the American side have created funding gaps in the F-35 fighter jet procurement program. Switzerland’s defense ministry was forced to transfer several tens of millions of dollars ahead of schedule to cover the shortfall.

Representatives of the Social Democratic Party are calling for a complete withdrawal from the Patriot program, while right-wing parties say the situation undermines trust in the partnership with the United States. Politicians stress the need to revise the terms of future agreements to prevent Washington from unilaterally interpreting the rules.