UK to buy N-capable F-35s; Swiss in price spat

The Hague: The UK said it would buy a dozen F-35A fighter jets capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons in what it described as the biggest expansion of its nuclear deterrent in a generation.

The purchase of the Lockheed Martin jets would allow Britain's air force to carry nuclear weapons for the first time since the end of the Cold War, Downing Street said. "In an era of radical uncertainty we can no longer take peace for granted," PM Keir Starmer said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Switzerland and the United States are quibbling over the final price of 36 new F-35A jets bought to replace the ageing Swiss fleet, Bern said Wednesday.

The US defence security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) wants Switzerland to assume additional costs, but Bern says it is sticking to the agreed price of just over $7.5 billion at current exchange rates.

The DSCA said "Switzerland will have to bear additional costs due to the high inflation in the US in recent years and the sharp rise in raw material and energy prices in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic." bloomberg, reuters