Swiss Parliament votes “yes” to Gripen E procurement

Earlier today the Council of States (Ständerat), which is one of the two chambers in the Swiss Parliament, voted “yes” with an absolute majority for the cancellation of the spending ceiling for Switzerland’s procurement of Gripen E.

The Ständerat had already voted in favour of the procurement of Gripen E – Saab’s next-generation multi-role fighter – and for a special procurement fund in March this year. Today’s votation which passed with a clear absolute majority of 27 votes for and 17 against means the procurement has secured the necessary support in both chambers. At the end of the current parliamentary session, on 27 September, both chambers of the Swiss Parliament; the Ständerat and the National Council (Nationalrat), will revisit and revote on all federal decisions taken during the session, which would include the procurement of Gripen E.

“This a strong endorsement of Gripen, which is the most modern state-of-the art fighter and the most cost-efficient option for Switzerland. The Gripen E is based on a proven platform, and with Sweden committed and the fighter already in pre-production this is a comparatively low risk acquisition. If the votes are reconfirmed at the end of the current session of parliament we have to see if a public referendum on the procurement of Gripen is called. If so, then a referendum will need to be held, before any order for the fighter is received,” says Lennart Sindahl, Senior Vice President and Head of Saab’s Aeronautics business area.



For further information, please contact:

Saab Press Centre,
+46 734 180 018, presscentre@saabgroup.com

www.saabgroup.com
www.saabgroup.com/Twitter
www.saabgroup.com/YouTube

Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers’ changing needs.