"All versions of the F-35, the world’s costliest weapons program, have failed to meet minimum combat readiness rates for six straight years”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-21/f-35s-have-failed-to-hit-readiness-marks-for-six-years-gao-says
F-35s Have Failed to Hit Readiness Marks for Six Years, GAO Says

All versions of the F-35, the world’s costliest weapons program, have failed to meet minimum combat readiness rates for six straight years, according to the watchdog agency for Congress.

Bloomberg

Very good article about why it doesn't even matter whether the F-35 has a kill switch or not.

Without access to the maintenance network, the same result would be achieved but with a small delay.

Especially more advanced key features require access to the ALIS/ODIN cloud-based system.

https://www.twz.com/air/you-dont-need-a-kill-switch-to-hobble-exported-f-35s

You Don’t Need A Kill Switch To Hobble Exported F-35s

The U.S. doesn't have to rely on a kill switch to rapidly degrade and soon end a foreign country's ability to use its F-35s.

The War Zone

Swiss population has turned against the F-35, the “ejectable seat demonstrator”

https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/wirtschaft/356208607-f-35-kauf-wird-von-schweizer-bevoelkerung-laut-umfrage-deutlich-abgelehnt

F-35-Kauf wird von Schweizer Bevölkerung laut Umfrage deutlich abgelehnt

Das unberechenbare aussenpolitische Verhalten von US-Präsident Donald Trump sorgt dafür, dass die Zustimmung zum Kauf des Kampfjets F-35 in der Schweiz kippt.

watson
Switzerland Slammed With 39% Tariff Rate in Trump Trade Blitz

(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump will impose a 39% tariff on imports from Switzerland, leaving the European country with one of the steepest levies globally as the US president seeks to cut America’s trade deficit and lure manufacturing to its shores.

www.swissinfo.ch

Swiss politicians across parties are seeking to cancel an order of three dozen F-35A fighter jets after President Donald Trump imposed some of the world’s harshest levies on the country.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-07/swiss-politicians-push-to-cancel-f-35-fighter-jet-deal-after-us-tariffs

Swiss Politicians Push to Cancel F-35 Fighter-Jet Deal After US Tariffs

Swiss politicians across parties are seeking to cancel an order of three dozen F-35A fighter jets from US defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin Corp after President Donald Trump imposed some of the world’s harshest levies on the country.

Bloomberg

Two thirds of the Swiss population support the government in not giving in on US extortion to lower the arbitrary 39% of tariffs on Swiss goods.

https://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/2025/article/suisse-usa-2-3-des-suisses-contre-des-concessions-malgre-les-droits-de-douane-28966641.html

Les Suisses hostiles à des concessions aux Etats-Unis, selon un sondage

La Suisse ne doit pas faire de concessions aux Etats-Unis après l'imposition de lourds droits de douane, selon un sondage, et ce bien que la population s’attende à des difficultés économiques à la suite de la décision du président Donald Trump.

Radio Télévision Suisse

Swiss Population a few days ago:
67% deems the cost increase in the procurement of 36 F-35A fighter jets unacceptable. Amid rising costs, 45% of respondents would prefer to withdraw from the F-35 agreement
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ch/swiss-against-spending-more-f-35-deal

Government today:
"Switzerland is offering to buy more American weapons”

https://www.ft.com/content/a470c79c-9d38-453e-b3d1-3a743d7d3c9c

Swatch mocks the US tariffs on Swiss goods, quickly selling out a 1*39* CHF “What if ... Tariffs?” watch

https://www.swatch.com/en-ch/what-if-tariffs-so34z106/SO34Z106.html

Enough is enough. It's time to pull the 🔌.

After the F-35 drama, the tariff insults, public mockery by Trump of the 🇨🇭 president, the technical inferiority of the Patriot missiles compared to the SAMP/T, 🇬🇱🇨🇦 invasion threats, the Pentagon's theft of European paid weapons destined to Ukraine to make up for the failures in Iran, and now the theft of money from the F-35 payments towards to patriot restocking…

🇨🇭should no longer be buying 🇺🇸 weapons.
Join the petition ✍️: https://gssa.ch/57766/#formular

@fj Signed! Thanks for sharing
@fj I don't want to punish the behaviour I want to see, but it's still disappointing that nobody bats an eyelash when the US starts wars everywhere, until it starts to divert our money to fund them.

@ska @fj

Europe suffers from a blindness rooted in racism.

The USA is their white friend.

Iran and China and Palestine are the animals, apparently.

@rapsneezy @ska @fj I think Europe suffers from a blindness rooted in economic dependence.

Otherwise you would've expected the whole Greenland thing to cause a diplomatic crisis, with people screaming "betrayal" at the top of their lungs. What we got instead was very cautious and gentle pushback, with some quiet whispers about economic independence starting to arise... right before the majority moves all their data to US clouds again.

With Russia we saw kinda the same thing, just maybe to a lesser extent. When they annexed Crimea in 2014, the sanctions stopped just short of actually being meaningful... because that oil and gas was just too good. And even though they had failed to fill the gas reservoirs in Germany that they had been put in charge of, and left Germany struggling for heat after the invasion of Ukraine, there are still plenty of politicians who wanna suck up to them again.

And I think it's often also individual politicians throwing their country under the bus. They don't care if the wealth of their nation is siphoned off to elsewhere, so long as they get a comfortable lobbying package. But you know where those lobbying packages aren't coming from? Iran. China. Palestine.

@fj

United States theft from Sweden...

"The United States has circumvented a Swiss payment freeze on the Patriot air defense system by redirecting funds Bern had set aside for its F-35 fighter jet acquisition, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported on March 27, 2026."

https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/us-diverts-swiss-f35-funds-patriot-payments

US diverts Swiss F-35 funds to cover frozen Patriot payments

Washington has redirected over 100 million Swiss francs in F-35 payments to the Patriot program, circumventing a freeze over delays imposed by Bern in 2025.

AeroTime
@fj Got a link to a non-french version?
Stoppt die Eskalation der Gewalt im Iran

Stop F-35 und Stop Elbit Nach Monaten der Spannungen und Versuchen der Abschreckung durch Gewalt haben die USA gemeinsam mit Israel den Iran bombardiert. Unter dem Vorwand, dass ihre jeweiligen Länder…

GSoA
@fj would be better if it ran counterclockwise.
@fj Omg I want one of those so badly
@fj Aaah nothing beats direct democracy...

@ilumium They can propose a deal, for it to be implemented it will need to pass parliament, and then we have can collect signatures to get a votation to block it.

So for a long-time it will just be a ** non-binding commitment** to buy more weapons.

Practice is already starting to look very different
https://www.blick.ch/fr/suisse/patriot-face-aux-retards-de-livraison-berne-perd-patience-id21254657.html

Systèmes Patriot: Berne perd patience face à Washington

Les relations entre Berne et Washington sont tendues. La patience de la Confédération est désormais à bout: après des retards dans la livraison des systèmes Patriot, elle a pour le moment suspendu les paiements anticipés.

Blick

70% of the Swiss oppose the Swiss trade deal framework with the US.

Given that it will likely be voted on by the Swiss population, its odds of surviving are very low.

https://www.blick.ch/fr/suisse/sondage-les-suisses-rejettent-laccord-douanier-avec-trump-id21480494.html

Les Suisses rejettent fortement l'accord avec Trump

L'accord douanier entre la Suisse et les Etats-Unis est largement rejeté par la population suisse. C'est ce que montre un sondage exclusif réalisé par Sotomo pour Blick. Le scepticisme gagne même les électeurs de l'UDC. L'enquête révèle encore d'autres surprises.

Blick
@fj Definitely a good sign. But keep in mind that if it is something that Billionaires want, it is entirely possible that billions of dollars will be spent convincing the Swiss otherwise. I'm not saying they're necessarily as gullible or poorly informed as people in certain other countries, but that is still a MASSIVE imbalance that could easily close a 20% gap.
@fj Est-ce que ça veut dire le wankpanzer (a.k.a. Tesla Cybertruck) resterait illégal en Suisse, même si l’union européenne a baissé son froc devant Trump pour les homologations de véhicules et que la Suisse suit en général l’Europe?
@fj only 2/3? I would have imagined pretty much everyone… I just hope they realise that all that is required is a life-size golden statue "spontaneous donation" to the prez to get it all over with.
@fj Honesty, at this point why any government is considering buying anything from the US is quite beyond my understanding.
@fj the only language he understands and the way Europe should hae reacted...
@fj Maybe they should return those fees on transactions to and from numbered accounts held within their jurisdiction?
@fj Time to work out how to jail-break the F-35! 🤣
@WTL
Sounds like a job for the Polish train hackers, right? 😊 @q3k @redford
@mrtick
@fj
@fj *surprised face*
But on the up-side: they also didn’t do any harm.
@fj "Agile Methodology" clearly does not include fighter jet agility in the air…