Business · Companies · 11 hrs ago
Ruag to assemble and test three F-35 jets in Switzerland
Swiss company Ruag will assemble and test three F-35A jets at its site in Emmen under a new agreement with US manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
The work is part of Project Rigi, which began in 2024, and gives Ruag staff experience with the fighter jet.
The first jet’s main body is expected in Switzerland in September 2027, and assembly is expected to take just over a year.
After ground checks and test flights in Emmen, the jet will go to Cameri, Italy, for its radar-absorbing coating before being handed to the Swiss air force at Payerne.
Ruag aims to finish assembling the other two jets by 2030, making Emmen the fourth F-35 final-assembly site worldwide.
The deal builds skills as European countries plan to acquire more F-35s, but it will not replace all the work Ruag is losing as older Swiss aircraft retire.
Ruag says it does not expect layoffs beyond staff departures through natural turnover.
Ruag and Lockheed Martin have agreed that Ruag will assemble and test three F-35A fighter jets in Emmen, Switzerland.
The plan is part of the Rigi project, which began in 2024, and the number of jets was reduced from four to three after a cost-benefit assessment.
The first jet fuselage is expected in Switzerland in September 2027, with final assembly and testing to follow in Emmen.
Ruag expects to build expertise, but its F-35 maintenance work is expected to bring in significantly less revenue than its work on F/A-18 jets.
Ruag says it does not expect layoffs apart from departures through natural turnover.
- Who
- Ruag and Lockheed Martin agreed to the work. Ruag will assemble and test the jets.
- What
- Ruag will carry out final assembly and testing of three F-35A fighter jets.
- When
- The first fuselage is expected in September 2027. Ruag aims to complete the other two jets by 2030.
- Where
- Emmen, Switzerland.
- Why
- The project is intended to build Ruag’s expertise and support the Swiss Air Force. The sources say the reduction from four jets followed a cost-benefit assessment.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Rigi project began.
Ruag announced that it would assemble and test three F-35A jets in Emmen, rather than the four originally planned.
The first F-35 fuselage is expected to arrive in Switzerland.
Ruag aims to have assembled the other two fighter jets.
- Aircraft
- Three F-35A jets
- Assembly and testing site
- Emmen, Switzerland
- First fuselage expected
- September 2027
- Target for the other two jets
- By 2030
- Original plan
- Four jets
- Worldwide assembly location
- Emmen would be the fourth F-35 assembly site, after Cameri, Fort Worth and Nagoya
2 sources
What people are saying
The reduction from four to three aircraft followed a cost-benefit assessment. This measure ensures that the cost framework is met. The reduction in aircraft has no impact on achieving the objectives for technology transfer and the development of know-how.
It is foreseeable that there will be a significant loss of revenue compared with the maintenance and servicing of the F/A-18.