Switzerland’s National Council, parliament’s lower chamber, on Sept. 11 voted in favor of procuring 22 Gripen E fighter jets from Swedish aerospace and defense contractor Saab Group.
The National Council approved the measure with 113 votes for and 68 against. The vote will now move to the Council of States, parliament’s higher chamber. A vote on financing is scheduled for Sept. 18, according to a press release from Saab.
The Gripen E would replace the Swiss Air Force’s aging F-5 Tiger jets. The total cost of procuring the jets will be approximately $3.35 billion.
Swiss President Ueli Maurer pointed out the significance of the vote taking place on Sept. 11.
“Nobody foresaw what happened in the U.S. This is why we must guard against unforeseen risks,” he said to the National Council, according to Agence France Presse.
Maurer’s comments attempt to justify the potential purchase in light of a recent opinion poll that found most Swiss oppose the Gripen. Sixty-three percent of respondents did not approve of the procurement, while only 31 percent supported it. The poll, which surveyed 1,000 citizens, was published on Sept. 15 in the Swiss magazine SonntagsBlick.
The Gripen is currently operational in the Swedish, Czech, Hungarian, South African and Thai Air Forces. It is also used in the United Kingdom’s Empire Test Pilot School, according to Saab.