Switzerland Cuts F-35 Jet Order by 17%, Confirms Patriot System Purchase (RTX Supplier)
Summary
Switzerland announced it will reduce its order for U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets from 36 to approximately 30, a 17% cut, due to rising costs. This decision aims to keep the order within the original 6 billion Swiss francs ($7.68 billion) budget. While the F-35 program is primarily led by Lockheed Martin, RTX is a supplier to the F-35 program. Crucially, the Swiss government also confirmed plans to purchase five Patriot long-range air defense systems, manufactured by Lockheed Martin and RTX, and is considering an additional European system. This news presents a mixed bag for RTX: a slight negative from the F-35 reduction as a supplier, but a confirmed positive from the Patriot system sales where it is a direct manufacturer. The overall impact is likely neutral to slightly positive given the confirmed Patriot sales.
At the time of this announcement, RTX was trading at $204.50 on NYSE in the Industrial Applications And Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $274.5B. The 52-week trading range was $112.27 to $214.50. This news item was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.