US spying fears plague Swiss fighter deal

A Swiss plan to buy 22 fighter jets from Sweden is in disarray after a report says US-made equipment on the jets could be used for spying.

Ahead of a Swiss referendum on the country’s plan to buy the fighter jets from Sweden, a report raised concerns Sunday that a US-made communication system onboard could be used for spying. According to a report in Swiss weekly Le Matin Dimanche, Swedish defense firm Saab last year brought in US company Rockwell Collins to replace Roschi Rohde & Schwartz of Switzerland, which had originally been contracted to build the communications system.

AFP reports that while the Swiss would still be making their own encryption keys, the physical box and the software inside would be American made.

Several experts quoted by Le Matin Dimanche cautioned that the US company could potentially build a “backdoor” into the system, making it possible for US intelligence to see the information gathered during reconnaissance flights.

Following the trove of disclosures by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden of Washington’s widespread spying efforts, the American firm’s role has given rise to worries.

“With the Americans, it would be surprising if there were no backdoors,” Richard Morva, head of the Swiss Crows association that deals with electronic warfare, told the paper.

Christophe Darbellay, who heads Switzerland’s Christian Democratic Party and who favours the fighter deal, said he wanted an explanation from Defence Minister Ueli Maurer.

“In the context of the Snowden revelations… I think this is a mistake. I will always have more faith in a (company from) Bern than in Uncle Sam,” he told the paper.

The most recent polls show that a majority of Swiss voters oppose the plan to buy the Swedish Gripen fighters, which would cost the Alpine country 3.1 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion, 2.6 billion euros).

Voters are set to cast their ballots on the issue on May 18.

In December 2013, Brazil snubbed the American company Boeing and picked Saab to replace its aging fleet of fighter jets after reports came out about the US spying.

In September 2013, the Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff cancelled her planned state visit to the US after revelations that the National Security Agency was spying on foreign heads of states including her.

According to the latest documents that were published on Saturday by German magazine Der Spiegel, the NSA kept a spy database on 122 world leaders, including 300 files on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The newly-revealed documents show that the NSA maintained a database of world leaders that were under the agency’s surveillance in May 2009.