Perception of the P-16 in the United States

The Swiss firm Flug und Fahrzeugwerke AG (FFA) developed a combat aircraft for the Swiss Air Force. The aircraft, known as the P-16, first flew in April 1955 and achieved supersonic flight for the first time in August 1956. The Swiss government was sufficiently impressed that an order for one hundred airframes was placed in 1958. Unfortunately, the crash of two prototypes caused the order to be suspended. While the cause of the accident was a relatively minor defect in the hydraulic system that was easily corrected, the Swiss government remained convinced that the design was faulty and cancelled the order. The Swiss government used the crashes to cancel the project. In reality, the Swiss government did not mention all the other causes affecting the cancellation. The P-16 became victim of a change of the Swiss concept of aerial warfare. This cancellation of the P-16 led to the inability to develop a jet airplane by the Swiss aircraft industry. The P-16 led later to the success of the business jet called Learjet. This study analyzes changes of the Swiss concept of aerial warfare, the procurement politics of the Military Department, and the United States perception of the P-16.