Swiss Armed Forces

Talks held over the summer have made it clear that the USA is not prepared to deviate from its position. Consequently, Switzerland is unable to assert a fixed price for the F-35A fighter aircraft. At its meeting on 13 August, the Federal Council determined the next steps and instructed the DDPS to examine various options in depth by the end of November.

Following Parliament's decision not to pursue the planned privatisation of Beyond Gravity, the DDPS intends to set out Beyond Gravity's new strategic direction in the near future. To this end, the DDPS has set up an advisory group comprising Prof. Thomas Zurbuchen from ETH Zurich, National Armaments Director Urs Loher, Jürg Rötheli, president of the Board of Directors of RUAG MRO, and representatives from the Federal Finance Administration (FFA) and the Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (EAER). The advisory group will be chaired by Marc Siegenthaler, Deputy Secretary General of the DDPS. The Federal Council was informed of this at its meeting on 13 August.

Through its membership in the CV90 Club (Combat Vehicle 90 operator group), Switzerland benefits from efficient and cost-effective maintenance of its Infantry Fighting Vehicle 2000 while gaining valuable insights into ongoing developments. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are now set to join the group, which facilitates information exchange among user nations. The Federal Council approved the agreement to expand the operator group at its meeting on 13 August.

Switzerland is procuring five IRIS-T SLM systems for ground-based air defence. These will protect the population from medium-range threats from the air. The procurement is part of the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI). The contract for Switzerland has now been signed between the Federal Office of Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support of the German Armed Forces and the manufacturer Diehl Defence GmbH & Co. KG, after the Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse gave authorisation to do so.

National Armaments Director Urs Loher travelled to Vienna from 17 to 18 July 2025 to take part in the D-A-CH meetings with the Armaments Directors from Germany and Austria. The main topics of the exchange were ongoing armament procurements and trilateral cooperation.