Switzerland faces further delay in delivery of US defence system

The war in Iran is likely to trigger a race for Patriot systems and missiles. Keystone / Anthony Anex

The growing global demand for US Patriot air defence missiles in the Middle East has consequences for Switzerland. The Swiss army will have to wait even longer for the Patriot air defence systems it has ordered, government sources told Swiss public television SRF.

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The United Arab Emirates alone has intercepted over a thousand Iranian missiles and drones since Sunday. Many of them were intercepted using American Patriot missiles. A single interceptor missile from US manufacturer Raytheon costs an average of CHF3 million ($3.84 million).

Consumption of the missiles is higher than replenishment: the Gulf states have asked various European countries for additional systems. Ukraine also relies heavily on the Patriot system to protect its energy infrastructure and cities. It fears that it will now receive too few Patriot missiles due to the war with Iran.

Delay of more than five years

Swiss defence procurement chief Urs Loher was in the US last week before the outbreak of the Iran war. According to SRF research, Swiss authorities learned that the delivery time for the Patriot system would be up to five years. Now the defence department expects that, due to the Iran war, it will have to wait even longer for the five Patriot units it has ordered. Originally, the Patriot system was supposed to be delivered to Switzerland starting this year.

This development comes as no surprise to security policymakers in parliament. “It has long been suspected that Switzerland is no longer in a position to be supplied,” says parliamentarian Werner Salzmann from the Swiss People’s party. “With the outbreak of war in the Middle East, the situation will get even worse.”

+ Switzerland considers European alternative to US Patriot air defence system

Parliamentarian from the Social Democratic party Franziska Roth is calling for the Patriot procurement to be canceled. An air defence system that, like Patriot, can be used at longer ranges is not a priority. “What we need are defence systems against drones.”

Conservative security politicians such as parliamentarian Josef Dittli from the Radical-Liberal party on the other hand, insist that the Patriot system procurement must not be stopped under any circumstances. Switzerland will still need the Patriot system much later on, he says. “But we also need additional funds, and as quickly as possible. The federal government must now address the procurement of additional funds,” said Dittli.

Alternative system?

According to SRF research, Defence Minister Martin Pfister wants to procure another air defence system as an alternative to Patriot. A decision in principle on this is to be made at the government meeting on Friday. One alternative could be the SAMP/T system from the French consortium Eurosam.

Pfister apparently does not want to cancel the order for the Patriot systems.

Race for Patriots

The war in Iran is likely to trigger a race for Patriot systems and missiles. Fabian Hoffmann also expects this to happen. He conducts research at the University of Oslo on topics including missile technology and defence policy. Hoffmann believes that the Gulf states’ arsenals are likely to be empty after the war. “When the states start to replenish their arsenals, there will be a lot of competition for production slots,” says Hoffmann. Some 17 states are Patriot customers. “It can be difficult for smaller customers in particular to get attention,” says the researcher.

There are alternatives to Patriot, such as the French SAMP/T system, the Israeli David’s Sling system, and a newly developed missile from manufacturer Diehl for the IRIS-T system. “But Patriot is the most powerful in comparison.”

It remains unclear what will happen to the CHF650 million that Switzerland has already transferred to the US for the procurement of the Patriot systems. After the US first informed the Swiss government last summer of delays in the delivery of the Patriot system, the defence ministry suspended further payments for the US air defence system, which costs at least CHF2 billion.

In response to an inquiry from SRF, the ministry announced that the government is considering how to proceed with the procurement of the Patriot systems. They declined to comment further.

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Translated from German by AI/jdp

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