Switzerland weighs Franco-Italian alternative to US air defences

The Swiss army testing the SAMP/T multifunction radar of the air defence system in 2019. Keystone / Alexandra Wey

SAMP-T emerges as strong option for Bern as Raytheon’s Patriot system deliveries delayed for at least five years.

Switzerland should prioritise interoperability with Europe on air defence as it weighs alternatives to the US Patriot orders which are now at least five years behind schedule, according to the country’s top security official.

Markus Mäder, state secretary for security, pointed to the French-Italian SAMP/T air and missile defence system as Europe’s main offer while Bern awaits US arms maker Raytheon to deliver its system, which was due in 2027 but has been pushed back to 2032 or later.

“We want to be interoperable with our environment, and that’s Europe,” he said in an FT interview. “We’re not saying we change from one horse to the other, but [if] one horse is not fast enough . . . let’s try [to] find a second horse.”

SAMP-T has become a symbol of Europe’s push to reduce dependence on US air defence systems such as the Patriot, although so far few countries have ordered it and most of Europe remains reliant on US technology.

If Switzerland were to order the Franco-Italian air defence system, which is being updated to a more advanced version known as the SAMP-T NG, it would mark a significant change in procurement strategy and a vote of confidence in the homegrown alternative to the Patriot system.

The Swiss government said last month it had received responses from France, Germany, Israel and South Korea as part of its search for a second long-range air and missile defence system.

Switzerland’s Patriot order — five air and missile defence units acquired under the Air2030 programme in 2022 — was originally valued at about CHF2.3 billion ($2.9 billion). The deliveries were planned for 2027 and 2028 but Bern now faces potential cost overruns and delays of up to five years or more.

The SAMP-T NG manufacturers — European missile champion MBDA and its partners, the radar makers France’s Thales and Italy’s Leonardo — are planning the first deliveries to France and Italy by the end of the year. Denmark last year became the first country to sign a contract to buy the SAMP-T NG, with first deliveries expected in 2028.

While Switzerland remains outside both NATO and the EU, Mäder said Bern wanted to deepen defence co-operation and interoperability with neighbours, insisting the country considered itself “an integral part of European security”.

Bern was also seeking to deepen air situation data exchange with neighbours and the US, he added. Switzerland plans to increase investment in space capabilities. “In space, international co-operation is key,” Mäder said. “You don’t get very far alone in space.”

Mäder’s comments come as Switzerland is pressing ahead with its first national security strategy, unveiled in draft form in December and expected to be approved by the government later this year.

The strategy was developed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which Mäder described as a “watershed moment” that forced Switzerland to reassess its security assumptions. The war also prompted the creation of the State Secretariat for Security Policy (Sepos). Mäder, a former brigadier, became its first head in January 2024.

The draft strategy says Switzerland’s security environment has sharply deteriorated and urges the country to strengthen its defences against cyber attacks, sabotage and espionage.

But any shift comes with political constraints. Switzerland’s neutrality remains deeply embedded in national identity, and a popular vote expected in September on a neutrality initiative could force a more rigid interpretation into the constitution. The government opposes the proposal, warning it would reduce Bern’s room for manoeuvre in foreign and security policy.

That position has not always satisfied allies. Swiss restrictions under the War Materiel Act have frustrated European governments by blocking the re-export of Swiss-made arms and ammunition to Ukraine.

Bern is also under pressure over defence spending. Switzerland spends about 0.7% of GDP on defence and aims to reach 1% by 2032 — well below the targets now being discussed by NATO members. The government has proposed a VAT increase to help finance higher military spending, though political agreement over how to fund the build-up remains unresolved.

The wider defence debate has also been complicated by domestic controversy surrounding Switzerland’s purchase of US-made F-35 fighter jets, after the government faced criticism over whether the agreed price with Washington was truly fixed as projected costs rose.

Still, Mäder said Switzerland did not see closer European defence co-operation as incompatible with strong US ties. “We want to intensify co-operation with Europe, but at the same time maintain that well-functioning security and defence co-operation with the United States,” he said. “For us this is not a contradiction — it’s both.”

Additional reporting by Leila Abboud in Paris

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