Swiss war materiel exports decline in 2023

Total exports of goods from Switzerland in 2023 were around 1.2% lower than in the previous year. War materiel exports also recorded a decrease. KEYSTONE

Swiss companies exported around 27% less war materiel in 2023 than in the previous year. Based on the licences issued by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), war materiel worth CHF696.8 million ($790 million) had been exported to 58 countries. Exports to Europe increased by around a quarter to 76.2%.

Exports of war materiel fell by CHF258.2 million to CHF696.8 million within a year, said SECO, which authorised the exports. In 2022, war materiel worth CHF955 million was exported.

Total exports of goods from Switzerland in 2023 were around 1.2% lower than in the previous year. War materiel exports also recorded a decrease. War materiel exports account for 0.18% of goods exported by the Swiss economy.

Fluctuations are not unusual

“Fluctuations of this magnitude are not unusual,” said André Mittmann, head of export controls for defence equipment, speaking to the media in Bern on Tuesday. Exports are strongly influenced by individual contracts, he said.

According to Mittmann, companies are also noticing that some European countries are holding back on procurement from Switzerland, in particular due to the non-re-export declaration for military equipment. However, it is still too early to speculate on possible influences on statistics.

Saudi Arabia is one Switzerland’s main war materiels purchaser

According to SECO, the five main purchasing countries were Germany, with deliveries totalling CHF168.5 million, followed by Denmark with CHF73.6 million, the US with CHF54.3 million, Saudi Arabia with CHF53.3 million and Romania with CHF39.7 million.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Group for a Switzerland Without an Army (GSoA) criticised exports to countries that violate human rights, such as Saudi Arabia. Exports of war vehicles and special military goods to Israel were also notable. The GSoA is concerned about the power of the arms lobby, which is aiming to relax export regulations, it said.

In principle, no exports of war materiel to Saudi Arabia are authorised. However, an exception applies to spare parts and ammunition for air defence systems, which have been supplied by Switzerland for several years, said Mittmann.

Larger transactions with European partners

Major transactions in the reporting period included exports of various types of ammunition and ammunition components to Germany (CHF98.1 million), wheeled armoured vehicles and their spare parts to Denmark (CHF54.6 million) and specific ammunition for air defence systems to Saudi Arabia (CHF40 million).

Wheeled armoured vehicles and their spare parts were exported to Romania (CHF39.6 million) and various types of ammunition and ammunition components to the Netherlands (CHF26.2 million).

According to SECO, around 79% of exported war materiel was destined for the 25 countries that belong to all four international export control committees for the control of strategically sensitive goods. In 2022, this share accounted for 56%.

Exports to Europe rose from 50.4% in 2022 to 76.2%. Exports to Asia fell from 36.1% to 12.9%. The share of exports to America was 9.6% (previous year: 7.1%), to Australia 1.2% (2.4%) and to Africa 0.2% (4%).

Looking at the categories of war materiel, 41.9% was accounted for by ammunition and ammunition components and 20.2% by armoured vehicles and associated components last year, according to SECO.

Some 9.2% was accounted for by fire control systems and associated components, 7.5% by weapons of all calibres and associated components, 6.7% by components for combat aircraft and 6.4% by small arms and weapon components. According to SECO, the remaining 8.1% were distributed across seven other categories.

The statistics on individual licences issued for special military goods show that there was a decrease from CHF69 million to CHF60.5 million. These include landing guidance systems for drones, night vision and thermal imaging equipment, electronic jamming equipment, NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection equipment and ballistic protection equipment.

Four applications rejected

In the reporting year, a total of 2,278 export applications were submitted to SECO (2022: 2,625). Four applications were rejected. 2,238 applications with a value of CHF1.67 billion were approved (previous year: CHF2.07 billion).

With the annual report on export controls for small arms and light weapons, Switzerland is increasing transparency in this area in line with international requirements and aims, according to the report. The report also outlines the export of 29,140 (2022: 33,530) small arms and light weapons in 2023. The main customers were foreign arms dealers and industrial companies.

Adapted from German by DeepL/amva

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