Swiss army suspends CHF320m project for airspace surveillance

Army suspends 300-million-euro project for airspace surveillance Keystone-SDA

Two Swiss projects for airspace surveillance and fighter jet guidance have been suspended for months despite parliamentary approval of nearly CHF320 million. Problems with systems integration led to the suspension.

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The project to integrate the “Skyview” system from the French armaments company Thales into the Swiss army’s planned digital platform has been on hold since February, said army spokesman Stefan Hofer, confirming a report by Swiss public radio, SRF, on Thursday. This was not previously known to the public.

+ Swiss airspace to be monitored by French system

Over the summer, a working group searched for lower-risk options. In September, the project committee admitted that “The renewed risk assessment revealed higher risks, particularly in the dependency between the ‘Skyview’ product (…) and the new digital platform,” the army spokesperson told SRF radio.

This delays the project from the original commissioning date of the end of 2027 to at least 2030. “Skyview” is meant to replace two ageing Florako subsystems.

Translated by DeepL / vdv

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