Swiss buy Italian radar system for airspace surveillance

Federal government procures Italian radar system for airspace surveillance Keystone-SDA

The Swiss government is procuring a partially mobile short-range radar for monitoring Swiss airspace from the Italian manufacturer Leonardo.

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This is needed to better maintain air sovereignty in lower airspace, the Federal Armaments Office (Armasuisse) said on Monday.

Airspace surveillance is important for Switzerland’s security. For this reason, the existing capability gap in lower airspace is to be closed by procuring modern radars, Armasuisse said.

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The Air Force’s full capability with the new TMMR (Tactical Multi Mission Radar) radar system is planned as part of the 2028 Armed Forces Dispatch. The Air Force does not currently have a partially mobile radar system that is capable of covering lower airspace, the statement said.

The decommissioning of the tactical airborne radar (TAFLIR) around 2030 would therefore create an extended capability gap in lower and middle airspace, it said. This could be filled by the new radars for lower airspace.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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