Switzerland should develop own drones system, says armaments official

Rothacher is convinced that Switzerland, with its world-renowned universities and innovative industry, can make a name for itself in drone production. Keystone-SDA

Switzerland needs its own drone ecosystem, said Thomas Rothacher, deputy chief of armaments at the Federal Office of Armaments (Armasuisse). "The danger posed by this technology is still largely underestimated," he warned.

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“The idea is for companies to develop drones in Switzerland that can also be exported,” said Rothacher in an interview published on Saturday in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. He is convinced that Switzerland, with its world-renowned universities and innovative industry, can make a name for itself in this field.

But, he added, the pre-requisite must be a relaxation of the restrictive Swiss law on the export of war materiel, without which no company would take the risk.

‘No effective defence system against drones’

Rothacher said that NATO countries are now avoiding Swiss arms purchases, for fear of not being able to pass them on in an emergency or not being able to restock. “This costs our armaments industry orders and companies are leaving,” he said.

He also believes that Europe has been too slow to recognise the problem posed by drones. Defence is more difficult than attack, because each system works differently, he said: “Unfortunately, to date there is no effective defence system against all drones”.

At the beginning of October, the Swiss army commissioned Armasuisse to acquire new drone defence systems. Rothacher hopes that these will be ready by June 2026. In Switzerland, there is a tendency to want to do everything perfectly,” he said. “I’m afraid we don’t have the time.”

Translated from French with DeepL/gw

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