Contracts · Air defense
Switzerland shortlists Barak MX, SAMP/T NG to supplement Patriot, Defense News reports
Defense News reports Switzerland wants a second system to expand air defense coverage and reduce dependence on a single supplier while retaining plans to buy Patriot.
Switzerland has narrowed its choice for a second long-range air defense system to Israel’s Barak MX or the French-Italian SAMP/T NG while retaining plans to buy Patriot, Defense News reported.1
Switzerland narrowed the choice for its second future long-range air defense system
while sticking to plans to buy Patriot
while sticking to plans to buy Patriot
to finance the second long-range air-defense system and a portion of the additional costs for Patriot
Reported by Defense News
Sources
Switzerland’s Federal Council, its government, wants the second system to expand the protected area and reduce dependence on a single supplier or supply chain. Switzerland announced the evaluation in May after Patriot deliveries slipped by several years, expressing a preference for a European-produced system. Delivery talks with the United States continue.1
The Federal Council said Wednesday it had asked Switzerland’s defense department to continue evaluating both candidates. Barak MX comes from Israel Aerospace Industries; SAMP/T NG comes from Eurosam, the MBDA and Thales joint venture. The council said it considered bids from four manufacturers in France, Israel and South Korea, weighing foreign-policy and economic-policy considerations alongside technical, military and weapon-related factors.1
Parliament is scheduled to review a government proposal for an additional 24 billion Swiss francs in defense and security spending during its winter session. That request includes 6 billion francs for the second long-range system and a portion of additional Patriot costs.1
Switzerland’s government says abandoning the Patriot purchase without a replacement system is not an option in the current situation, Defense News reported. The council will decide on the second system’s next steps and an additional Patriot appropriation after evaluations finish and parliament decides on armed forces funding. That funding decision is expected in early 2027.1
Sources (1)
- Defense News: Switzerland shortlists SAMP/T, Barak MX for long-range air defense www.defensenews.com