BERN (Realist English). On 19 August, the Swiss Federal Council submitted a request to parliament for an additional 970 million Swiss francs (approximately $1.2 billion) for the development of air defence systems as part of the 2026 budget.
The main objective is to secure production slots and delivery timelines amid an overloaded international arms market. The funding has become possible thanks to improved federal revenue forecasts due to higher corporate tax receipts.
Allocation of funds
The requested additional credit is distributed as follows:
| Direction | Amount (million CHF) | Equivalent (million USD) |
| Advance payments for medium-range air defence systems | 650 | ~812 |
| Advance payments for short-range air defence systems | 250 | ~312 |
| Partially mobile medium-range radar | 60 | ~75 |
| Counter-mini-drone systems | 10 | ~12.5 |
| Total | 970 | ~1,200 |
Source: Federal Council statement, Defence News
The funds are intended for advance payments on contracts already approved under the 2026 army programme. These include the procurement of:
- IRIS‑T SLM from Diehl for medium-range air defence (total cost: 1 billion francs);
- Oerlikon Skynex from Rheinmetall for short-range air defence (total cost: 800 million francs).
Reasons: threats and an overloaded market
The Federal Council identified “hybrid operations and long‑range attacks” as the most likely threats to Switzerland, noting that the armed forces do not have the necessary resources to adequately protect against air threats.
The situation is exacerbated by the state of the international arms market:
- demand has surged sharply, with production slots booked for years ahead;
- delivery timelines are constantly increasing;
- manufacturers are increasingly demanding substantial advance payments, without which procurement could be delayed by several years.
As Swiss Air Force Commander Major General Christian Oppliger told Blick on 12 April 2026, the country’s air defence assets are “modest and outdated,” and Switzerland has “no reliable means of countering ballistic missiles.”
Patriot delays and the search for alternatives
The additional request is linked to delays in existing contracts. Delivery of previously ordered US Patriot systems is being delayed by four to five years due to production disruptions.
As a result, Switzerland is considering the purchase of a second long‑range air defence system. In June 2026, the government announced the start of negotiations with manufacturers from France, Israel and South Korea. According to SRF, the favourite is the Franco‑Italian SAMP/T NG system from Eurosam.
Physical security of facilities
In addition to air defence procurement, the government plans to invest 100 million francs over the coming years to strengthen the physical security of more than 60 military facilities.
Measures include improved fencing, video surveillance, electronic access control and protected rooms. Work is to be completed no later than early 2029.
Approval procedure
The Swiss parliament will consider the 2026 army programme during the autumn session (14 September – 2 October 2026), and the additional credit during the winter session (30 November – 18 December 2026). Both documents require approval by the Federal Assembly.
In addition, parliament will vote on the requested VAT increase until 2040 to fund long‑term military priorities totalling 24 billion francs.
Expert opinion: ‘An attempt to book a place in the queue’
A senior researcher at the Centre for Security Studies (Zurich) said:
“Switzerland’s request for additional air defence funding reflects a fundamental shift in the defence policy of a neutral country. Bern, which for decades relied on its neutral status, is now forced to rapidly make up for lost ground.
The decision to pay $1.2 billion in advance payments is an attempt to ‘book a place’ in the production queues of manufacturers whose capacity is overloaded with orders amid the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. However, the delays with the Patriot and the ongoing negotiations for an alternative system indicate that even accelerated funding does not guarantee a quick closure of existing gaps.”
Neutrality under pressure
Switzerland’s request for additional air defence funding reflects a fundamental shift in the defence policy of a neutral country. Bern, which for decades relied on its neutral status, is now forced to rapidly make up for lost ground in air defence amid the deteriorating European security architecture.
The decision to pay $1.2 billion in advance payments is an attempt to “book a place” in the production queues of manufacturers whose capacity is overloaded with orders amid the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. However, the delays with the Patriot and the ongoing negotiations for an alternative long‑range system indicate that even accelerated funding does not guarantee a quick closure of existing gaps.
The key question is whether Switzerland will receive the new systems before the threats it calls “the most likely” materialise into real incidents.
As the Swiss Air Force Commander noted, the country currently has no reliable defence against ballistic missiles. Parliament’s final decision will determine how quickly these gaps are closed.
