Tanner clarifies:

“Even neutrality is useless without a protective shield”

Thanks to the best defense systems, Israel can protect itself against many air attacks.(Bild: ANAS BABA)

The massive Iranian missile attack on Israel has shown how important air defense is for the civilian population. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) underlined this once again. She does not see this as a problem with neutrality - on the contrary.

"The world has come apart at the seams, so to speak. As the Iranian air attack on Israel shows, the Middle East region is one step closer to the abyss," was how Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) introduced the latest press conference on the "importance of our air defense".

Bizarrely, or rather threateningly, the range of Iranian missiles is around 3500 kilometers - and the Vienna-Tehran air route measures exactly 3179 kilometers. "We know that there is currently no frightening threat, but this is the portfolio of possible attacks," says Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer.

Minister Tanner speaks plainly at the press conference on air defense, flanked by Secretary General Kammel (left) and Lieutenant General Hofbauer.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Down to earth
The reality shows just how "limited" Austria's defensive capability currently is: as a next-range defence system, as the last means of defense, so to speak, we only have the "35-millimeter machine gun" and the "Mistral guided missile" with an operational firing range of 6000 meters.

These systems can only be used to protect objects such as the Zeltweg airbase. Civilian targets and infrastructure such as cities can only be protected to a limited extent or not at all - as can currently be seen in Ukraine.

Focus has been "lost" in recent years
"In recent years, we have lost a little of our focus on the Middle East. This is because the focus was on the East and Africa. Now the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is taking center stage again," explains Arnold Kammel, Secretary General of Defense Policy.

That is why it is now important to strengthen stabilization measures in the region, not to lose sight of Lebanon and to ensure a credible European defence. In this context, Minister Tanner expressed her displeasure at statements to the effect that Austria was merely a free rider within the framework of EU security policy.

Austria is not a free rider within the EU!
"We can proudly point to a decades-long contribution to peacekeeping. There are currently 200 red-white-red soldiers on peacekeeping duty on the border with Israel in Lebanon alone," said the Defense Minister.

And the Alpine republic is by no means playing the role of a follower in the current European air defense system Sky Shield. Last year, Austria and Switzerland signed a declaration of intent to join. This means that the Sky Shield project currently comprises 21 countries.

Sky Shield as the "spearhead of our neutrality"
This system is intended to significantly improve deficits in the area of combating ballistic missiles and defending against drones and cruise missiles. "Neutrality is the basis of our security, the armed forces are the shield, and Sky Shield will be the spearhead of our neutrality," Tanner emphasized, stating that this procurement cooperation in no way contradicts neutrality. With the realistic assessment: "Without a protective shield, even neutrality is useless."