To save costs
Switzerland considers joint air force with Austria
Switzerland is discussing the realignment of its defense - the Social Democrats have now put forward the idea of merging the Swiss and Austrian air forces. This would be more cost-effective and could increase security. The Minister of Defense, on the other hand, prefers the acquisition of dozens of F-35 fighter jets from the USA.
After strategy expert Mauro Mantovani suggested transferring the defense of Swiss airspace to France, the SP also considers such a merger to be "conceivable", the SonntagsZeitung quoted from a party position paper.
Minister would prefer to purchase F-35 fighter jets
In this way, "significant costs could be saved" and "security could be increased" thanks to the possibility of forming security-relevant focal points, the paper continues. The Social Democrats have adopted the position paper as an alternative to the armament plans of the Swiss government (Federal Council). Defense Minister Martin Pfister from the "Die Mitte" party favors the purchase of at least 30 F-35 fighter jets from the USA. For Pfister, there is "no alternative" to the purchase.
Reasonableness and price
On the one hand, the Social Democrats consider the arms deal to be too expensive. On the other hand, the F-35s are not suitable for the SP in view of the new challenges posed by the massive use of drones in armed conflicts: An aggressor does not need to "advance as far as the Rhine with armored troops or deploy ballistic missiles", says the position paper of the Swiss Social Democrats. Their co-leader in parliament, Samira Marti, told the SonntagsZeitung newspaper: "We need to gear the protection of our airspace towards realistic scenarios." In this regard, she mentioned "hybrid attacks with swarms of drones and cheap missiles".
The SP is therefore calling for a focus on "detection, electronic defense and point defense". Specifically, there is a need for rapidly deployable ground-to-air fire units and "light fighter jets" to defend against low and slow-flying drones, which are much better suited to this task than F-35s, says Marti.
Social Democrats want "more agile, more cost-effective" fighter jets
Just under a year ago, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) announced that Austria would be purchasing twelve Leonardo M-346FA jets from Italian manufacturer Leonardo - replacing retired Saab 105 training jets. Leonardo had advertised them as a possible addition or alternative to the Eurofighters. The SP is now proposing light aircraft similar to the M-346 for Switzerland instead of the F-35. These are "more agile, cheaper and more effective".
However, because neutral Switzerland cannot manage without high-performance fighter jets in its air-to-air defense, the SP now wants Switzerland to work together with other European countries such as NATO member France and its equally neutral neighbor Austria in order to avoid purchasing the F-35 altogether.
Bern wants to go through with plans despite cost explosion
The costs of the retrofitting planned by the government in Bern have increased significantly over time: According to the "SonntagsZeitung" newspaper, the procurement of the F-35 and Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, also from the USA, now amounts to around nine billion Swiss francs (9.69 billion euros) including the additional costs that have been added to date. The SP sees this as a "billion-dollar grave". "Instead, we must cooperate with our reliable partners in Europe within the framework of military neutrality," says Marti. Autonomous national defense is "a relic from the past".
Minister Pfister also recently emphasized the importance of reliable European partners - both in terms of economic and security policy relations. At the same time, however, he warned of gaps in ammunition, systems and equipment and called for the rapid strengthening of the Swiss Armed Forces. The government is currently examining various options, including a reduction in the number of aircraft or a supplementary credit. However, the decision in principle for the F-35 remains unchanged. Pfister intends to present a proposal for the next steps by the end of November.
Austria's Ministry of Defense keeps a low profile
The Austrian Ministry of Defense did not wish to comment for the time being. The Secretary General and Director General for Distribution Policy, Arnold Kammel, only stated in general terms: "The protection of our own airspace is also a central task of our armed forces. Austria must and will always protect its airspace independently."
At the same time, Kammel emphasized in a written statement the importance of cooperation with other European countries "in order to create coherence, better network armed forces and procure them cost-efficiently". "Austria and Switzerland have been supporting each other for years, including in protecting the World Economic Forum in Davos (...)." Both Austria and Switzerland are also on board as neutral states in the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) for the development of improved air defense over Europe, emphasized the high-ranking official.
This article has been automatically translated,
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