Swiss government eyeing boosting air defence budget by over $1 billion

Switzerland's government said on Wednesday it was seeking to boost its 2026 investments in air defence spending by more than $1.0 billion (€860 million), pointing to escalating threat levels and drawn-out delivery times.

"To guarantee delivery times for air defence acquisitions," the government "will request an additional 970 million Swiss francs from parliament" towards its 2026 budget, it said in a statement following a ministerial meeting.

In March, Bern had requested appropriations for this year's armament programme to the tune of 3.4 billion Swiss francs (€3.6 billion).

The government stressed that "hybrid operations and long-range attacks constitute the most likely threats to Switzerland," cautioning that "the armed forces do not have the necessary resources to ensure sufficient protection of the country against aerial threats."

It also highlighted the tense situation on the international arms market amid soaring demand and with production capacity "saturated" for years to come, causing increasingly long delivery times.

In addition, it said that "manufacturers are more and more frequently demanding substantial down payments, without which urgent acquisitions could be delayed for several years."

Switzerland is awaiting delivery of a fleet of US F-35A fighter jets, but Bern and Washington have been quibbling over the final price of the jets and the order faces delays.

The militarily neutral country has also said it is looking at buying a European surface-to-air defence system to go alongside the delayed Patriot system on order from the United States.

According to the government, the additional 970 million francs will go towards down payments for short-range and medium-range ground-to-air defence systems, a medium-range semi-stationary radar and mini-drone defence capabilities.

The government said it also plans to invest another 100 million francs (€106 million) in coming years to urgently strengthen security at more than 60 military sites, a task that it said needed to be completed "no later than the start of 2029."

Parliament, which has yet to approve the additional funding, still also needs to vote on a significant requested value-added tax (VAT) increase through 2040 to finance the army's defence spending priorities.

"To counter the most likely threats, particularly hybrid operations and long-range attacks, the army will need additional investments in weaponry amounting to 24 billion francs (€25 billion) in coming years," the government said.