Switzerland has opened formal talks with defense manufacturers in France, South Korea and Israel to buy a second air defense system, after a delayed U.S. Patriot shipment failed to arrive on time. According to Reuters, the move is meant to provide a rapid response to worsening security threats and reduce reliance on a single supplier.
Swiss Defense Minister Martin Pfister said any new deal, including one with Israel, would likely be significantly more expensive than the original Patriot package, which was estimated at about $2.5 billion. He said the goal is to secure an operational system as quickly as possible in case the American deal does not proceed as planned.
Urs Loher, head of Switzerland’s National Armaments Procurement Office, clarified at a press conference that the system under consideration with Israel is not the Arrow system. The defense ministry said a second system would lessen dependence on one supplier and one supply chain, thereby strengthening supply security.
The decision comes amid a deterioration in Europe’s security environment. Switzerland turned to the other countries after the U.S. delayed Patriot deliveries by four to five years, following the war in Ukraine. The Patriots were ordered in 2022, and the Swiss defense ministry said it has now resumed payments to the United States after previously freezing them. U.S. deliveries could begin in 2027.
