Switzerland seeks extra $1.2 billion for air defence in 2026 budget

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PARIS — The Swiss government is seeking parliamentary approval to allocate an additional 970 million Swiss francs (US$1.2 billion) for air defense under the 2026 budget, citing a heightened threat situation and long delivery times for defense equipment.

The requested appropriation funds include 250 million francs earmarked for down payments on short-range ground-based air defense systems and 650 million francs for medium-range systems, as well as 60 million francs for a medium-range radar and 10 million for drone-counter systems, the Swiss federal council said in a statement on Wednesday .

The advance payments are intended to ensure deliveries take place on time and allow training of operational procedures to begin, the government said. Switzerland plans to spend 1 billion francs on Diehl’s IRIS-T SLM for medium-range air defense as well as 800 million francs to buy the Oerlikon Skynex short-range system from Rheinmetall, according to the 2026 defense-equipment program .

“Hybrid operations and attacks from a distance pose the most likely threats to Switzerland,” the federal council said. “At the same time, the armed forces lack the necessary resources to adequately protect Switzerland from aerial threats.”

The tight international arms markets with “sharply” higher demand means production capacities are fully booked for years to come, with delivery times lengthening, according to the government. Arms makers also increasingly demand “substantial” down payments, and failure to meet those demands could delay urgent procurements by several years, the government said.

Switzerland said in March the country was considering buying a second long-range air-defense system , as delivery of previously ordered Patriot systems from the United States looked to be delayed by four to five years. The country said in June it would start negotiations with French, Israeli and South Korean manufacturers.

The French-Italian SAMP/T NG system produced by Eurosam and armed with MBDA’s Aster air-defense interceptor is considered the favorite for the second long-range system, SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen reported in June .

With the supplementary appropriation, the council “aims to secure production capacity and delivery dates at an early stage for the procurements approved” in the 2026 armed forces budget. The council said the financing is possible thanks to an improved fiscal outlook resulting from higher income tax revenues.

The council said it will be able to proceed with the advance payments as soon as parliament has made its decision, probably during the upcoming fall session.

The government additionally plans to invest 100 million francs in coming years to strengthen security at more than 60 military sites, including improved fencing, video surveillance, electronic access controls, and secure rooms.

The evolving security situation means “it is urgent to implement these measures quickly,” by early 2029 at the latest, and a decision next year would be too late to achieve that goal, the council said.