Swiss Patriot delivery faces long delay, procurement chief says
RTX•Switzerland’s order for U.S.-made Patriot air defence systems is “massively delayed,” procurement chief Urs Loher said. He urged officials to move quickly on a second air defence procurement, with binding offers due to expire in February.
1. Patriot order delayed
Switzerland’s order for Patriot air defence systems is facing long delays, Urs Loher, head of defence procurement agency Armasuisse, said in an interview. Washington is prioritising Germany for the units intended for Switzerland, and Bern is getting back some of its down payments, he said. Cancelling the purchase from Raytheon and Lockheed Martin is an option.
2. Second system considered
Bern began contract talks this year with manufacturers from France, Israel and South Korea for an additional air defence system. Loher said a second procurement was hard to avoid if Switzerland wanted to be operational before 2030, and urged officials to move quickly because binding offers were due to expire in February. Swiss officials have asked for the offers to be extended.
3. Procurement concerns
Loher said future procurement would be much more expensive and questioned whether the initial order of five Patriot fire units made sense if it shrank further. He said Switzerland would aim to buy directly from manufacturers where possible, following price wrangling over a U.S. fighter jet order. He also said Switzerland was “marginalized” in international discussions.
