Patriot production delays prompt Switzerland to seek European air-defense fallback

PARIS — Switzerland will consider acquiring a second long-range air-defense system, preferably produced in Europe, as delivery of previously ordered Patriot systems by the United States will be delayed by four to five years, the government said on Friday.

The country will also buy fewer Lockheed Martin F-35 jets than initially planned after unit costs of the fighter increased, with the government unwilling to provide the additional budget to maintain to the original number of 36 ordered aircraft, Martin Pfister , the federal councillor for defense, said in a press conference.

The U.S. last year reprioritized delivery of Patriot systems amid European support for Ukraine, and Switzerland’s national armaments director was informed in February about possible delays and additional costs, according to Pfister.

Based on current information, the delivery schedule will slip four to five years, while the impact of the Middle East conflict on the delay remains unclear for now, Pfister said.

Swiss leaders have calculated that the price of the initial 2019 order of Patriot, with a price tag of 2 billion francs, could increase by up to 50% when factoring in the latest delay.

While Switzerland is sticking to Patriot as the central component of its longer-range air defenses, the government has ordered the Federal Department of Defence to “immediately” examine procurement of a second longer-range ground-based air defense system to close existing capability gaps as quickly as possible, according to Pfister.

“This second system should preferably be produced in Europe,” Pfister said. “Concretely, this means that it must be a European system or a non-European system manufactured in Europe. That way we will no longer be dependent on a single supply chain or a single country, and will be better able to ensure availability.”

The French-Italian SAMP/T system is the only European alternative to Patriot. Denmark in September picked the system developed by Eurosam, a joint venture between Thales and the French and Italian branches of missile maker MBDA.

The purchase of a second air-defense system would be submitted to parliament for approval, and would be financed from the regular armed forces budget, according to Pfister.

Regarding Switzerland’s planned F-35 buy, the approved budget of 6 billion Swiss francs (US$7.6 billion) no longer covers the original plan for 36 aircraft, and the government won’t fork out an extra 1.1 billion francs to maintain the number of airframes. He said Switzerland now estimates that with a smaller top-up of roughly 400 million francs, it can buy around 30 jets, though the number isn’t final.

Switzerland had been sparring with the U.S. over rising costs for the F-35, with the government’s margin of maneuver limited by the Alpine country’s model of participative democracy, which gives voters an immediate say on spending. The budget for the F-35 deal was only narrowly approved by Swiss voters in 2020, with 50.2% in favor of the purchase.

The Federal Council previously diagnosed a current budget shortfall for defense and civilian security authorities to the tune of 31 billion francs.

Pending lawmakers’ approval, the catch-up financing plan envisions a value added tax increase of 0.8% over ten years and the creation of a special fund to pay for urgently needed military equipment, officials said following their March 6 cabinet meeting.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——瑞士政府周五表示，由于美国此前订购的“爱国者”防空系统交付将延迟四到五年，瑞士将考虑采购第二套远程防空系统，最好是欧洲生产的。

联邦国防委员马丁·普菲斯特在新闻发布会上表示，由于战斗机的单价上涨，该国将减少洛克希德·马丁F-35战斗机的采购数量，因为政府不愿提供额外的预算来维持最初订购的36架飞机的数量。

据 Pfister 称，去年，由于欧洲对乌克兰的支持，美国重新调整了爱国者导弹系统的交付优先级，瑞士国家军备主管在 2 月份被告知可能会出现延误和额外费用。

普菲斯特表示，根据目前掌握的信息，交付计划将推迟四到五年，而中东冲突对延误的影响目前尚不清楚。

瑞士领导人计算得出，2019 年首批价值 20 亿瑞士法郎的“爱国者”导弹防御系统订单，如果将最新的延误考虑在内，价格可能会上涨高达 50%。

据普菲斯特称，虽然瑞士仍然坚持将“爱国者”导弹系统作为其远程防空系统的核心组成部分，但政府已命令联邦国防部“立即”审查采购第二种远程地面防空系统，以尽快弥补现有的能力差距。

“这第二套系统最好在欧洲生产，”普菲斯特说。“具体来说，这意味着它必须是欧洲的系统，或者是在欧洲制造的非欧洲系统。这样，我们就不再依赖单一的供应链或单一国家，从而能够更好地确保供应。”

法意联合研制的SAMP/T系统是欧洲唯一能与“爱国者”导弹系统相媲美的防空系统。丹麦于9月选择了由Eurosam公司开发的这套系统，该公司是泰雷兹集团与导弹制造商MBDA的法国和意大利分公司合资成立的。

据普菲斯特称，购买第二套防空系统的计划将提交议会批准，资金将来自正规军预算。

关于瑞士计划购买F-35战机，已批准的60亿瑞士法郎（约合76亿美元）预算已不足以支付原计划的36架战机，政府也不愿额外拨款11亿瑞士法郎来维持现有数量。他表示，瑞士目前估计，只需追加约4亿瑞士法郎的资金，即可购买约30架战机，但最终数量尚未确定。

瑞士一直与美国就F-35战机不断上涨的成本问题争论不休。由于瑞士实行参与式民主制度，选民对支出拥有直接发言权，因此政府的回旋余地十分有限。2020年，瑞士选民仅以微弱优势通过了F-35采购预算，赞成票占50.2%。

联邦委员会此前诊断出国防和民防部门目前的预算缺口高达 310 亿瑞士法郎。

官员们在 3 月 6 日的内阁会议后表示，这项追赶性融资计划尚待立法者批准，该计划设想在十年内将增值税提高 0.8%，并设立一个专项基金来支付急需的军事装备。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。