Switzerland squares neutrality with its European air-defense push

MILAN — Switzerland is moving to formalize its membership in the European Sky Shield Initiative, a step that officials and analysts believe is in line with the country’s neutrality stance thanks to the project’s procurement focus and some special wording.

Through its participation in ESSI, launched in 2022 following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland aspires to increase “international opportunities for cooperation ” and enable coordination of purchases, training, and logistics for its ground-based, air-defense portfolio, the government said in a statement.

Neutral states Austria and Switzerland signed a letter of intent to join the initiative in July 2023 , which initially raised questions about the feasibility of the match with their policy of neutrality.

Marcel Berni, lecturer at the Strategic Studies Department at the public research university ETH Zurich, said Switzerland’s tradition of non-alignment presents no conflict in this case. “In view of neutrality, joining the initiative is in my opinion unproblematic – participation is also in Switzerland’s security interests,” he said.

Berni also noted that since Switzerland does not currently “have the means to defend itself in the event of an air attack with ballistic missiles,” the country’s eventual accession is also coherent from a military standpoint, he argued.

According to the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, even after becoming a member, Bern would retain the right to decide its level of involvement in ESSI.

“Switzerland itself decides on the extent and nature of its participation in ESSI activities – its main focus is on the coordination of procurement projects and cooperation in training and logistical aspects. Integration into a ground-based air defense network is not envisaged,” Samantha Leiser, a spokeswoman at military-procurement agency Armasuisse, told Defense News in an email statement.

One of the ambitions of the initiative is to build a ground-based integrated European air defense system with a capability to counter ballistic missiles. The European architecture feeds into NATO’s wider Integrated Air Defense System, which consists of nationally-owned, networked sensors and interceptors.

Leiser added that the ESSI framework agreement contains a suspension clause that “excludes participation or involvement in armed conflicts between states.”

The ESSI project has grown from 15 to 21 participating states, with Greece and Turkey announcing their intention to join in February. The nations now have two months to decide on Switzerland’s membership bid.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——瑞士正着手正式加入欧洲天空之盾倡议，官员和分析人士认为，由于该项目的采购重点和一些特殊措辞，此举符合瑞士的中立立场。

瑞士政府在一份声明中表示，瑞士希望通过参与在2022年俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰后启动的ESSI计划，增加“国际合作机会”，并协调其地面防空装备的采购、培训和后勤工作。

中立国​​奥地利和瑞士于 2023 年 7 月签署了一份加入该倡议的意向书，这最初引发了人们对该倡议与其中立政策是否匹配的可行性的质疑。

苏黎世联邦理工学院战略研究系讲师马塞尔·贝尔尼表示，瑞士的不结盟传统在此并不构成冲突。“鉴于中立立场，我认为加入这项倡议没有任何问题——参与也符合瑞士的安全利益，”他说道。

贝尔尼还指出，由于瑞士目前“没有能力在遭受弹道导弹空袭时自卫”，因此从军事角度来看，该国最终加入欧盟也是合情合理的。

根据瑞士联邦国防部的说法，即使成为成员，伯尔尼仍有权决定其参与 ESSI 的程度。

“瑞士自行决定其参与ESSI活动的程度和性质——其主要重点是协调采购项目以及在培训和后勤方面开展合作。目前没有计划将其整合到地面防空网络中，”瑞士军工采购机构Armasuisse的发言人萨曼莎·莱瑟在给《防务新闻》的电子邮件声明中表示。

该倡议的目标之一是构建一个具备拦截弹道导弹能力的陆基一体化欧洲防空系统。这一欧洲架构将并入北约更广泛的一体化防空系统，后者由各国拥有的联网传感器和拦截器组成。

莱瑟补充说，ESSI框架协议包含一项暂停条款，“排除参与或介入国家间的武装冲突”。

ESSI项目的参与国已从15个增加到21个，希腊和土耳其于2月份宣布了加入意向。各国现在有两个月的时间来决定是否接受瑞士的入会申请。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。