Swiss military ‘could struggle to defend airspace’: report

Switzerland is operating with an outdated air surveillance system Keystone

A failure to integrate French air surveillance systems in Switzerland could result in an airspace defence blackout, according to a report seen by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper.

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Earlier this year, the Swiss military suspended the CHF320 million Skyview project, leaving Swiss airspace to be defended from attack by outdated technology. The situation has been made more perilous by the Ukraine war.

The NZZ am Sonntag has seen an internal Swiss military document that highlights risks to the nation’s defence.

The Skyview project is “conflict-laden” and poorly coordinated, the report criticises. The Swiss army may be reliant on the old air surveillance system until 2030, says the newspaper.

A small team of specialists that maintain the current system will be halved in 2026 due to retirements and redundancies. The report warns that a further erosion of the workforce could pose an “acute threat to operations”.

“In my opinion, airspace surveillance is at risk,” Swiss People’s Party politician and military pilot Thomas Hurter told the newspaper. It is a “catastrophe” that the staffing levels for maintenance are so low, he added.

“There is clearly a lack of coordinated leadership,” said Radical Party parliamentarian Josef Dittli.

“This doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Franziska Roth, a Social Democrat. “The army is orientated towards the warfare concepts of large NATO forces.”