On July 9, the Swiss Federal Armaments Office, armasuisse, held a roundtable on the topic of drones with representatives from industry and the DDPS (Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport). Switzerland wants to be able to deploy a larger number of different drones from its own production in the immediate future in order to counter threats and strengthen the defense capability of the Swiss Armed Forces defense capability.
The roundtable on drones took place in Bern under the leadership of Thomas Rothacher, Deputy Chief of Armaments and Head of the Drones Task Force. Participants from industry and the DDPS discussed the possibility of the independent development of small and medium-sized drones in Switzerland, which could be used for aerial attack and reconnaissance missions. This is in line with the Armed Forces’ “Vision 2030” of strengthening its defense capability by enabling Switzerland to successfully prevent or fend off potential attacks.
Strengthening the defense capability and Swiss industry
The open exchange at the roundtable aimed to involve the partners in the discussion on the development of drones. At the roundtable, open questions and challenges were addressed, goals and needs for the use of drones were identified and possible solutions for cooperation were discussed. The focus is on involving partners in the delivery of subcomponents, complete systems or the provision of testing and training opportunities. This should also strengthen Switzerland’s security-relevant technology and industry base (STIB) and reduce dependencies and supply bottlenecks from abroad.
Drone task force for drone development in Switzerland
In view of the increasing threats and ongoing global conflicts, the DDPS set up the Drones Task Force in June 2024 under the leadership of the Federal Office for Defense armasuisse. A particular focus of the task force is on implementing drone development in Switzerland as autonomously as possible. The content discussed at the roundtable will now be translated into an implementation concept in a further step. If everything goes according to plan, the plan is to carry out the first tests with the troops using their own drones from 2025.
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