The Swiss government is considering abandoning the agreed purchase of the Patriot air defense system from the United States due to significant delivery delays, Defense Minister Martin Pfister said on Wednesday.
“Cancellation is always an option in the event of a delay,” he told the ATS-Keystone news agency.
Earlier Wednesday, the Defense Department said it would continue to suspend payments for the system “until the United States has firmly announced new delivery dates and payment deadlines.”
Switzerland, which is not part of NATO, had ordered five Patriot systems in 2022, with delivery expected to begin this year and be completed in 2028.
But last July, the government said it had been informed by the U.S. Department of Defense that deliveries to Switzerland would be delayed as Washington worked to provide more support to Ukraine.
Switzerland first suspended its payments for the system last fall.
“We always assume that we will receive the delivery, but we don’t know when,” Pfister said, adding that the government was considering various options.
“A possible cancellation is part of it, but we don’t know the conditions,” he said.
Unauthorized payment
Last week, the Swiss government said the United States had circumvented the freeze on its payments for the Patriot system by tapping Swiss payments into the same fund, but intended to purchase a fleet of F-35A fighter jets.
This maneuver was authorized, the head of the Swiss arms department, Urs Loher, told Swiss media.
However, “if the liquidity of the fund falls below a critical threshold, the projects may be suspended or even abandoned in the event of a further decline,” the Swiss Ministry of Defense said in a press release on Wednesday.
“This could affect not only the acquisition of the Patriot system but also the entire Swiss portfolio within the framework of the (foreign military sales) program with the United States,” the press release warns.
The ministry noted that Washington had said it would inform Switzerland in the coming weeks of the next steps of the operation, delivery schedules as well as the costs and consequences of a possible interruption.
According to its press release, a recommendation on this subject will be submitted to the government “by the end of June 2026”.
In early March, Bern announced plans to examine the acquisition of an additional long-range surface-to-air missile system, preferably manufactured in Europe, to complement the Patriot system.
Last month, the government also said it now wanted to buy just 30 F-35A fighter jets, instead of the 36 ordered, after Washington raised prices last year, citing high inflation and soaring prices of raw materials and energy.
