Armasuisse study: A deeper look into the security and defence industrial base of Switzerland

Last year, Federal Councillor Viola Amherd commissioned armasuisse, the competence centre for procurement, technology and real estate in the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), to conduct an open-ended review of the Federal Council's principles for armaments policy. As part of this mandate, a team at the Institute of Technology Management (ITEM-HSG) led by Professor Thomas Friedli examined the defence readiness of the Swiss Armed Forces with a view to planning up to 2035. The focus was on the security-relevant industrial base.

Critical raw materials and supplies

The study centres on critical raw materials and supplies. The authors analyse their origin and the complex relationships between the regions, suppliers, traders and manufacturers. This makes it possible to identify dependencies and risks in the supply chain in order to improve procurement strategies and risk management. The majority of the defence equipment used comes from the western world, but subcomponents can nevertheless come from other parts of the world. The authors of the study therefore consider comprehensive supplier management and monitoring beyond the first supplier level to be “necessary”. As Switzerland has hardly any natural resources, agreements and contracts that secure access to raw materials are crucial in addition to the storage of raw materials – regardless of the global political situation.

Strong industrial base in Switzerland

Switzerland has highly developed technology and a globally competitive industrial base, whereby the defence industry cannot be clearly separated from general industry. The authors recommend visualising the mutual dependence of individual industrial companies and the Swiss Armed Forces with the help of dynamic industrial monitoring. However, domestic demand is not sufficient to utilise the capacity of domestic defence companies. The authors of the study therefore consider suitable framework conditions and legal certainty for the defence industry in connection with exports to be “indispensable”. It goes without saying that ethical and neutrality policy aspects must be observed. Targeted offset transactions are one way of strengthening companies in a targeted manner and promoting the development of future-oriented capabilities and capacities.

Ten recommendations

The authors of the study make a total of ten recommendations aimed at securing the defence-critical industrial base in Switzerland in the long term. In addition to the points mentioned above, it is also important, for example, to utilise the excellent Swiss ecosystem of companies, universities, NGOs and well-trained employees for innovation – particularly in the areas of space and drones. Switzerland already has outstanding capabilities in this area. To this end, the ecosystem must be utilised with a clear strategy (including regulations for intellectual property and the distinction between civilian and proprietary military use of developments by start-ups with the armed forces, etc.). National policy, which defines the framework conditions, has an important role to play in all of this.

The findings from the study will be incorporated into the ongoing review of armaments policy. The study (in German) can be downloaded as a PDF from the armasuisse website: ar.admin.ch/de/studien

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