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Switzerland scraps its anti-aircraft guns. As the federal company Armasuisse confirms to the “NZZ am Sonntag”, the first tranche of Rapier missiles has already been dismantled. “The intention is that the systems will all be dismantled and disposed of,” said spokesman Kaj-Gunnar Sievert.
The Swiss Army procured a total of 60 such systems in the 1980s. In 2007, the Confederacy invested heavily in modernization and purchased 2,000 new guided missiles. They, too, must now be thrown away.
Ukraine could make good use of such weapons: “The Rapier missiles are old, but not completely outdated either,” says Peter Schneider, former editor-in-chief of the “Allgemeine Schweizerische Militaerzeitschrift”. According to Schneider, low-flying fighter jets or drones would be easy to combat with it.
Disclosure would be legally feasible
Legally, Switzerland could have released the missiles for resale. Because this is a British system, the strict export regime for Swiss weapons does not apply.
In 2006, the Bundesrat decided that decommissioned foreign systems could be sold back to the country of manufacture without any conditions. London could have bought back the missiles and then passed them on.
Britain has made no such request – but Switzerland has not asked either. (kes)
Source:Blick
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