Army throws away operational anti-aircraft missiles

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Abroad, people are shaking their heads at Switzerland’s refusal to allow other countries to re-export Swiss arms and ammunition to Ukraine. Now the misunderstanding threatens to get even bigger.

As the “NZZ am Sonntag” reports, the army currently has anti-aircraft weapons. 60 so-called Rapier flab systems, manufactured in Great Britain, are scrapped.

Over 40 years old

The missiles were purchased in the 1980s. The system will be decommissioned at the end of 2022. “It can no longer effectively counter today’s aerial threats,” the federal government justified its removal in the 2020 Army Message. The system is largely ineffective against modern combat aircraft. In addition, there are no more spare parts. For this reason, no recruits have been trained on the Rapier system since 2019.

The “NZZ am Sonntag” refers to a Federal Council decision in 2006 that foreign systems that are decommissioned must be sold back to the manufacturer with priority. And without the condition that the weapons must not be passed on.

First tranche already dismantled

But Rapier decided to get rid of it in 2019. According to the army, a first tranche of the weapon system has already been dismantled and three more will follow. “The intention is that the systems will all be dismantled and removed in these subsequent installments,” Armasuisse spokesman Kaj-Gunnar Sievert said in the article.

Apparently Britain never asked for the weapons to be returned. But the British were not asked either. “It is not usual for Switzerland to actively offer decommissioned military systems for sale,” says Sievert.

‘Rockets are not completely obsolete’

Given the raging war in Ukraine, Peter Schneider, the former editor-in-chief of the “Allgemeine Schweizerische Militarzeitschrift”, found the dismantling incomprehensible. “The rockets are old, but not completely outdated,” he told the “NZZ am Sonntag”. According to him, they could still be used very well against low-flying targets such as drones, but also against fighter jets and helicopters.

Security politicians are also annoyed. “Switzerland should in any case have asked Great Britain whether there is still a demand for these weapons,” says SP national councilor Franziska Roth (56). And FDP colleague Maja Riniker (44) believes that information from the manufacturer would have been appropriate. “How are the British supposed to know what Switzerland plans to dismantle in the coming years?”

The SVP is skeptical

The SVP sees it differently. Legally, resale of the rapier would be possible without conditions, confirms Mauro Tuena, SVP National Councilor and chairman of the Grand Chamber’s Security Policy Commission. But in terms of neutrality policy, he currently considers a sale to be “difficult”.

As the “NZZ am Sonntag” reports, the military plans to phase out several other foreign weapon systems in the coming years, including 248 armored personnel carriers and more than 100 artillery guns, both of which are US systems currently deployed in Ukraine.

FDP security politician Riniker expects the United States to file a request to get the weapons back if “geopolitical tensions remain so high”. Switzerland must therefore prepare itself politically for such investigations. (lha)

Source:Blick