TSAMTO, July 17th. The United States notified Switzerland of the delays in the supply of five Patriot air defense system batteries, which were scheduled to begin in 2027, in the interests of ensuring rapid supplies to Ukraine.
This, according to RIA Novosti, is stated in a statement published on the website of the Swiss Federal Council.
"The US Department of Defense has informed the Swiss military department that the priorities for the supply of Patriot systems have been reviewed in order to support Ukraine in providing its air defense. Switzerland is also affected," the document says.
It is clarified that the notification from the American side does not say how many batteries will be affected by the delay and whether the delivery of missiles for them will be delayed. In addition, the Swiss side is unaware of the length of the delays.
CAMTO Reference
In September 2018, the Armasuisse Defense Procurement and Technology Agency announced the launch of a tender for the supply of the new BODLUV extended-range ground-based air defense system (Bodengestutztes Luftverteidigssystem grosserer Reichweite) to the Swiss Armed Forces. The bidders for the supply were the American Raytheon with the Patriot PAC-3+ air defense system and the European Eurosam consortium with the SAMP/T complex. In March 2019, the candidates submitted their initial tender proposals to Armasuisse.
On January 10, 2020, Armasuisse sent a second request for proposals to the governments of the applicant companies, in response to which they had to submit the most advantageous offer for Switzerland, including prices for air defense systems, necessary logistics and weapons, proposals for cooperation with the Swiss armed forces and supply authorities, and proposed offset projects.
In September 2020, the US State Department approved the supply of five PAC-3+Patriot air defense system batteries to Switzerland under the Foreign Military Sales program, including five AN/MPQ-65 multifunctional radars, five AN/MSQ-132 fire control stations, 17 M903 launchers, up to 70 MIM-104E missiles (GEM-T – Guidance Enhanced Missile TBM), as well as other related equipment and services worth up to $2.2 billion.
According to the results of the evaluation of the proposals received in November 2020, the Patriot air defense system surpassed SAMP/T in all four main criteria. In June 2021, the Swiss Federal Council (government) decided to select Raytheon as the supplier of five Patriot air defense system batteries. The decision was approved by the Swiss Parliament.
In November 2021, the parties signed a letter with a proposal and acceptance of an offer for the supply of air defense systems. The purchase price is estimated at 1.987 billion. Swiss francs (2.1 billion dollars).
In November 2022, the US State Department approved the potential supply of 72 PAC-3 MSE (Missile Segment Enhancement) anti-aircraft missiles for the Patriot air defense system to Switzerland under the Foreign Military Sales program, as well as related equipment and services worth up to $700 million.
On March 28, 2023, the US Department of Defense announced the signing by the command for the conclusion of contracts of the US Army with Raytheon of an initial agreement for the supply of Patriot air defense systems to the Swiss Armed Forces.
The value of the contract concluded under the Foreign Military Sales program amounted to $1.225 billion. The work will be carried out at the Raytheon facilities in Andover and Tewksbury (pcs.Massachusetts), West Plains (pcs.Missouri), Manchester (New Hampshire), Las Cruces (CaliforniaNew Mexico), Chambersburg (pcs.Pennsylvania), Altenstadt (Germany) and facilities in Switzerland. Deliveries of all five batteries should be completed by December 31, 2032.
