Switzerland joins the pan-European air defense system

4 July, 2023 Patriot air defense system of the German armed forces. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of the Federal Republic of Germany Switzerland wants to join the European Sky Shield defense project launched by Germany in 2022.

Reuters reported on this. Viola Amherd, Swiss Defence Minister, is due to sign a declaration of intent to join the Program during a meeting with her counterparts from Austria and Germany. The European Sky Shield Initiative was launched by Germany amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sky Shield covers the purchase of anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems capable of resisting ballistic targets.

Patriot air defense system in Slovakia, 2022. Photo credits: Reuters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is convinced that it will be possible to build a pan-European air defense system within five years. The project aims to reduce the costs of individual countries by coordinating their purchases of air and missile defense systems, such as the Patriot system.

In addition, the purchase of the Israeli Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense system is planned as part of the project.

Iron Dome, Patriot, and Arrow 3 systems. Photo from open sources

It also aims to enable cooperation in training, maintenance, and logistics. Seventeen European countries, including Germany, Finland, Sweden, and the UK, have already joined the project.

Switzerland joining the initiative has raised concerns among neutrality advocates, who claim that it jeopardizes the country's neutral status and makes it dependent on NATO.

Some representatives of the Swiss authorities are convinced that participation in the initiative will potentially put the country under attack.