Switzerland has opened contract talks with manufacturers in France, Israel and South Korea for a long-range air defence system, as delays to its order of US-made Patriot missiles stretch on.
The Swiss Government said on June 24 it had begun negotiations to acquire an additional system that would let it strengthen defences against long-range attacks more quickly, though it did not identify the manufacturers involved.
“Given the deteriorating security situation, Switzerland must be able to defend itself quickly,” the government said.
It added that a second system would reduce reliance on a single supplier and a single supply chain.
Switzerland, which is not a NATO member, ordered five Patriot systems from US firms Raytheon and Lockheed Martin in 2022. Deliveries were due to begin in 2026 and be completed by 2028.
Bern suspended payments in 2025 after being told of significant delays. The Swiss Government has now decided to keep the Patriot order and resume payments, despite estimating that deliveries would be delayed by four to five years.
Demand for the systems has risen sharply since fighting involving Iran earlier in 2026, tightening global supply.
The government said it could not halt the programme without a replacement in place, adding that the cost of stopping would be hard to assess. Resuming payments would let the project move forward with minimal delay and without excessive extra cost, it said.
Urs Loher, the national armaments director, said the second system would not be Israel’s Arrow. Swiss defence minister Martin Pfister said it would probably cost more than the roughly 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) paid for the Patriots.
The Franco-Italian SAMP/T, a European rival to the Patriot, has been named in Swiss media as a leading candidate, though Bern has not confirmed a preferred model.
The dispute has strained Switzerland’s wider arms relationship with Washington. Bern had earlier said it would buy only 30 F-35A fighter jets, six fewer than the 36 ordered, after the US raised the price.
In March the Swiss Government said Washington had bypassed its payment freeze by drawing on Swiss funds set aside for the F-35 purchase to cover Patriot costs.
Bern had said in early March it would examine buying an additional system, preferably made in Europe, to complement the Patriots. The hunt reflects a wider push among European states to cut their dependence on US air defence supplies.
