From the story of neutral Switzerland joining the European air defense "umbrella"

Since 1515, Switzerland has practiced armed neutrality, taking pride in not interfering in the affairs of other nations. But the traditionally neutral Alpine nation has come under increasing pressure from its European neighbors since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 to support Kiev militarily by allowing the re-export of Swiss-made weapons.

Last week, in a bid to maintain its neutrality, Bern rejected a request from Swiss defense company RUAG to sell 96 Leopard 1 A5 main battle tanks for use in Ukraine. It has also previously vetoed requests from Denmark and Germany to send Swiss-made armored vehicles and ammunition to help Ukraine.

But plans to join the European air defense umbrella Sky Shield have left the country's pro-neutrality lobby uneasy.

“This is not in line with a strictly neutral Switzerland,” said Werner Gartenmann of the lobby group Pro Schweiz, who said he feared the move would make Switzerland militarily dependent on foreign countries and NATO and would make the country a target.

World - From the story of neutral Switzerland joining the European air defense — German IRIS-T surface-to-air air defense system. Photo: RT

Bern's participation in defense projects with NATO countries means that Switzerland is gradually abandoning its status as a neutral country, Russian military expert Alexei Leonkov said.

“For a long time, Switzerland has been a country that has not joined any alliances, blocs or unified defense systems. And this neutral position has helped Switzerland avoid many conflicts,” said Mr. Leonkov.

“But if the country becomes part of a unified air and missile defense system, then in the event of a conflict, the equipment or complexes deployed on Swiss territory and participating in a unified air and missile defense system will become targets for military attack,” the expert stressed.

Sky Shield air defense umbrella

Switzerland plans to join the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) air and missile defense system, the Swiss Defense Ministry said on July 4, a move critics say is inconsistent with the Western European country's longstanding tradition of neutrality.

The Alpine country is the second neutral country after Austria to express its intention to join ESSI, initiated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in late 2022 to strengthen the air defense capabilities of the "old continent", an issue that has become more "prominent" since Russia launched a military campaign in Ukraine.

Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd holds a meeting with her counterparts from Austria and Germany on July 6-7 in Bern, where a memorandum of understanding on participation in ESSI will be signed.

The interest of two traditionally neutral countries is seen as helping to raise the profile of the German-led project. But Austria and Switzerland have both made it clear that joining ESSI will not involve them in any international military conflicts.

“Switzerland wishes to join the European Sky Shield Initiative and a letter of intent will be signed in Bern,” the Swiss Defense Ministry told Reuters on July 4, confirming an earlier report by SRF television.

ESSI involves the joint procurement of modern and expensive air and missile defense systems such as the Patriot missile system.

The aim is to reduce costs for member states, as well as cooperate on training, maintenance and logistics. It will also complement existing air defence systems within NATO – a military alliance of which Austria and Switzerland are not members.

The list of cities that will be covered by anti-missile protection within the framework of ESSI is classified as “top secret”.

According to NATO, 15 member states of the military alliance have joined ESSI so far, including Germany, the UK and Finland. Sweden, which is on track to become a NATO member, has also joined ESSI.

However, EU and NATO member states such as France, Italy and Poland have refused to join. Military experts note that in practice, countries participating in ESSI will become dependent on Germany or the United States for the production of air defense systems.

“Strategic autonomy” for Europe

Initially, each ESSI participating country was supposed to decide for itself which systems to buy to integrate into the European air defense “umbrella”, which was understood to help stimulate investment in local companies to produce defense systems.

But after Germany announced that within the framework of ESSI, priority was given to the German IRIS-T medium-range missile, the American Patriot long-range missile and the Israeli Arrow-3 ultra-long-range missile, France decided to withdraw.

French President Emmanuel Macron sees dependence on US and Israeli weapons as a direct “blow” to his pursuit of the concept of “strategic autonomy” for Europe, the key to which would be building a European defense industry and purchasing within the EU.

“What happened in Ukraine shows us that we can only supply Kiev with what we have and can produce ourselves. What comes from non-European countries is more difficult to manage. It depends on delivery times, priorities and sometimes even permissions from third countries,” the French leader argued.

In June, at a defense conference attended by representatives from about 20 countries on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, Mr. Macron said that France, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia and Hungary had signed a letter of intent for the joint purchase of Mistral air defense systems built by MBDA.

MBDA is a European multinational missile development and manufacturing corporation, established in December 2001 on the basis of merging major missile manufacturers of France, Britain and Italy.

France is one of the world's largest arms exporters. However, Mr Macron has rejected suggestions that he is pushing for a French-dominated European defence.

In the case of Poland, Warsaw has no intention of joining the German-led ESSI, as this would negatively affect their country's defense capabilities, Polish Defense Ministry representative Colonel Michal Marciniak said.

Mr. Marciniak explained that ESSI was organized without NATO consensus, and that Poland's air defense system is much more effective and powerful than that of the countries participating in Sky Shield.

In late June, a German government official defended the Sky Shield initiative and explained an Israeli arms order reportedly worth nearly 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion).

“We need to be protected as soon as possible, not in 15 years,” the German official said when asked about Berlin's purchase of intercontinental ballistic missiles from Israel.

Sky Shield fits into NATO, where the US holds a privileged position. “NATO sees ESSI as compatible with its integrated air and missile defense (NATO IAMD) system,” the official said.

The distance from idea to reality

According to Russian expert Leonkov, during the Cold War, there was a multi-layered NATO air defense system in Europe, but over time, due to cuts in military spending, it was no longer updated. But the renewal began in 2014 under the pretext of protecting the European continent from Russian aggression, Leonkov noted.

“The latest system (ESSI) will certainly depend on the United States through Patriot batteries – which are considered the best in the field of missile and air defense. This means that the countries participating in the initiative have placed their sovereignty under the control of other countries,” the Russian expert said.

Another Russian military expert, Yuri Knutov, said Europe has been calling for the creation of a unified air defense system for a long time, even before the events in Ukraine began.

“The idea of creating a European air defense-missile defense system has been nurtured for a long time. They first started talking about it, probably, after the appearance of hypersonic weapons and the Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile in Russia,” Knutov said.

While the idea suits the taste of some Western European defense giants who see an opportunity to make money from it, Knutov notes that only a handful of countries can participate in creating a unified air defense system due to the complexity and high cost of such a project.

It is no coincidence that one of the main tasks of ESSI is to find cost-effective solutions, but in the end everything led to the purchase of German and American-made missiles, Knutov said, pointing out that this caused disagreements with France.

“There is fierce competition between France and Germany in the production of air defense and missile defense systems. France’s expertise in this area is in short- and medium-range air defense missiles, while Germany already has its own medium-range IRIS-T system. But since Germany is now the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine, Berlin’s influence in the European Union (EU) as a whole is much broader than that of Paris,” Knutov explained.

European countries are spending huge sums of money to provide military assistance to Ukraine, which will affect the ability to create an air defense “umbrella” for the European continent, he added.

“Now Europe has spent huge budgets and resources to provide financial and military assistance to Ukraine, so the development of a unified European air defense system will not be possible quickly,” the Russian expert concluded .

Minh Duc

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