Criticism of DDPS chief Amherd Army projects in crisis - financial politicians sound the alarm
The Swiss Armed Forces are struggling with considerable armament problems. Parliament's financial supervisory authority has now expressed its concern in a letter to Federal Councillor Viola Amherd.
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- Several major projects of the Swiss Armed Forces are suffering from massive delays, technical deficiencies and integration problems.
- Airspace surveillance, logistics software and drones are particularly affected.
- The parliamentary finance delegation is now calling for increased controls and measures.
The Swiss Armed Forces are facing considerable challenges with their armaments projects. In a letter to Defense Minister Viola Amherd, Parliament's financial oversight committee has pointed out massive problems and risks in seven major armaments and IT projects, reports "Blick".
The army's projects, which involve total costs of 19 billion Swiss francs, are characterized by delays and technical difficulties. Airspace surveillance, logistics software and reconnaissance drones are particularly affected.
The introduction of a new air surveillance system has been delayed by years due to integration problems, even though the old radar system has already reached the end of its service life. The new logistics software is also not ready for use as it does not function independently of other countries.
Growing impatience in parliament
The procurement of Israeli reconnaissance drones, which was initiated back in 2015, has also stalled. Technical defects are preventing their deployment and there is a risk of collisions with birds or paragliders.
Other projects, such as the replacement of mobile telecommunications systems and the army's new command and control network, are also affected by delays and high risks. The parliamentary finance delegation has set the project status of some projects to red and is calling for increased supervision and control. Impatience is growing in Parliament, as many problems have been known for years but have not been resolved.
Criticism of Viola Amherd
Criticism is also directed at Federal Councillor Amherd, who is accused of focusing more on international relations than on solving internal problems. Despite some successes, such as the victory in the vote on the new fighter jets, her record is increasingly clouded by the ongoing difficulties.
The finance delegation is now calling for concrete measures to tackle the problems and an effective use of funds in the defense department.
The editor wrote this article with the help of AI.