Swiss Army Chief Wants To Refocus On Defence

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Russia's attack on Ukraine was a real turning point for security in Europe, Süssli told the media on Thursday. This return to power Politics has led to many countries re-arming more and more, he said.

“However, the Swiss armed forces are a product of the Armed Forces Reform 21,” Süssli said. At that time, the army was clearly oriented towards protection tasks and troop numbers were reduced.“But now we are seeing a clear deterioration in the security situation.”

For this reason, Süssli wants to refocus the army on defence.“We want to increase the defence capability,” he said. How this is to be done is summarised in a report.

Unlike in quiet times, in this report the army refrains from reforms aimed at a specific year. These would have no effect because the environment and technology are constantly evolving. Instead, it wants to focus on“adaptive further development” in the coming years: on small steps that can be implemented more quickly.

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