Swiss Army Chiefs Defend Botched Procurement Projects

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Swiss defense Minister Viola Amherd and military heads joined forces to defend themselves against parliamentary and media criticisms of problematic procurement projects.

This content was published on January 31, 2025 - 14:02 2 minutes Keystone-SDA

• Deutsch de Amherd und Armeeführung verteidigen Beschaffungsprojekte Original Read more: Amherd und Armeeführung verteidigen Beschaffungsprojekt

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Amherd admitted that the public's need for information had probably been underestimated.

There are naturally difficulties with projects, the outgoing government minister told the media in Bern on Friday. It would be a shame not to recognise these and not to react.

+ Read how the Swiss armed forces are cutting costs

It is no different with the complex seven key and top projects in her department, which have been criticised by the parliamentary finance committee and the Swiss Federal Audit Office, among others.

Head of the armed forces Thomas Süssli explained that the Defence Group is working on 169 major projects to restore defence capabilities. The New Digitalisation Platform (NDP) and C2Air airspace surveillance are central to this.

The army leadership agreed that airspace surveillance must be integrated into the NDP. He assured that the delays had not caused any financial damage.

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