On 18 May 2026, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister made drones a central plank of the country’s rearmament drive in Berlin, arguing that Switzerland must adapt to a security environment shaped by drones, missiles and cyberattacks.
That shift is now moving from strategy to procurement, with the Federal Council’s 2026 army message allocating CHF 70 million for a new anti-mini-drone system and broader spending on air defence and cyber capabilities.
“Switzerland wants and is ready to take responsibility for its own security, but also to meet the expectations of other European countries that Switzerland, too, should contribute to the security of our continent,” said Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister
We want to live up to this aspiration as a reliable partner,” Pfister added.
According to Pfister, Switzerland “still has a well-functioning militia army with about 140,000 servicewomen and men” making it “a respectably large army” by European standards.
Switzerland Faces “A Large Gap” In Air Defence
The latest push matters because it shows how sharply Bern’s defence thinking has changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the spread of cheap, hard-to-detect drones on European battlefields.
Pfister has said Switzerland faces “a large gap” in air defence and needs to close it quickly, a message he repeated while presenting the army’s 2026 spending package in March.
The centrepiece of the programme is a CHF 3.4 billion package to strengthen the army’s protection against long-range attacks, improve airspace surveillance and upgrade counter-drone and cyber capabilities.
The government plans to buy additional IRIS-T SLM air-defence systems, replace older short-range anti-aircraft weapons and introduce a more modern radar system, while also funding a separate mini-drone defence system. Pfister has framed that spending as necessary to protect the army, critical infrastructure and the civilian population.
Building Capability At Home
At the same time, Bern is trying to build more of the capability at home.
The Federal Armaments Office says the task force on drones is meant to develop Swiss-made systems where possible, reduce foreign dependencies and accelerate testing for attack drones, counter-drone tools and swarm technology. That domestic angle matters for Helvetica Times readers because it ties defence policy to Swiss industry, research and procurement politics rather than to military planning alone.
Pfister’s recent comments also reveal a second-order question: how far can Switzerland cooperate with European partners while preserving neutrality? In a Handelszeitung interview, he said the country needs a strong domestic defence industry, but one that can also supply the EU if it wants to survive. Euronews reports that the government is increasingly thinking in those terms, with cooperation on air defence and drone technology becoming more important even as Switzerland remains formally outside the EU and NATO.
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