Switzerland is to purchase military equipment from Austria
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland intends to step up its cooperation with Austria when buying military equipment.
The aim is to make the procurement of defence equipment more cost-effective and efficient, said Swiss defence minister Martin Pfister.
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“We are only just at the beginning of joint procurement in Europe,” said Pfister at a joint press conference with Austrian Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner on Monday.
In the field of air defence in particular, joint procurement is essential if modern systems are to be acquired. Tanner shared this view. “If we join forces, it will be cheaper and more efficient,” she said.
However, both sides ruled out any cooperation that would go beyond procurement and joint exercises. Neither Pfister nor Tanner believed that merging the air forces was constitutionally possible for the two neutral states.
Switzerland and Austria are both obliged to protect their own airspace, they said.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
