Reverse: the United States delivers the Swiss Patriot to Ukraine

Things evolve quickly on the Ukrainian front. Faced with the continual assaults of the Russian army with missile and drones, Donald Trump has chosen to support Ukrainians more. He decided in particular to deliver Patriot defense systems for them. This decision impacts Switzerland.

On Thursday, the Federal Department of Defense (DDPS) said in a statement that it was informed by the United States Department of Defense that “the priorities for the delivery of Patriot systems had been reviewed in order to support Ukraine in its soil-to-air defense”.

The DDPS specifies that in 2022, Switzerland had ordered five long-range soil-to-air defense systems Patriot. Delivery was to start in 2026 and ended in 2028. “On July 16, 2025, the United States Department of Defense informed the DDPS that Switzerland was also concerned by priority changes and that deliveries would experience delays”.

A year ago, the United States had already communicated to Switzerland that the Patriot MSE version missiles, for which the Parliament had decided in 2023, would be delivered later than expected to Switzerland, already in order to be able to support Ukraine. The DDPS writes: “It is currently impossible to determine the duration of delays and to estimate if there will be other repercussions for Switzerland. Clarifications are underway ”.

The cost of buying the Patriot system for Switzerland is important. “The commitment credit for the acquisition of the Patriot, including the elements of conduct, the missiles (PAC2 GEMT), training and instruction systems, logistical measures trains, as well as replacement equipment, amounts to 1.987 billion francs, writes” Le Temps “. In addition, there are 300 million francs for the development and acquisition of PAC3 MSE missiles ”.

Hopefully by then, Switzerland will not be attacked by the air.