This week Switzerland signed an agreement with the U.S. government to buy Lockheed Martin [LMT] Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles via Foreign Military Sales (FMS), the Swiss government and the company said Tuesday.
Switzerland’s federal department of defense, civil protection and sport announced the Oct. 30 agreement plans for the PAC-3 MSE missiles to be delivered in 2028 and 2019.
The Swiss parliament previously approved funding of $330 million for this acquisition in the Army Message 2023 defense spending project. The PAC-3 MSE sale is also part of the government’s Air 2030 modernization program, which aims to gradually replace and renew command and control systems of the Swiss Air Force.
The Air2030 effort also includes procurement of 36 F-35A Joint Strike Fighters alongside radar and command and control air-based equipment.
This agreement makes Switzerland the 15th country to procure the PAC-3 missiles.
While the Swiss government did not disclose how many missiles are included in this order, last year, the State Department approved a possible $700 million FMS for up to 72 PAC-3 MSEs to Switzerland (Defense Daily, Nov. 18, 2022).
The Swiss government noted this comes after it previously procured the PAC-2 Guidance Enhanced Missile, Tactical (GEM-T), funded in a 2022 budget plan. The GEM-T contract work is currently underway concurrently.
The Swiss government said delivery of the Patriot air defense system is beginning in 2026. The parliament approved funding for the system in 2022.
The PAC-2 GEM-T is primarily meant to defend against aircraft and cruise missiles via a blast-fragmentation warhead while the PAC-3 is directed to defend against various air threats using the hit-to-kill method. The MSE variant increases the PAC-3 missile’s range.
The Swiss federal office for defense procurement, armasuisse, first signed a contract with the U.S. government for the Patriot system in September 2022. It concurrently signed an offset agreement with RTX [RTX] at that time.
“We’re honored to partner with Switzerland to equip the Switzerland Armed Forces with the latest in air and missile defense technology to protect and defend Switzerland airspace from incoming threats. Switzerland joins 14 other nations in strengthening their homeland defense against evolving threats,” Brenda Davidson, vice president of PAC-3 Programs at Lokheed Martin, said in a statement.
The government said it has now also signed a PAC-3 MSE offset agreement with Lockheed Martin the same time this latest deal was concluded with the U.S.
In 2020, the State Department first approved billions of dollars in potential FMS to Switzerland for F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, F-35s, and Patriot defense systems as part of the country’s air defense modernization program (Defense Daily, Sept. 30, 2020).
At the time, the State Department approved a potential $2.2 billion FMS of five Patriot Configuration 3+ Modernized Fire Units, which included up to 70 GEM-T missiles, among other equipment.