Military chief says Switzerland cannot defend itself from full-scale assault

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Switzerland can't defend itself towards a full-scale assault and should increase army spending given rising dangers from Russia, the pinnacle of its armed forces stated.

The nation is ready for assaults by “non-state actors” on essential infrastructure and for cyber assaults, however its army nonetheless faces main gear gaps, Thomas Suessli advised the NZZ newspaper.

“What we can't do is defend towards threats from a distanc eor even a full-scale assault on our nation,” stated Mr. Suessli, who's stepping down on the finish of the 12 months.

“It’s burdensome to know that in an actual emergency, solely a 3rd of all troopers would be absolutely outfitted,” he stated in an interview printed on Saturday (December 27, 2025).

Switzerland is growing defence spending, modernising artillery and floor methods and changing ageing fighter jets with Lockheed Martin F-35As.

However the plan faces price overruns, whereas critics query spending on artillery and munitions amid tight federal funds. Mr. Suessli stated attitudes in the direction of the army had not shifted regardless of the conflict in Ukraine and Russian efforts to destabilise Europe.

He blamed Switzerland’s distance from the battle, its lack of current conflict expertise and the false perception that neutrality supplied safety. “However that’s traditionally inaccurate. There are a number of impartial international locations that have been unarmed and have been drawn into conflict. Neutrality solely has worth if it may be defended with weapons,” he stated.

Switzerland has pledged to steadily increase defence spending to about 1% of GDP by round 2032, up from roughly 0.7% now – far under the 5% degree agreed by North Atlantic Treaty Group (NATO) international locations.