The U.S. company Raytheon has started production of Patriot air defense systems for Switzerland.

The U.S. military signed an agreement with the Raytheon company to supply the Patriot to the Swiss army.

The value of the contract was $1.225 billion. The agreement was signed based on the results of the tender with the participation of two applicants.

The work will be carried out at Raytheon’s facilities in the U.S., Germany and Switzerland. The delivery of SAM systems should be completed by December 31, 2032.

In September 2018, the Swiss Federal Office for Defense Procurement (Armasuisse) announced the start of a tender for a new BODLUV (Bodengestutztes Luftverteidigungssystem grosserer Reichweite) ground-based air defense system with an increased range.

The American Raytheon with the Patriot air defense system was the contender for the supply. PAC-3+ and the European consortium Eurosam with the SAMP/T system.

In March 2019, the candidates submitted their initial tender proposals to Armasuisse.

According to the results of the evaluation of proposals received in November 2020, the Patriot air defense system outperformed the SAMP/T in all main criteria.

In June 2021, the Federal Council (Government) of Switzerland decided to select Raytheon as the supplier of five Patriot air defense batteries. The decision was approved by the Swiss parliament.

As previously reported, the Swiss Army decommissioned and is disposing of Rapier air defense systems. The first part of the units was already dismantled.

Switzerland purchased the Rapier systems in the 1980s. In 2007, the federal government invested in their modernization. Back then, the military purchased 2,000 modern guided missiles. They will now also be disposed of as Switzerland decommissioned the Rapier at the end of 2022.