Financial Control criticizes recent decisions regarding the disposal of military equipment. The delay in decommissioning the Swiss fortress artillery will cost several million additional francs.
After refusing the decommissioning of the fortress artillery in 2011, Parliament finally approved it in 2018. This political adjournment was followed by a further two-year delay due to internal priorities within the Department federal defense (DDPS), notes the CDF.
The DDPS is not in a position to put a definitive figure on the cost of this delay, which was heavily marked by political debates. But the expenses for the two additional years are estimated at some 3 to 4 million francs.
Also had planes
In the case of the F-5 Tiger, the DDPS had indicated in 2014 in the message on the army that three copies of this aircraft would be given to historical collections. After the Chambers’ refusal on decommissioning, the DDPS presented Parliament with a fait accompli four years later by writing in the 2018 army message that it had already handed over four F-5 Tigers to collections historical.
About a month following the publication of the message on the army, the General Staff of the army approved the loan of a fifth copy to the Swiss Museum of Transport, a step in contradiction with the message of the Federal Council, according to the CDF. Parliamentary security policy committees should also have been informed.
The CDF now estimates the shortfall from the sale at around $4 million. This amount represents a small part of the opportunity costs, as loans usually come with high additional costs. The CDF therefore recommends to the Army General Staff to review its practice and, as far as possible, to sell the planes.
