The Swiss Defense Minister, Viola Amherd, will soon sign alongside her Austrian counterpart a memorandum of understanding to join the European air defense system project initiated in 2022 by Germany, the Euro Sky Shield.
The Sky Shield, a German initiative for European defense
The Sky Shield European air defense system project is a German initiative which today brings together 17 states, including the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands. The objective is to put in place a system protecting the European skies in a manner similar to that observed in Israel with the well-known Iron Dome.
This European air shield will have three levels:
- the Iris-T SLM system, designed by the German company Diehl BGT Defense with a range of approximately 80 km,
- the American Patriot PAC-3 system (“Phased array tracking radar to intercept of target”). The sources diverge, but its range varies between 30 and 160 km, (Hit-to-kill technology),
- the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system developed by Israel and the United States (2400 km range, hit-to-kill technology).
