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Procurement of electronic warfare equipment: Federal Council approves accession to the SAWFISH Memorandum of Understanding

Swiss Government

Press release
Published on 5 November 2025

Bern, 05.11.2025 -- At its meeting on 5 November, the Federal Council approved Switzerland's accession to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Netherlands and Germany on the procurement of and ongoing support for electronic warfare equipment, known as the Sawfish MoU. This allows Switzerland to participate in joint procurements and benefit from an exchange of information with the other two countries and from the experience they have gained in relation to electronic warfare.

The Netherlands is conducting a programme for the procurement of tactical systems for electronic warfare (EW), having signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Germany on the joint procurement of tactical EW systems and ongoing support for EW equipment. The MoU stipulates that other partner nations can also join the programme by signing an amendment, and both Switzerland and Denmark now intend to do this.

Cooperation can be extended to joint logistics and training

Participation in this programme is a step towards increased armaments cooperation with European countries and is therefore in line with the objectives of the Federal Council's armaments strategy. Switzerland can benefit from the exchange of information and experience with the Netherlands, Germany and - if it also joins - Denmark on electronic support. Cooperation can also be extended through programme agreements to cover joint procurement, joint logistics and training . Switzerland remains free to decide where and to what extent it participates in the programme and which systems it will ultimately procure.

If it opts for joint procurement, Switzerland could also benefit from economies of scale and more favourable purchase prices. In addition, the open and modular architecture of the Dutch solution would offer scope for Swiss industry to participate. Swiss companies could, for example, participate in the procurement projects for modules or provide integration services for these modules.

The MoU allows Switzerland to decide which projects it wishes to participate in on a case-by-case basis. In order to guarantee Switzerland's neutrality, the cooperation agreement also stipulates that Switzerland can withdraw from the programme at any time if any of the programme members become involved in an armed conflict.

Electronic warfare

EW systems allow the operating country to use the electromagnetic spectrum to carry out operational and defensive activities aimed at monitoring and making use of this spectrum for its own needs, while at the same time preventing the enemy from using the spectrum. The objectives of EW are diverse and range from gathering information and jamming enemy transmissions to 'camouflaging' its users in electromagnetic space. EW comprises three sub-areas: electronic attack (EA), electronic protection (EP) and electronic support (ES).

EW has become an essential element in combined arms warfare. At a tactical level, it provides a decisive operational advantage.