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Piranha III

Denmark will hand over the Piranha III wheeled armored personnel carriers to the Armed Forces of Ukraine is was reported 30 April 2022. Denmark was planning to transfer about 25 Piranha III wheeled armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. Piranha is a family of armored fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss company MOWAG. It is offered in 6×6, 8×8, and 10×10 configurations. It is one of the most popular armored vehicles in the world. Denmark owned a fleet of 115 Piranha IIICs and 22 Piranha IIIHs (modification with a composite armor suite). Now, the Danish army is rearming with the Piranha V armored personnel carriers.

The value of these APCs is not so much in number, but in the fact that it is one of the most common wheeled platforms, the mastery of which by the Armed Forces of Ukraine can be of great importance for the further strengthening of the Ukrainian army. Mastering the Piranha III opens up the opportunity for the Armed Forces to work out all aspects of the logistical support of this machine, and, if necessary, to prepare for a significant increase in the number of Piranha-based machines in service.

On 03 June 2022 the Swiss government vetoed Denmark’s request to transfer the Swiss-made Piranha III armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine. Switzerland explained the ban citing its neutrality policy of not supplying arms to conflict zones. The country also has a requirement for the foreign countries that buy Swiss military equipment and arms to seek permission to re-export them. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) rejected Denmark’s bid to provide armored vehicles to Ukraine.

“Finally, SECO received a third request from the Danish authorities regarding Piranha III type armored wheeled vehicles. All three requests concerned the possibility of transferring military materials received from Switzerland to Ukraine. SECO responded negatively, citing Swiss neutrality and mandatory refusal criteria in accordance with law "On military materials," Michael Wüthrich, a representative of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), said.

The veto on the export of armored vehicles is reminiscent of the munitions dispute with Germany. At the beginning of April, Seco already refused Germany to transfer ammunition for Gepard installations to Ukraine. As in the case of ammunition, Seco justified its "no" in the case of the Danish Piranha machines by neutrality and the War Material Act. It prohibits arms exports to belligerent countries. However, it remains to be seen whether Switzerland will stick to its position given the pressure from abroad.

Central politicians such as State Councilor Piermin Bischof favored a more generous interpretation: "The Federal Council must now take action and correct its practice. Green Liberal parliamentary group leader Tiana Moser also wants to change course. After all, it is not about direct exports weapons, and about the weapons that Switzerland has already sold to friendly democracies: "These weapons will be handed over to a country that defends itself against an aggressor."

According to a survey, 55% of Swiss are in favor of lifting the ban on the re-export of weapons and their supply to Ukraine. In Fwbruary 2023, a bill was recently introduced to parliament that would allow the government to allow the re-export of Swiss weapons to countries with the same democratic values ??as Switzerland. "We want to be neutral, but we are part of the Western world," said Thierry Burkart, the leader of the center-right FDP party and the author of the said law.