Neutral Switzerland and Austria join European air defense initiative
On Friday, the defense ministers of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria signed a memorandum of understanding on participation in the European initiative "Sky Shield".
This was reported by the Swiss government.
According to the report, the Austrian and German defense ministers arrived in Bern on Friday. The main topics of their meeting were the security situation in Europe, the consequences of the war in Ukraine, trilateral cooperation, and military peacekeeping.
The three defense ministers signed a memorandum of understanding on participation in the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI).
"ESSI is a German initiative for ground-based air defense in Europe, launched in August 2022, aimed at strengthening air defense in Europe and better-concentrating efforts in this area.
The ESSI aims to better coordinate and, where appropriate, merge air defense procurement projects in Europe.
This will allow for economies of scale, and improved interoperability, and thus enable cooperation in training, maintenance, and logistics, the Swiss government said.
Author - Olena Madiak, 07/07/2023
