Idea competition for environmentally friendly and safe recovery methods of ammunition from Swiss lakes – armasuisse has received around 100 ideas
6 February 2025 was the deadline for submitting ideas for environmentally friendly and safe methods of recovering ammunition from Swiss lakes. A committee of experts will now assess all the proposals received. The three best ideas will be awarded prizes in May 2025.
Difficult conditions for environmentally friendly and safe recovery
Recovery of the sunken ammunition at a water depth of between 150 and 220 is very complex: In addition to the depth, poor visibility, the risks of explosion, the current as well as the widely varying dimensions (4 mm to 20 cm in size, 0.4 g to 50 kg in weight) and the condition of the submerged ammunition present further challenges. This ammunition is also embedded in up to two metres of fine sediment, which could lead to turbidity during recovery. Most of the ammunition components consist of iron and are magnetic, however certain detonators are made of non-magnetic copper, brass or aluminium.
Stronger cooperation for more security
In Lake Thun, Lake Brienz and Lake Lucerne alone, there are still around 8,000 tonnes of military ammunition, which were sunk between the years 1918 and 1964. This involves problem ammunition, surplus or outdated service ammunition of the forces in perfect condition or even rejected batches from production. With the idea competition, armasuisse wants to involve academia and industry in the considerations on how environmentally friendly and safe recovery of deep lake ammunition could be carried out, should this ever become an issue. Regular examinations have shown no negative environmental impacts to date.
The idea competition was created within the DDPS innovation spaces. The innovation spaces enable innovative solutions to be sought for existing challenges, taking into account various criteria, such as technical feasibility or strategic relevance.