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At the “Scout 25” technical symposium, armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T) and the Land Forces of the Swiss Armed Forces will offer insights into modern battlefield reconnaissance and countermeasures. The programme includes keynote presentations from armasuisse, the Swiss Armed Forces and the European Defence Agency (EDA) as well as short presentations by figures from industry. There will also be an exhibition held at the Military Training Area in Thun with more than 60 stands and 18 live technology demonstrations from industry and academia.

Short The Rapier air defense system, introduced into the Swiss Army in the 1980s, has gradually lost its military significance. With the 2020 Armed Forces message, Parliament decided to decommission the system. Instead of completely phasing it out, it was decided to reuse parts of the system for training purposes. As part of the DDPS innovation spaces, armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T), under the direction of Jens Rehanek, developed the innovation expedition Low Cost Trainings Emitter Electronic Warfare (LCTE EW). At its core is the Rapier system’s search radar, which will simulate ground-based threats during training flights and thereby enhance the training of fighter jet and helicopter crews. The LCTE EW promises significant cost savings compared to commercial alternatives and is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2025.

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.

The Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse is seeking new procedures for the environmentally friendly and safe recovery of ammunition from Swiss waters by means of an idea competition.

Innovations have long been a part of defence and accordingly are being increasingly promoted. Two international initiatives in the area of defence innovation are particularly worthy of mention.

Within the innovation space sandbox for the Armed Forces Logistics Centre Thun (ALC-T) of the Armed Forces Logistics Organisation (AFLO) solutions were sought for scanning weapon serial numbers in cooperation with armasuisse Science and Technology (S+T).

Ballistic protective plates constitute an important element for the personal security of the Swiss Armed Forces.

With an increasing number of distributed sensors and their networking, the availability of a secure and precise time base also gains in importance.