On 7 August 2024, the department Science and Technology (S+T) of the Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse launched an idea competition to search for environmentally friendly and safe recovery methods for sunken ammunition located in Swiss lakes at a depth of between 150 and 220 meters. armasuisse S+T implemented the competition as a public invitation to tender in an open and anonymous procedure. The deadline for submitting ideas ends on 6 February 2025. Around 100 proposals have been received on the e-tendering platform simap.ch.

In the next step, a committee of experts, consisting of members from authorities, institutes and academia, will assess the submitted proposals according to defined criteria. In May 2025, the three best proposals will be honoured and prize money in the total amount of 50,000 Swiss Francs will be awarded.

There are no plans to implement the best proposals immediately. However, they could serve as the basis for any further decisions or research projects for ammunition recovery at deep lake depths.

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 This involves problem ammunition, surplus or outdated service ammunition of the forces in perfect condition or even rejected batches from production.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.

Idea competition for environmentally friendly and safe recovery methods of ammunition from Swiss lakes – armasuisse has received around 100 ideas