Taskforce Drones
The Taskforce Drones (TFD) was established in June 2024 by the National Armaments Director Urs Loher, the Chief of the Armed Forces Thomas Süssli, the Secretary General of the DDPS Daniel Büchel and the Director of the Federal Office for Civil Protection Michaela Schärer. Control is ensured by the Chief of the Armed Forces and the Chief of Armament. Thomas Rothacher, Deputy National Armaments Director and Head of the competence sector armasuisse Science and Technology is responsible for management.
Overview
Technological development is proceeding exponentially: technological advances are occurring at an ever-increasing rate. In the case of drone technology, this phenomenon is even more evident, since drones also benefit from advances in other sectors, such as artificial intelligence or additive manufacturing processes. Today, moreover, technology is driven by the civilian market and is therefore designed primarily to meet its needs.
With the involvement of industry and academia, the aim is to strengthen the Security-relevant Technology and Industry Base STIB, to develop expertise in the field of (attack) drones and their production, and thus to increase Switzerland's security. The Taskforce Drones is particularly focused on maximising Switzerland's autonomy in implementing this technology in order to reduce dependence on international supply chains.
The focus is on small and medium-sized drones. The Taskforce is to function as a permanent testbed until at least 2027. The procurement of military off-the-shelf (MOTS) systems is not planned for the Taskforce Drones.
Goals
Strengthen defence capabilities with Swiss drones by ...
- ... providing the Swiss Armed Forces with drones for trials in order to accelerate the development of capabilities;
- ... developing and manufacturing drones in Switzerland wherever possible in order to reduce dependencies.
Scope
The primary application focus is on combating ground targets and, secondarily, on combating aerial targets (defence against drones using drones). Other applications include reconnaissance and explosive ordnance disposal. The different applications are being investigated over various distances of up to 300 km+.
Focus
The activities of the Taskforce Drones are divided into a total of five focus areas:
Attack drone
Expanding commercially available products with weapons to be able to transport and eject these over shorter distances (up to 15 km). The focus is on improvisation and innovation.
C-UAV using drones
Swiss partners are manufacturing drones to defend against small drones (counter-unmanned aerial vehicle, C-UAV). These repel enemy drones at short range, with or without additional agents.
Swarming
Using the strong technological base of the Swiss Academy to examine new technological strategies for swarm behaviour and to test various different assignments of such drone swarms.
Carrier platform
A carrier platform will be constructed based on existing drone platforms. This can, for example, bring the improvised attack drone or other loitering munitions close to a target area (300 km+) and start in the air.
Swiss micro-drone - multi-purpose
Heavily specialised Swiss companies together create a small drone which can be carried along thanks to its small dimensions and used for various tasks in the immediate military vicinity.
Short reportage - Insight into the Taskforce Drones
Media coverage
Downloads
Contact
Questions can be sent to: taskforce.drohnen@ar.admin.ch