Organization

Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse

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armasuisse Insights	Every month, we provide you with information on an exciting topic related to armasuisse.
Armament Policy	Information on industrial participation with the issues of armament policy and participation of the Swiss industry.

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Brand protection	The Federal Office for Defence Procurement armasuisse is responsible for brand protection and registration of the military brands at home and abroad. Brand protection is carried out in cooperation with external trademark lawyers and with the contractual partners of armasuisse within the framework of brand licence agreements.

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Communications

Victorinox AG has been supplying the Swiss Armed Forces with the soldier’s knife since 1891. After the Second World War, US soldiers stationed in Europe imported this pocket knife into the USA, commercialised as the «Swiss Army Knife». At the beginning of the 1990s, Victorinox AG applied for the trademark «Swiss Army» for knifeware in the USA and as a result it was registered with the support of the former Defence Procurement Agency (EMD). Since then, the brand «Swiss Army» has experienced global expansion and recognition.

Career at armasuisse

Under Jobs and Career at armasuisse interesting and important job profiles at armasuisse are presented. At armasuisse you can expect a dynamic environment, challenging major projects and a great variety of different job profiles.

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Licensing

armasuisse can conclude trademark agreements with third parties. When military brand licence agreements are concluded, the economic criteria in particular must be assessed. Basic principles relevant to business management (market environment, licence fees, brand protection and business plans, etc.) must be clarified and agreed with all partners concerned before a licence agreement can be concluded. Information on any licensees is subject to trade secrecy provisions, based on the respective licence agreement. The provisions of the Federal Act on Freedom of Information in the Administration (FoIA, SR 152.3) remain reserved.

Licensees

The licensing income is used to finance global brand protection, brand management, the process costs and other brand-related expenses. Remaining amounts are transferred annually to the Federal Treasury. The licensing income fluctuates. In 2022, it amounted to around a million Swiss Francs.

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Military brand strategy	A transparent brand policy guarantees a legally equal and legally secure licensing practice for military brands and strengthens the position of the Confederation as a licence provider for military brands at home and abroad.

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Offset	Based on the Principles of the Swiss Federal Council for the Armament Policy of the DDPS and the Armaments Strategy of the DDPS, armasuisse regulates the implementation and control of offset for the procurement of defence equipment abroad in the Offset Policy.

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Professional Worlds	armasuisse offers a wide variety of different positions and occupations. Many people find a suitable job with us. If you want to act on your own initiative, play a committed role and actively participate, you’ve come to the right place!

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Sale and Liquidation	The reduction and modernisation of the armed forces leads to superfluous defence and general military equipment. For armasuisse the sale of obsolete equipment has first priority.
Security-relevant Technology and Industry Base (STIB)	The STIB aims to contribute to reducing Switzerland’s dependencies on foreign countries in terms of armaments policy in defined areas. It should be able to ensure the central technolog-ical expertise and industrial capabilities for the Armed Forces and other institutions of national security in Switzerland with the required capacities.

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Organization

armasuisse is the Competence Center for Procurement, Technology and Real Estate within the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS). The Chief of Armament is directly responsible to the Head of Department.

Further key tasks of the department are the Defence sector and five federal offices: General Secretariat, Federal Intelligence Service, national topography office (swisstopo), Civil Protection and Sports.

Organization Charts

Organization chart
PDF, 8 Pages, 138 KB, English

Management armasuisse

Urs Loher	National Armaments Director (NAD), CEO armasuisse
Dr. Bernhard Knechtenhofer	Director Command and Control and Reconnaissance Systems
Ivo Bravin	Director Land Systems
Peter Winter	Director Aeronautical Systems
Thomas Knecht	Director Purchasing and Cooperations
Dr. Thomas Rothacher	Director Science and Technology
Martin Stocker	Director armasuisse Real Estate
Marcus Maurer	Director Resources and Support

Facts and figures

Description	Indices
Number of personnel	about 940
Estimate 2021	2,4 billion CHF
Managed credits	3,505
Contracts/orders per year	15,870
Supplier invoices per year	37,938
Civilian orders per year	323
Buildings and facilities	7,000