Almost 100 Swiss-made Leopard 1 tanks are being stored out in the open in Italy following Switzerland’s refusal to allow their transfer to Ukraine, Swiss public broadcasting organization RSI reported on Aug. 26.
Almost 100 Swiss-made Leopard 1 tanks are being stored out in the open in Italy following Switzerland’s refusal to allow their transfer to Ukraine, Swiss public broadcasting organization RSI reported on Aug. 26.
I can’t imagine Switzerland is going to make many arms sales in the future with the prominence of this policy.
Yeah, they’re trading off the short-term gain of shady Russian oligarch money for the long-term cost of their arms exports.
Countries buy weapons to use in ways that enhance their national defense, and in this case their national defense is best served by giving the tanks to Ukraine to wreck Russia for them. Now it’s clear to all that buying Swiss saddles you with limitations that prevent you from using their weapons optimally.
While everyone talks about nobody ever wanting to buy Swiss arms again, Switzerlands arms exports actually increased by 30% in the last year.
Because they can always sell to totally unproblematic countries without territoral or human-rights issues in Africa, Asia or the middle-East to make up the losses in Europe/US.
Never ask a man his salary, a woman her age, or Switzerland how they got so god damn rich