Army plans to move equipment back into bunkers

The Swiss army plans to decentralise the storage of weapons, ammunition and armoured vehicles, SRF reported, as it seeks to make its logistics better suited to a potential war. The strategy could cost up to 10 billion Swiss francs, prompting the Swiss Federal Audit Office to call for close monitoring of spending.

In recent years, the army has centralised its equipment at a small number of locations to reduce costs. The new security environment has led it to reconsider that approach and pursue a more distributed logistics system.

The revised strategy would focus on storing the most important equipment underground at protected locations across the country. Many of the existing bunkers, however, are not currently in suitable condition. Funding is therefore expected to go less towards new warehouses and more towards refurbishing older bunkers, including by removing moisture and preparing them to store ammunition and other critical military equipment.

The army had planned to build more automated central warehouses in the coming years, but that plan is now being reviewed. Some members of parliament’s security policy committees are calling for further construction of central warehouses to be abandoned.

The Defence Department supports the audit office’s recommendations and says a more decentralised system is necessary to shift logistics away from purely economic considerations towards a war logistics system capable of sustained operations. Given the current financial situation, officials said they would pursue basic decentralisation rather than a full expansion costing up to 10 billion francs.

Information technology remains another major challenge. The army’s standard SAP system has operated reliably in routine use since early 2025, according to officials. In an emergency, however, it would face limitations, including during cyberattacks or if communications lines were cut. The data centres are not sufficiently protected, and the system cannot operate autonomously.

An originally planned solution for autonomous operation was deemed unfeasible and abandoned. The army is now placing greater emphasis on protected, autonomous SAP architectures, but implementing them will take time. The Swiss Federal Audit Office criticised this delay in its report.