Geopolitical tensions accelerate Switzerland’s drone industry

Geopolitical tensions are driving growth in Switzerland’s drone industry, with nearly 80 companies involved in the race to develop new systems, SRF reported.

Fribourg-based start-up Volatorix has built a prototype interceptor drone that can fly at 500 kilometres per hour and locate an enemy drone by its high-pitched buzz, then destroy it in flight. The prototype is designed to operate without direct human control.

Co-founder Morgan Scyboz said the aim was to make the machine fully autonomous: an operator launches it, it carries out its mission alone and returns if it finds no target. The company says the drone is intended to protect strategic facilities such as depots, power and nuclear plants, dams and data centres.

Volatorix has multiplied its orders in the eight months since it was founded and is bidding for contracts in Switzerland and abroad, co-founder Florian Broye said.

Meanwhile, Flyability, a company in Paudex in the canton of Vaud, is struggling to obtain replacement parts for its civilian inspection drones. Its aircraft are designed to operate in hazardous or complex places such as mines, refineries, sewers and ship hulls. Chief executive Patrick Thévoz said demand for components including microprocessors, cameras, transmission systems and motors had surged, partly because of the war in Ukraine. Items once produced in the hundreds are now being sought in the tens of thousands, he said.

International conflicts have shortened development cycles for military aircraft, which previously could take about a decade, and spurred innovation among start-ups. The Swiss army plans to establish its own drone battalion by 2028, although progress has been slow. University of Zurich military expert Mauro Mantovani said autonomous systems, electronic weapons and hypersonic weapons were reshaping the battlefield, while established interests in tanks and artillery remained influential.

Defence Minister Martin Pfister said Switzerland needed to better understand what was happening, including frequent drone overflights whose operators were often unknown. Army chief Benedikt Roos said the army currently had 200 drones and expected to have 2,000 in the short term, but needed many more. The Ukrainian army, by comparison, uses 15,000 drones a day, according to the report.

French combat-drone producer Harmattan has established itself in Crissier, near Lausanne, and is recruiting specialists trained at EPFL. Some Swiss start-ups say neutrality limits their ability to operate. Zurich-based Auterion, which develops operating systems for autonomous attack-drone swarms, has moved some activities to Germany and the United States, from where it plans to serve NATO member countries without restrictions.