SFAO sees army logistics project on track – funds for five billion francs not yet planned

Background: Decentralised logistics as a lesson from Ukraine

The SFAO is subjecting the project to an ongoing review. Its preliminary conclusion is a moderate one: the project structure, governance, and integration of the bodies involved are set up in such a way that a serious implementation appears feasible. According to the available excerpts, the report notes that, apart from an amount of around 480 million francs for operational logistics in the Master Plan 2025, no financial resources have been applied for or earmarked in army planning. This means that the financing of the major project for the coming years is, in practice, still open.

At the same time, the Audit Office emphasises that the project is not included within the temporary VAT increase. This means that an additional source of revenue, which the federal government has had at its disposal since 2024, is expressly not intended for logistics decentralisation. Where the money should come from instead is one of the open questions that Parliament will have to answer in the upcoming budget rounds.

Financing: No funds yet in the ordinary budget

Another open question is the role of software giant SAP, which occupies a central position in army logistics. The SFAO points out that the existing SAP landscape must be further developed for war-capable logistics. This means that the IT platform will also need to be adapted and co-financed over the coming years if the overall project is not to fail on account of its data and order management along its supply chains.

The army's logistics base, which today employs around 9,000 staff, is to be organised more on a decentralised basis in future. Storage locations and supply points are to be distributed in such a way that they remain accessible even under crisis or war conditions and cannot be attacked through a few central nodes. According to the project planning, closer dovetailing with civilian logistics partners and the economy is also envisaged.

Actors and responsibilities

Within the VBS, the threads come together under its head, Viola Amherd, who has made the war-capable orientation of the army a focus of her time in office. On the LBA side, Robert Scheidegger is responsible for project management. The SFAO audit was, among others, accompanied by Michael Nussli, who is regarded as the control authority's central point of contact for the dossier.

For Martin Pfister, who plays a weighty role in the National Council's Security Policy Committee, the project stands as a proxy for the question of how much money Switzerland wants to invest in credible national defence. In its statements, the VBS points out that the army planning 2025 merely sets an initial framework and that further funds are to be applied for in subsequent stages in the years that follow.

The SFAO announces that it will continue to accompany the project and review it again at regular intervals. As soon as concrete procurements and construction projects are imminent, the Audit Office is likely to pay particular attention to cost-effectiveness and the traceability of costs. For the army, this means it must deliver a concept that explains to taxpayers why five billion francs are necessary for a decentralised, war-capable logistics system.