Project planning Evaluation Parliamentary deliberations Procurement, introduction, utilisation, decommissioning armasuisse The process for developing the Swiss Armed In order to bring the armaments projects to pro- The evaluation process begins once the Armed In consultation with the Chief of the Armed Forces, The Department’s Defence sector is responsible During the procurement and introduction phas- Forces and their corporate structure is based on a curement readiness, parliament annually approves Forces Staff has submitted the project charter the National Armaments Director then takes a for producing the Armed Forces Dispatch. The es, armasuisse is responsible for the project. capability-oriented approach. During the process, guarantee and preliminary estimate credits (pay- to armasuisse. armasuisse converts the military decision regarding type selection. The decisive documents needed for drawing up the dispatch Once the project has reached the “Fit for Mission” long-term directives are converted into specific ment credits) for project planning, trials and pro- requirements defined by the Armed Forces Staff factors in this decision are the military, technical are produced by the Armed Forces Staff and stage, responsibility for the utilisation phase outcomes via medium- to short-term implemen- curement preparation (PEB). Guarantee credits into technical specifications and prepares the ten- and economic aspects over the entire life cycle. armasuisse. passes to the Armed Forces Logistic Organi sation tation plans. authorize the DDPS to enter into financial commit- der procedure, which armasuisse must manage (AFLO). ments up to a certain limit extending over several in strict conformity with the regulations governing Once the technical trials have been successfully With the Armed Forces Dispatch, the annual From project planning and The Armed Forces Staff (AF Staff) produces the years. They are approved by the Financial Com- public procurement. Potential suppliers of the sys- completed and a system has been found to be armaments programme is passed by the Feder- The AFLO is responsible for life cycle manage- evaluation to procurement, master plan. This plan defines the capabilities mittees of the National Council and the Council tems concerned are entitled to obtain from arma- suitable for use by military units, and provided al Council and then submitted to parliament for ment. The systems used by units are serviced introduction, utilisation and which the Swiss Armed Forces need in order to of States. The payment credits allow financial suisse details of the tendering procedure and of that its commercial basis is sound, procurement approval (parliamentary debates). The prelimi- and maintained either by the units themselves, decommissioning of military accomplish their mission over an eight-year period. commitments to be settled each year by partial the submission of tenders. From the pre-evalua- readiness can be declared. nary examinations are conducted by the Defence the AFLO or industry. Suppliers are under a equipment and systems The master plan transforms long- and medium- payments. The Defence Committees of the two tion to the type selection stage, potential suppliers Committees of the National Council and the long-term obligation to supply spare parts and to term planning into short-term, integrated and co- chambers are informed periodically about the will be in competition with each other. The evaluation procedure ultimately results in Council of States. They submit proposals to the carry out maintenance work. Costs / benefits and ordinated measures; it manages these and uses decisions reached. an optional contract with the relevant industrial respective chambers. Parliamentarians can also the options for further development / modernisa- them to deduce the focal points for investment. The During the pre-evaluation stage, armasuisse – partners, which comes into effect after being call in external experts to assist with committee tion are continuously analysed and assessed. At Armed Forces Staff submits these measures to At the end of the project planning process, the after careful market analysis – draws up a long- app roved by parliament. If a defence equipment deliberations. the same time, system use is adapted to constantly the Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Armed Forces Staff passes the project charter to list of those systems which may be considered order is placed abroad, armasuisse will ensure changing circumstances. This provides the basis Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) for approval. armasuisse. for evaluation. At the system level, proprietary wherever possible that Swiss industry is appro- During the parliamentary deliberations arma suisse for the decision on continued use of the sys tem developments are the exception. In most cases priately involved (offset deals). continues its procurement preparations and pre- concerned. In addition to its current use, deci- On this basis, the Armed Forces Staff develops the In order for the industrial partners of armasuisse an adaptation or further development of existing pares the introduction of the systems with the in- sions about value retention, value enhancement, conceptual foundations, prepares the analyses to prepare in good time for the future requirements systems is sought. After initial technical and com- For simple, standard equipment, the process tended users. extension of service life or decommissioning are requirements, plans investment and operating of the Swiss Armed Forces, armasuisse organises mercial investigations, the possible suppliers are described above is shortened as long as no topics for discussion. costs and specifies themilitary requirements. an annual information briefing for industry on its reduced to a shortlist. The shortlist generally fea- unwarrantable risks are taken. Estimating risks Only when the Armament Program has been armasuisse introduces the initial cost / benefit short- and medium-term plans. tures three suppliers. in a responsible and appropriate manner is one passed by both councils (approval of Armament Once the decision on decommissioning a sys- considerations. of the strengths which armasuisse contributes to Program) do the procurements receive ap proval. tem has been taken, the AFLO tasks armasuisse The evaluation itself is based on the shortlisted the process. Highly-trained staff and transparent The Federal Council releases the projects for with taking the appropriate action. systems. During the evaluation process these working procedures ensure that this is the case. procurement within the limits of the guarantee systems are subjected to in-depth technical, ope- credits. armasuisse sells or recycles obsolete systems rational and logistic tests, and are analysed from The Defence Committees and the Finance Com- or disposes of them in an environmentally com- the commercial angle. Based on these results, the mittees are involved in the evaluation process. patible manner (liquidation, sale, disposal). Dis- systems’ suitability for troop use is established posal and the possibility of returning equipment and steps are taken leading towards procurement are matters which are discussed at an early phase readiness. of any project. Armed Forces Staff (AF Staff) Armed Forces Logistics Organisation (AFLO) armasuisse Political decision-makers Glossary Director Focal points for investment: Determining the main focus of invest- ment in the following military capability areas: command and control, intelligence acquisition, operational effectiveness and mobility. HeadDepartment FederalDDPS Decision makers Parliament Master plan / Industrial partners: National and international commercial enterpri- Parliament(Credit, PEB) ses as suppliers or service providers. armasuisse is their point of Integrated project teams HeadArmed of Forces Staff contact. Armed Forces Staff (AF size Staff) corresponding to project share Industry briefing: Annual event organised by armasuisse to brief Nationalon consultation Armaments with the industrial partners about plans for the short and medium term. Armed Forces Logistics Organisation (AFLO) Chief of the Armed Forces armasuisse Federal Council Public procurement process: Legislation and regulations relating to the award of public delivery, service and construction contracts Political decision makers Parliament (guarantee credit) with the aims of ensuring transparency, strengthening competition and promoting the economical use of public resources. Head of Armed Forces Staff Prime contractor principle: The prime contractor is the ordering party’s sole contractual partner and bears the overall responsibility Head of Armed Forces Staff for the successful fulfilment of the contract. Chief of the Armed Forces Longlist: All potential suppliers who submit a tender or who are in- vited to submit a tender as part of an armasuisse tender procedure. Project responsibility Shortlist: Reduced number of potential suppliers (usually three) whose tenders will actually be evaluated once armasuisse has car- ried out a technical and economic review of the longlist. Optional contract: Contract negotiated by armasuisse which only comes into effect after receiving parliamentary approval. Industrial involvement: Involvement by Swiss industry in armaments procured from abroad; this involvement can take the form of direct or indirect contracts negotiated and overseen by armasuisse. Life cycle management: Logistic planning, financial control and management of systems from project planning to ultimate decom- missioning,