CSS Evening Talk: The Future of Missile Defence

On 4 December Roberto Zadra, Head of the Ballistic Missile Defence Section in NATO’s Defence Investment Division, and Bruno Rösli, Deputy Head of Security Policy in the secretariat-general of the Federal Department of Defence, discussed the future of missile defence systems within the European security framework.

The following questions were at the heart of the debate: what are the capabilities of today’s missile defence systems? How do ballistic missiles affect the current threat level in Europe? And what are the implications for Switzerland?

Participants agreed on the fact that missile proliferation still is a danger to be taken serious. Thus, in terms of damage control, missile defence plays an important role, also for Switzerland. As a neutral country, Switzerland cannot directly be a part of NATO missile defence agreements, limited cooperation in the field of early warning and civil protection, however, is advisable.