Swiss army studies reactivating disused bunkers for secure storage

Study launched

The Federal Office for Armament, Armasuisse, has published a public tender for a study to assess how underground military facilities across Switzerland can be brought back into service. The evaluation, ordered by the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), will seek ways to reactivate former bunkers in a cost-effective and resource-efficient manner, avoiding full-scale renovation where possible.

“The requirements regarding protection, resilience and decentralisation of the Swiss army have increased, and the need for secure storage facilities has also grown.”

For confidentiality reasons, no details are being released about how many bunkers might be considered or the scope of the project. The Swiss government confirmed that the army’s former property portfolios once included a large number of underground supply facilities, ammunition caverns, military hospitals, protected air bases, fortified positions, shelters and command posts.

Warning from the defence minister

Defence Minister Martin Pfister has been warning for months that Switzerland must better prepare for possible threats, especially attacks on critical infrastructure. The push to repurpose bunkers comes against a backdrop of a worsening security environment in Europe, which has prompted the Swiss Armed Forces to reassess its protection and resilience needs.

What the bunkers could store

The planned reactivation focuses first on secure storage. The facilities would house consumables, spare parts, medicines, electronic devices, dangerous goods and ammunition. The DDPS has not ruled out using some underground sites for the production or assembly of critical goods as well. The study will define how existing installations can be adapted to current requirements with minimal investment.

Historic dimensions

Switzerland’s exact number of underground military installations is not publicly known. Historical sources cited by the German-language daily Blick refer to about 20,000 “defence structures”. In addition, roughly nine million protected places are distributed across some 370,000 private and public shelters, according to the Federal Office for Civil Protection. These are spread unevenly across the country. With the end of the Cold War, many of those facilities were decommissioned, sold or dismantled.

Security policy turnaround

The tender and the broader evaluation mark a clear departure from the post-Cold War drawdown of Switzerland’s military infrastructure. No timetable has been set for the reactivation of any bunkers, and the study is the first concrete step in gauging what is feasible. The process underlines a shift in Swiss defence thinking as European security conditions deteriorate.