Mercury Mission Systems International SA is working with Lockheed Martin to boost defense technology manufacturing in Switzerland.
The companies signed two engineering development agreements, under which Mercury Systems will manufacture embedded computing technologies at its production facility in Geneva.
The partnership is the direct result of the Swiss government’s purchase of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets from Lockheed Martin.
To support the acquisition, its armament procurement arm Armasuisse is transferring key security technologies such as software-defined radio technologies and cryptology to the Swiss industry.
“We are thrilled to work with Lockheed Martin to bring the manufacture of cutting-edge defense technologies to Switzerland,” said Paul Tanner, vice president and General Manager of Mercury International. “These agreements will expand the Mercury Processing Platform and allow us to bring new, advanced capabilities to the European market.”
The Mercury Processing Platform has high-tech facilities in Spain and the United Kingdom in addition to Switzerland.
Switzerland is increasing its military spending to strengthen its defense capabilities amid rising tensions in Europe and the Middle East.
In February, Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd admitted that the nation’s military has been weakened, a problem that can be traced back to “the fall of the Berlin Wall.”
Geneva will raise defense spending by 19 percent over the next four years, allocating $28.65 billion toward developing and upgrading radar systems, short-range missile defense, tanks and cyber defense.
