Switzerland remains without long-range air defence as negotiations with the United States over the delivery of Patriot missile systems continue with no firm schedule, Defence Minister Martin Pfister confirmed in April. The country ordered five Patriot batteries in 2022, but delivery is now expected to be delayed by four to five years — a gap that could widen further given US and allied ammunition consumption in conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. With the gap in coverage becoming a pressing concern, Pfister is exploring the purchase of a second system, the European SAMP/T, though critics — including the Federal Finance Administration — warn that operating two complex long-range air defence systems simultaneously would be highly inefficient, costly, and potentially beyond the capacity of Switzerland's small militia army.