Reintegration of the Ruag? – The Federal Council hopes to have the Ruag under better control – News

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An analysis by Nathalie Christen

27.11.2024, 20:29

It’s about cheating and money – but also about war and its consequences. In addition to other options, the Federal Council also wants to examine the reintegration of Ruag MRO into the DDPS. This decision by the government to take the Ruag closer again is doubly remarkable.

Inconsistencies in the purchase of the Leopard 1 tanks

Lack of information, discrepancies in specifications, legal disputes and allegations of corruption: There were inconsistencies surrounding the purchase of 100 Italian Leopard 1 tanks that prompted the Federal Council to review Ruag’s legal form. It is not yet completely clear what went wrong – another report is still pending. But at least two risks should become significantly smaller if Ruag moves legally closer to the federal government again:

On the one hand, there is the risk of cheating in connection with the pursuit of profit. The pursuit of profit is a characteristic of a private company, such as Ruag currently is. In fact, the Leo 1 tanks were originally purchased solely to make money from their parts.

On the other hand, thanks to Ruag being closer to the state, the Federal Council should also receive important information more quickly and reliably and thus be able to control Ruag better.

Suddenly the Ruag becomes interesting for the Federal Council

However, he must then do that, as Parliament is already demanding. And the Federal Council must then also bear the associated responsibility.

He seems willing to do this: At the same time as the decision to take the Ruag closer to itself, the Federal Council also decided to develop an armaments policy strategy for the first time. Among other things, he wants to strengthen key industrial capabilities to benefit the army’s operational and endurance capacity.

The fact that the Federal Council is again paying more attention to the defense industry shows once again how much the security situation has deteriorated since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While politicians saved money on the army after the fall of the Berlin Wall and wanted to partially privatize Ruag, they are now undoing this step by step. Expenses are rising and Ruag suddenly becomes interesting again for the Federal Council.