The Federal Council approved unbundling procedures for the sections of RUAG that perform services for the armed forces. At the same time, it decided that RUAG International should be developed into an aerospace technology group and fully privatised in the medium term.
The Cyber Defence Campus of the DDPS commenced operation in January 2019. The campus is an initiative of the national strategy for the protection of Switzerland against cyber risks. It focuses on early detection and observation of current developments in the cyberworld and development of action strategies.
The DDPS has decided on the requirements to be met by the new means of defending the population against threats from the air. Moreover, it has defined the evaluation criteria and other armaments-policy requirements, including those for offset transactions.
On 1 September 2017, the new Law on the Intelligence Service came into force, providing the Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) with new tools to identify and prevent internal and external threats to Switzerland. For the first time, the FIS's annual security situation report defines the intelligence-gathering measures that were subject to authorisation and implemented in 2017.
The Federal Intelligence Service assesses Switzerland’s threat situation in its entirety. With its operational and preventive performances it directly helps to protect Switzerland.
The mission of the Armed Forces includes area security and defence, subsidiary operations to prevent and overcome mortal dangers as well as contributions to peace promotion within an international framework.
The Federal Office for Procurement (armasuisse) is responsible for the research, development, evaluation, procurement, maintenance and liquidation of equipment and infrastructure for the armed forces and other customers.
In 2018, the Federal Assembly elected Viola Amherd to the Federal Council. She took over as head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport on 1 January 2019.
The Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo) is the centre of competence for the Swiss Confederation responsible for geographical reference data, for instance the description, representation and archiving of geographic spatial data.
The Federal Office for Civil Protection coordinates the protection of the Swiss population against disasters and emergencies. It also plans the development of the civil protection and the civil defence organisations.
The Federal Office for Sport is the state centre of expertise for sport. It fulfils the tasks arising from the government's promotion of gymnastics and sport, such as training, instruction, research and associated services.
