The massive Iranian missile attack on Israel has shown how important air defense is for the civilian population. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) emphasized this again. She does not see this as a problem with neutrality – on the contrary.
“The world has fallen apart, so to speak. As the Iranian airstrike on Israel shows, the Middle East is one step closer to the abyss,” said Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) at the start of the latest press conference on the “importance of our air defense.”
Bizarrely and threateningly, the range of Iranian missiles is approximately 3,500 kilometers – and the air line from Vienna to Tehran measures exactly 3,179 kilometers. “We know that there is currently no frightening threat, but this is the portfolio of possible attacks,” said Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer.
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Reality shows how “limited” the Austrian defense capacity currently is: as a short-range defense system, as a last resort, we only have the “35 millimeter machine gun” and the “Mistral guided missile” with a range of 6,000 meters.
With these systems, only protected objects such as Zeltweg air base can be reasonably secured. As currently seen in Ukraine, civilian targets and infrastructure such as cities can only be protected to a limited extent or not at all.
The focus has been ‘lost’ in recent years
“In recent years we have lost a bit of focus on the Middle East. Because the eastern dimensions and Africa were in the foreground. Now the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is central again,” explains Arnold Kammel, Secretary General of Defense Policy.
It is therefore important now to strengthen stabilization measures in the region, not to lose sight of Lebanon and to ensure that Europe has a credible defense. In this context, Minister Tanner expressed her dissatisfaction with statements that Austria was merely a free rider in the EU’s security policy.
Austria is not a free rider within the EU!
“We can proudly point to decades of contributions to maintaining peace. There are currently 200 red-white-red soldiers on a peace mission in Lebanon, just on the border with Israel!”, the Defense Minister said.
And the Alpine Republic is by no means taking on the role of a follower in the current European Sky Shield air defense system. Austria signed a declaration of intent to join Switzerland last year. The Sky Shield project currently covers 21 countries.
Sky Shield as “the spearhead of our neutrality”
This system is intended to significantly improve shortcomings in counter-ballistic missiles and drone and cruise missile defense. “Neutrality is the foundation of our security, the armed forces are the shield and Sky Shield will be the spearhead of our neutrality,” Tanner emphasized that this procurement cooperation is in no way contradictory to neutrality. With the realistic assessment: “Without a protective shield, even neutrality doesn’t help.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
