Digital transformation: Process efficiency in the replacement of the Land Forces CIS

Defence Group, Armed Forces Staff

Key facts

The Land Forces command information system (Land Forces CIS) supports operations planning, command and control, and current intelligence in Armed Forces tactical operations by displaying situation maps that facilitate the preparation of command and control documents and enable their level-appropriate distribution within a military unit. The Land Forces CIS, which was approved as part of the 2006 armament programme at a cost of CHF 736 million, is now showing its age. Moreover, it meets the Armed Forces’ needs only to a limited extent: contrary to the original intention, the control of mobile units is restricted as no sufficiently high-performance communication infrastructure exists. The Defence sector’s subsequent decision in 2012 that it would no longer equip the lower hierarchical level of the Armed Forces (up to section vehicle level) with the Land Forces CIS resulted in CHF 125 million worth of write-offs. It is now planned to replace the Land Forces CIS and three other command information systems with the IPLIS integrated planning and situation information system by 2023. The Armed Forces Staff is reckoning on investment costs of CHF 250 million.