The confined and ever more densely populated countryside in the small Alpine country is only suitable for manoeuvres involving a few tanks at a time, mainly on target practice, a ministry spokesman explained.

"If we want to train.., we don't have enough space for a whole tank brigade," spokesman Martin Buehler told AFP.

"We don't have room for exercises involving a mock enemy," he said.

Switzerland's army commanders are looking around for a suitable European country for training later this decade, Buehler said.

Until 1980s the Swiss army -- which is historically only allowed to serve as a defence force -- did conduct war games in the Swiss countryside, with the mock enemy force often identified by the colours red or orange and invading from the east.

But Switzerland's military has been forced to look abroad for large-scale manoeuvres because of rising pacifist sentiment at home since the end of the Cold War and stricter environmental regulations, the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper reported.

The Swiss militia army and air force regularly carry out small training missions in Britain, France, Italy and some Nordic countries in swaps with foreign forces, even though Switzerland has stayed out of a major military alliance.

WAR.WIRE