The increase in the cost of flight material and weapons resulted in reductions in fleet sizes and capacity of service branches of small states to perform in combat.

The strategy for the ALR Piranha was to deliver a design that would utilize common parts that could be built to support multiple mission types; air and ground attack, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and operational training.

A single cannon, either the heavy, powerful 30 mm Oerlikon KCA or the lighter Mauser BK-27, would be mounted on the aircraft's center line, with the nose wheel slightly offset as a result.

The ALR would have been equipped with avionics, radar, armament and engines from abroad[citation needed], and a laser seeking sensor in front of the cockpit.

[citation needed] Although the Swiss government lost interest in the project, prototype remote-controlled model ALR Piranha airplanes did reach the wind-tunnel and flight testing phase.