The Army Reconnaissance Detachment 10 (German: Armee-Aufklärungsdetachement 10, French: Détachement de reconnaissance de l'armée 10, Italian: Distaccamento d'esplorazione dell'esercito 10)[1] is a special forces unit of the Swiss Army responsible for conducting counter-terrorist activities in Switzerland and abroad.

As part of the Army XXI reforms,[2] a report on October 24, 2001 to the Federal Assembly of Switzerland called for the formation of a special forces–trained unit that would be able to conduct counter-terrorist-type actions in the Swiss Army to protect Swiss nationals and soldiers living abroad.

[9] It is suggested that the first batch of ARD 10 operators had been given training by foreign special forces instructors.

[11] There has been calls on the Swiss government to deploy ARD 10 operators to combat Somali pirates with no consensus in Parliament,[12] due to an evenly divided vote against it.

[9][18] Instead, the hostages were released after negotiations between Libya and Switzerland, with the details of the rescue operations leaked to the press.

[18] In 2020, it was reported that the ARD10 was supposed to be assigned to protect the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation office in Kabul.

[19] The ARD 10 has certain tasks to fulfill as part of their mandate:[2] Among the minimal qualification requirements for potential candidates in 18 weeks, these include:[2][20] Other potential requirements include the following:[20] Candidates who must wear eyeglasses must have a visual acuity of at least 0.80 in order to be accepted.

[27] Candidates will be assessed prior to training their physical and mental state, as well as their health if they are fit to be qualified as ARD 10 soldiers.

[30] Accommodations in terms of living quarters and food are taken care of by the unit itself without having the individual soldier pay.

[31] Soldiers are paid additionally 6.17 Swiss francs per hour for participating in night duties.

[32] In addition, ARD 10 soldiers are to reimbursed according to federal law with an accommodation maximum of 130 Swiss francs.