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Swiss Air Force
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The Swiss Air Force (; ; ) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces.
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Encyclopedia
The Swiss Air Force (; ; ) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces. It was established on July 31, 1914 but did not become a separate service until 1936, and an independent service separate from the Army until 1 January 1996.
Structure
A report in the Swiss news magazine FACTS reveals that the Swiss Air Force only provides ready-to-take-off aircraft during office hours – on working days. The air force staff declared that, due to financial limits, they are not operational all the time. The difficulty of defending Swiss airspace is illustrated by the mountainous character and the small size of the country; the maximum extension of Switzerland is 348 km, a distance that can be flown in little over 20 minutes by commercial aircraft. Further, Switzerland's policy of neutrality means that they are unlikely to be deployed elsewhere.
The Swiss Air Force has been traditionally a militia-based service, including its pilots, with an inventory of approximately 400-500 aircraft whose lengthy service lives (many for more than 30 years) overlapped several eras. Beginning with its separation from the Army in 1996, however, the Air Force has been down-sizing, now approximating 270 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and moving more towards a smaller, professionalized force.
Its primary front-line air-defence fleet consists of 33 F-18 Hornets (Squadrons: 11, 17, 18. 34 were originally bought, but one crashed) and 54 remaining F-5 Tiger IIs (110 were originally purchased). In October 2008 the Swiss Hornet fleet reached the 50,000 flight hour milestone. In 2010 the Swiss Air Force intends to begin the retirement of the F-5 in the three squadrons (Patrouille Suisse, 8th, 19th) that use it and hopes to acquire a New Warplane/Neues Kampfflugzeug (NFK) as replacement. As with the earlier F/A-18 procurement conducted in the late 1990s, this is expected to prove a politically fraught procurement due to Switzerland's socialist, anti-army and green groups, which are all opposed to such purchases. The Patrouille Suisse will need to change to a new aircraft, either the F/A-18 Hornet or the new fighter. The Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and the Saab Gripen are being considered, with Boeing announcing on 1 May 2008, that it was removing the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from further consideration.
In 2011 the Swiss Air Force will also be retiring its fleet of 60 Aérospatiale Alouette III, which will be replaced by Eurocopter EC-635s. The first EC-635 was delivered on 12 March 2008.
The national aerobatic demonstration team of Swiss Air Force is the Patrouille Suisse, which flies the F-5 Tiger II aircraft.
History
The history of Swiss military aviation begins in 1900 with the creation of an observation balloon force that was abolished in 1938. After trials with civilian aircraft, a rudimentary air force was established in 1914, coinciding with the outbreak of World War I. Suffering from a lack of modern equipment, funding and attention by the military leadership, the air force played no part in the defence of neutral Switzerland during World War I and had little or no military value during the 1910s and 1920s.
This changed dramatically during the 1930s. Concerned with the fast-growing threat of modern air warfare and propelled by increasing popular support, caused in part by fear over the rise of fascism in nearby countries, the government decided to embark on a rapid and thorough programme of modernisation. Some 450 modern aircraft were built or acquired up until 1940, including 90 state-of-the-art Me-109 from Germany, and a network of air defence positions was constructed. This consumed a billion Swiss francs over the course of the decade, a staggering amount for the time. The air force became an independent branch of the armed forces in 1936.
Aircraft
Current inventory
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
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| McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet|| || Multi-role fighter || F/A-18C
F/A-18D
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26
7
33 ||
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| Northrop F-5 Tiger II || || Fighter || F-5E
F-5F || 47
12
59 || Scheduled to be replaced after 2010. Dassault Rafale, Saab Gripen and Eurofighter Typhoon are being evaluated as replacement.
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| Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer || || Trainer || PC-7 || 37 || 28 aircraft will receive a new cockpit (glass cockpit, updated avionics), the remaining 9 PC-7 will be sold
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| Pilatus PC-9 || || Trainer || PC-9/F || 11 || Trainer / target towing ||
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| Pilatus PC-21 || || Advanced trainer || PC-21 || 6 ||
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| Eurocopter EC 635 || || Utility
VIP transport || EC 635
EC 635 VIP || 18
2
20 || Currently being delivered
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| Aérospatiale Dauphin || || VIP transport || SA365N1 || 1 || Replaced by EC 635 VIP. Will be sold as soon as a buyer is found
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| Aérospatiale Alouette III || || Utility || SA316B || 34 || Being replaced by EC 635
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| Aérospatiale Super Puma || || Transport || AS332M1 || 15 ||
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| Eurocopter Cougar || || Transport || AS532UL || 12 ||
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| Beechcraft 1900 || || Transport || 1900D || 1 ||
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| Cessna Citation Excel || || VIP transport || Ce-560XL || 1 ||
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| DHC-6 Twin Otter || || Photographic mapping || DHC-6 || 1 ||
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| Dassault Falcon 50 || || VIP transport || Falcon 50 || 1 ||
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| Pilatus PC-6 Turbo-Porter || || Light transport || PC-6/B2-H2M-1 || 15 ||
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| Pilatus PC-12 || || Light transport || PC-12/45 || 1 || Owned by Armasuisse (Swiss military procurement)
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Previously operated aircraft
(JU-AIR airline)]]
in the Dübendorf museum of military aviation]]
, in the museum of military aviation]]
s JATO-start in Payerne]]
Airbases
The Swiss Air Force has nine air bases, the most important of these being Payerne, in western Switzerland. The others are the helicopter base at Alpnach, a dormant base at Buochs and bases at Bern, Dübendorf, Emmen, Meiringen, Sion and Locarno. The air force closed Mollis by January 2007, and Alpnach will be reduced in size.
See also
External links
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