Swiss Air Force

Swiss Air Force
Founded	31 July 1914
Country	Switzerland
Role	air defense
Size	1,600 active professional personnel[1]
Part of	Swiss Armed Forces
Staff to the Chief of the Armed Forces	Bundeshaus Ost, Berne
Commanders
Head of the Air Force	Lieutenant General Markus Gygax
Insignia
Swiss Air Force Badge
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Attack	F/A-18 Hornet
Electronic warfare	F-5 Tiger
Helicopter	Eurocopter Cougar/Super Puma
Interceptor	F-5 Tiger
Patrol	F/A-18 Hornet
Reconnaissance	ADS-95 Ranger
Trainer	Pilatus PC-7/PC-9/PC-21

The Swiss Air Force (German: Schweizer Luftwaffe; French: Forces aériennes suisses; Italian: Forze Aeree Svizzere) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces. Established on July 31, 1914 and as of January 1966 an independent service separate from the Army.

In peacetime, Dübendorf is the operational Air Force HQ. The airport Bern-Belp (LSMB)is a civil airport but hosts the LTDB (Government flightbranch of the Air Force).

The Swiss Air Force operates from several fixed bases (see Current status) but its personnel is also trained to carry out airops from temporary highway airstrips. In case of crisis or war several highway tracks are specially pepared for this option.

Swiss DH112 Venom Mk1R on display

Swiss DH100 Vampire Mk6 on display

Swiss Hawker Hunter Mk58 on display

Swiss Dassault Mirage IIIRS recon on display

History

The history of the Swiss Air Force started in 1914 with the establishment of an ad hoc force consisting of a handful of men in outdated and largely civilian aircraft.^[2] It was only in the 1930's that an effective air force was established at great cost, capable of inflicting several embarrassing defeats on the Nazi Luftwaffe in the course of an initially vigorous defence of neutral Swiss airspace.^[3] The Swiss Air Force as an autonomous military service was created in October 1936.^[2] After World War II it was renamed the Swiss Air Force and Anti-Aircraft Command (Schweizerische Flugwaffe Kommando der Flieger und Fliegerabwehrtruppen) and in 1996 became a separate service independent from the Army, under its present name Schweizer Luftwaffe.^[4]

The mission of the Swiss Air Force historically was supporting the ground troops (erdkampf) in repelling invasions of neutral Swiss territory, with a secondary mission of defending the sovereignty of the airspace. During WWII this doctrine was severely tested when Switzerland was literally caught in the middle of an air war and subject to both attacks and incursions by aircraft of all combatants.^[3] Its inability to prevent such violations of its neutrality led for a period to a complete cessation of air intercepts, followed by a practice of coercing small numbers of intruders to submit to internment.^[5]

At the end of the 1950's, reflecting both the threat of possible invasion by the Soviet Union and the realities of nuclear warfare, Swiss military doctrine changed to mobile defense that included missions for the Air Force outside of its territory, in order to defeat standoff attacks and nuclear threats, including the possibility of defensive employment of air-delivered nuclear weapons.^[6] However the inability to field an air force of sufficient capability to carry out such missions led to a return of traditional "protection of own territory" doctrine.^[7]

Nuclear weapons and lots of conventionally armed aircraft were stationed throughout Europe as Warsaw Pact and NATO created a 'balance of terror.' Spurred on by this situation, aerial warfare technology raced ahead and this had an impact on Switzerland's overall armament strategy. With the introduction of the DH100 Vampire jetfighter in 1946, the air force took its first step into the jet age. Soon after that the Swiss government decided to start building aircraft shelters inside the rocks near the airbases – the so called caverns – and the establishment of a command and control chain and an underground Operations Centre.

In 1954 the first Air Radar Recruit School was activated, the first early warning radar systems were installed and the concept of command & control facilities at mountain summits was introduced; leading to acquisition of the FLORIDA early warning and command guidance system in 1965 followed by the current FLORAKO system in 2003.

The need to replace the aged Vampire and Venom aircraft in the late 1950's for combined fighter/ground-attack aircraft led to the procurement of the Hawker Hunter. This aircraft (partially ex RAF and partially newly built) sustained a 36-year operational deployment in the Swiss air force. Endurance their operational life the Hunters were regularly modified and upgraded with new weapons and systems. In the timeframe 1975-1991 9 operational squadrons and an interceptor squadron were Hunter equipped. The Hunters made a total of > 310.000 flying hours in appx 483.000 sorties! (At the introduction of the Northrop F-5 Tiger the Hunters were finally relieved from interceptor tasking and subject to ground-attack tasking).

In the 1960’s projects to boost-up the ground-based anti-aircraft defense were realized such as radar-equipped medium-caliber guns with an integrated 63 'Superfledermaus,' (Superbat) fire control system as well as the BL-64 ‘Bloodhound’ airdefense missile system (1964 -1999).

Switzerland did not invest in development of its own combat aircraft. In 1964 the procurement of the Dassault Mirage III fighters (1964-2002) caused a scandal due to severe budget overruns. The air force commander, the chief of the general Staff and the minister of defense were forced to resign, followed by a complete restructuring of the air force and air defense units as of February 1, 1968 and leading to separation of users and procurement officials.

In 1969 air force, air force logistics and air defense were reassigned into brigades. The Armed Forces Meteo Group and Avalanche Rescue Service came under air force and air defense command and the Para Reconnaissance Company was established.

The 1970’s were the years of historic major maneuvers with > 22.000 participants. Also a new air defense concept was introduced in which the need of an “air superiority fighter” – in case of fall backs of ground forces - stood central. In 1974 the first 2 Northrop F-5’s fighters were tested and in 1978 the first F-5 Tiger fighter/interceptor sqn became operational. The F-5 is currently still operational but is scheduled to be replaced in 2015.

In the late 1980's the changing political and military world situations implied the need of a multirole aircraft in the Swiss air force. The main factor to choose the F/A-18 Hornet, after thorough evaluation, was the performance of the aircraft. The Hornet not only has a very short takeoff time from its alert position, but with its air performance and flying characteristics, its extremely fast acceleration to supersonic speed within seconds and its manoeuverability in curvilinear flight the Hornet is currently the best aircraft adapted to operate in Swiss geographical and aerial conditions. The aircraft (developed to operate from aircraft carriers) is very well fitted for operations from very short runways in mountainous regions and narrow valleys. Its high performance radar allows the F/A-18 to detect and simultaneously engage multiple targets with long-range guided missiles, in “all weather” conditions and the aircraft is also well tested in electronic warfare conditions.

As of 1996, the first of total 33 Hornets left the assembly lines at Emmen and the delivery was finished by the end of 1999. Fliegerstaffel (Sqn) 17 was the first one to be Hornet reassigned from 1997 on, followed in 1998 by Fliegerstaffel 18. Last but not least, retraining was concluded by the, then Dübendorf based, Fliegerstaffel 11 in 1999. These three squadrons currently form the Swiss Űberwachungsgeschwader (air surveillance wing).

With a length of 17 meters, the F/A-18 is longer than the Mirage III. Its wingspan of 12 meters exceeds the F-5 Tiger’s by 4 meters. Therefore the existing “caverns” in the mountainridges had to be extended. This process is currently still continuing. The Swiss F/A-18 weighs 17 tons, approximately 2.5x as much as the Tiger. It can easily load 7 tons, about 6x the useful load of the retired Hawker Hunter. The engines provide for a thrust of 16 tons, appx 3.5x as much performance as the F-5 engines. Its 5000 litres of jetfuel allow missions of more than one hour duration. Enough to eliminate unwanted incursions in the Swiss airspace.

Historical inventory

Mission

In 1995 the Swiss implemented a defensive plan that made control of Swiss airspace its highest and main priority. Modernization of the Air Force to achieve this mission was subject to popular referenda challenging its cost and practice.^[4]

The mission of the Swiss Air Force is as follows:^[4]

• General control and protection of Swiss airspace.
• Guaranteeing air sovereignty by means of air policing tasking.
• Guaranteeing air defence throughout the country.
• Capability of executing airlift ops.
• Gathering and disseminating intelligence for political/military leadership.

Current status

Swiss air force aerobatics team Patrouille Suisse uses F-5E Tigers

Ops training from prepared highway strips

F/A-18 Hornet dual at Payerne

Through the years the Swiss air force traditionally had been a militia-based service, including its pilots, with an inventory of appx. 450 aircraft which operational service life (many > 30 years) overlapped several eras. Beginning with its separation from the Army in 1966 however, the air force has been down-sizing (currently appx. 230 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft) and moving towards a small professional cadre with fewer reserves and low-graduated conscripted personnel for general tasks.^[8] Currently the Swiss air force has a peacetime strength of 1600 professional military personnel with a recall to about 20.000 reservists.^[1]

Its front-line airdefence asset consists of 33 F-18 Hornets and 54 F-5 Tiger IIs (originally 110 purchased in 1978-1985).^[9] The F/A-18 pilots are all fulltime professional military; the F-5 pilots however are reserve (militia) personnel. These (mostly airliner or freightliner pilots) do also have an F-5 rating. During certain periods they are being assigned for military duties and have to comply to the operational live flying training. In 2008 the Swiss Hornets reached the 50.000 flight hour milestone.^[10] All Swiss Hornets remain highly capable due to the Upgrade 21 (UG21) programme conducted between 2004 and 2009 at RUAG, while another Mid-Life Update (MLU) will begin shortly.^[11]

By 2011 the air force intends to start the Partial F-5 Tiger Replacement programme for 22 new aircraft. Candidate types are the JAS 39 Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale.^[12][13] Presumably the Swiss aerobatics team Patrouille Suisse, still flying F-5,s, will switch over to another aircraft type when the choice has been made (F/A-18 or the new fighter to be aquired). The future still remains unclear ^[14] as procurement of a new aircraft certainly will face political opposition from Switzerland's left-wing, anti-army and green groups.^[12]

By 2010 all 20 aged Aérospatiale Alouette III's will be replaced by 2 VIP configuration Eurocopter EC-135s and 18 EC-635s.^[8] The first EC-635 was delivered in 2008.^[15]

A report in the Swiss news magazine FACTS reveals that in peacetime the Swiss air force only provides ready-to-take-off aircraft during office hours on working days! The air force staff stated a peacetime 24/7 operational flying status as "mission impossible", due to budget limitations and limited professional (flying) personnel capacity. This did not apply to the airdefense radar coverage of which 24/7 peacetime operational capacity was guaranteed.^[16] The problem of defending Swiss airspace is illustrated by the mountainous character and the small countrysize; the maximum extension of Switzerland is 348 km, a distance that can be flown in little over 20 minutes by commercial aircraft. The noise abatement issues also have been a traditional problem for the air force because of the tourist industry.^[17] Due to these reasons, the Swiss air force more and more participates in NATO airdefense training exercises with their Belgian, French or German counterparts. In recent years this included operations for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, the Euro 2008 football championships and the annual World Economic Forum.^[17]

Operational structure

The 2009 Swiss air forces operational order of battle is as follows:^[18][19]

• Bern - Belp International Airpt.
  • Air Force HQ
  • LTDB (VIP flights)
• Militärflugplatz Dübendorf (army airfield), a former fighter/interceptor base and current homebase of
  • Swiss Air Force Command
    • Air Defense & Direction Center (the airdefense C3 airops center)
    • Skyguide (military & civil airtraffic control)
  • 3rd Airlift Wing
    • 3rd and 4th Air Transport Sqn with Alouette III/AS 332M-1/AS 532UL
• Flugplatzkommando 2 Alpnach (airbase 2), a helicopter airlift/logistic base and maintenance unit.
  • 2nd Airlift Wing; consisting of:
    • 6th Air Transport Sqn with Allouette III/ASS332M-1/AS 532UL^{[nb 1]}
    • 8th Air Transport Sqn with Alouette III/AS 332M-1/AS 532UL
• Militärflugplatz Buochs (army airfield), a deactivated former airdefense base. Currently marked as "sleeping airbase" open for civil and sport aviation. In time of crisis the military airfield installations may be made operational at very short notice as there still are aircraft shelter facilities inside the nearby mountainridge.
• Flugplatzkommando 4 Locarno (airbase 4), a flight training base (PC-6/7/9's); Para Recon Training base, Light Airlift base
• Flugplatz Ambri, a former airdefense base hosting Hawker Hunters. Currently deactivated and open for commercial flights. The aircraft storage facilities inside the mountainridge are empty but still available.
• Flugplatz Interlaken, a former fighter/interceptorbase hosting 12 F-5 Tigers. Currently deactivated and closed for all airtraffic; converted into a leisure area.
• Flugplatzkommando 7 Emmen (airbase 7), a fighter/interceptorbase hosting
  • Fliegerstaffel (Fighter/Interceptorsqn) 8, with F-5 Tiger
  • Dronensqn (Dronesqn) 7 with ADS-95
  • 7th Air Transport Sqn with Pilatus PC-6
• Flugplatz Lodrino, a former airdefense base hosting Hawker Hunters. Currently deactivated and open for commercial flights.
• Flugplatz Mollis, a former airdefense base hosting Hawker Hunters. Currently deactivated and open for commercial flights. Aircraft storage facilities inside the mountainridge are empty but still available.
• Flugplatzkommando 11 Payerne (airbase 11), an airdefense base hosting
  • Escadrille Transport Aérien (Airliftsqn) 1 with Alouette III and Super Puma
  • Fightersqn 17 and 18 with F/A-18C/D
  • Flight Training Unit 31
    • 12th Air Target (Drone) Sqn with Pilatus PC-9/F-5E
• Flugplatzkommando 13 Meiringen (airbase 13), an airdefense base hosting
  • Fightersqn 11 with F/A-18C/D
• Flugplatzkommando 14 Sion (airbase 14), a fighter/interceptor base hosting
  • Fighter/Interceptorsqn 19 with F-5 Tiger

Air defense

FLORAKO Command & Control unit at the summit of Mt Pilatus.

During the past 35 years Swiss military and civil airspace control depended on the FLORIDA (FLugsicherungs Operations Radar IDentifikation Alarm - Flight Ops. Radar Identifying and Alerting) air defense system.

Since its phasing out however the Swiss airspace control and defence is being carried out by the THALES Raytheon FLORAKO (FLugsicherungs Operations RAdar KOmmandosystem – Flight Ops. Radar and Cmd. system). This system is being operated from 4 fixed locations at the summits of the Pilatus, Scopi, Titlis and Weissfluh mountains in the Alps.

At least one of these Command, Control and Communications (C3) facilities is always connected to the Air Defense & Direction Center (the ADDC or air ops center) at Dübendorf and fully operational on-line on a 24/7 basis, controlling the Swiss airspace. Depending of the international situation more facilities will be manned up and in case of crisis or war (ADDC and 4 facilities operational) the covered airspace will be extended far beyond the Swiss boundaries. Each of these AirOps facilities is capable to make all battle management decisions in case the ADDC or the other AirOps facilities might be eliminated.^[11]

The first FLORAKO unit was activated in 2003 and the operational lifetime of this hi-tech system is guaranteed by its manufacturers for at least 25 years. The system consists of:

• A communication system KOMSYS. Integrating element of all geographically devided parts of the FLORAKO system uniting speech and datacommunications and systemcommands in a single data network.
• A radarstation FLORES. Consisting of standard hi-power search radars, advanced radars (search mode, hi-update ratio and special functions) and civil authority monopulse secondary radars. The 4 radar stations are the main data sources and are complemented by existent military and civil radar data.
• A radar layersystem RALUS. Translating the data automatically into flight paths and producing a complete civil-military airpicture for all authorities.
• A warning message system LUNAS-EZ. AirOps Centers are the combining factors between the FLORAKO-system with real-time data (airpicture, planning and environmental data) and its military users. Workpositions are identical configured and built accordingly to latest ergonomics, state of the art visual colour hi-res technology, menu guidance and known user environment. The Dübendorf Air Defense & Direction Center, as well as the AirOps units in the Alps, are equally equipped thus assuring all time operational redundancy in
  • producing the actual airpicture
  • permanent guarding of the Swiss airspace
  • early warning
  • command and control
  • air policing
  • coordination of civil and military air traffic
• The Military-Civil Airspace Management System MICAMS. This, secundary, system offers a computing backup for flexible airspace use for both civil and military flight security.

The radarsystem may eventually be completed by 2 mobile TAFLIR (TAktische FLIeger Radars - Tactical Flight Radars). These Groundmaster 200 type AN/MPQ-64 radars are a variant of the Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-75 and are deployable in areas of difficult terrain or where specific coverage is needed. Peacetime TAFLIR deployment locations are at Dübendorf and Emmen. In time of crisis or at war they will be deployed anywhere.^[11]

Ground Based Air Defense

The Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) is currently headquartered at Emmen airbase. Since the deactivation of the former BL-64 "Bloodhound" missilesystem it achieves its task by operating a triple combined mobile coverage system ^[11] consisting of:

• Rapier the mobile 10km range surface-to-air missile system with its components
  • launcher/surveillance radar/identificator combination
  • tracker radar
  • display unit
  • 2 generators
  • 2x 4 missiles
• FIM-92 Stinger MANPAD 10 km range surface-to-air missile systems (fire & forget system)
• Oerlikon 35 mm twin cannons 4km range firing unit with its component
  • firecontrol system 75/90

Current inventory

Aircraft

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[8]	Notes
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet	United States	Multirole fighter	F/A-18C	26	Fightersqns 11, 17 (AB Payerne) and 18 (AB Meiringen)
			F/A-18D	7
Northrop F-5 Tiger II	United States	Fighter-Interceptor	F-5E	42	Fighter/Interceptor Sqns 8 (AB Emmen) and 19 (AB Sion). Current use: interception, aerobatics, target-towing and electronic warfare training - scheduled to be replaced by 2015.[1]
			F-5F	12 Current use: air policing and electronic warfare
Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer	Switzerland	Trainer	NCPC-7	28	AB Locarno
Pilatus PC-9	Switzerland	Trainer	PC-9/F	11	Flight Training Unit 31 (AB Payerne)
Pilatus PC-21	Switzerland	Advanced trainer	PC-21	8	AB Locarno
Beechcraft 1900	United States	VIP Transport	1900D	1	Bern-Belp Airpt.
DHC-6 Twin Otter	Canada	Photomapping	DHC-6	1	Militärflugplatz Dübendorf
Beechcraft Super King Air	United States	Photomapping	350C	1	Militärflugplatz Dübendorf
Pilatus PC-6 Turbo-Porter	Switzerland	Light transport	PC-6/B2-H2M-1	15	Airliftsqn 7 (AB Emmen) + HB-FCF from armasuisse
Dassault Falcon 50	France	VIP transport	Falcon 50	1	Bern-Belp Airpt.
Pilatus PC-12	Switzerland	Test& transport	PC-12	1	used from armasuisse : HB-FOG Militärflugplatz Dübendorf
Cessna Citation Excel	United States	VIP transport	Ce-560XL	1	Bern-Belp Airpt.
ADS-95 Ranger	Switzerland	UAV	ADS-95	24	Drone Sqn 7 (AB Emmen)

Source: Swiss Armed Forces - Air Force assets (p. 12);^[20] Schweizer Luftwaffe - Mittel: Flugzeuge, Helikopter, Flab^[21]

Helicopters

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[8]	Notes
Aérospatiale Super Puma	France	Medium airlift	AS332M1	15	AB Payerne, Militärflugplatz Dübendorf
Eurocopter Cougar	France	Medium airlift	AS532UL	12	AB Alpnach
Eurocopter EC 635	Germany	Utility	EC 635	18	AB Alpnach
		VIP transport	EC 135 VIP	2 Bern-Belp Airpt.
Aérospatiale Alouette III	France	Light util	SA316B	20	AB Aplnach (Al III phased out 2010)

Source: Swiss Armed Forces - Air Force assets (p. 12);^[20] Schweizer Luftwaffe - Mittel: Flugzeuge, Helikopter, Flab^[21]

Anti-aircraft

Name	Origin	Type	In service	Notes
Oerlikon 35 mm dual cannon	Switzerland	triple A gun	45	a.k.a. "Flab Kanone 63/90"
FIM-92 Stinger	United States	MANPAD infrared guided missile	288
Rapier missile	United Kingdom	surface-air guided missile	54	a.k.a. "Mobile Lenkwaffen Flugabwehr"

Source: Swiss Armed Forces - Air Force assets (p. 12);^[20] Schweizer Luftwaffe - Mittel: Flugzeuge, Helikopter, Flab^[21]

References

Notes

1. ↑ The Allouette is currently being replaced by the Eurocopter EC 635.^[9]

Further reading

• Force Report: Swiss Air Force, Air Forces Monthly magazine in association with Air Forces Intelligence - The Online Air Arms Database, September 2009 issue.
• Lombardi, Fiona (2007). The Swiss Air Power: Wherefrom? Whereto?. Zürich University. ISBN 978-3728130990. 
• Roman Schürmann: Helvetische Jäger. Dramen und Skandale am Militärhimmel. Rotpunktverlag, Zürich 2009, ISBN 978-3-85869-406-5

External links

• Official website
• Air Defense Direction Center
• TAFLIR information
• All Swiss armed forces facilities at the Zone Interdite website
• Swiss Air Force 21st Century - Unofficial web site about the contemporary Swiss Air Force

• Media related to Air force of Switzerland at Wikimedia Commons

Military of Switzerland Overview Ministry of Defence · Conscription · History · Intelligence · Ranks · Group for a Switzerland without an Army Land Forces Grenadiers (ARD 10) Air Force History · Patrouille Suisse · Parachute Reconnaissance Company 17