Exercise in the event of war
Swiss Air Force lands on motorway
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Neutrality is important to Switzerland. Given the tense world situation, the Air Force must be prepared for anything, says the deputy commander. For the first time in decades, fighter pilots are now practicing taking off and landing on highways.
In view of the tense world situation, the Swiss Air Force has tested capabilities in the event of war: The pilots of fighter jets practiced taking off and landing on a motorway in Payerne, south of Lake Neuchâtel. On a motorway bridge in the middle of fields and with a clear smell of manure in the air, the deputy commander of the Air Force, Brigadier Christian Oppliger, drew an initial positive conclusion from the so-called “Alpha Uno capability check”.
The F/A-18 pilots made perfect landings, he said. The machines had a landing speed of around 260 kilometers per hour. The motorway section near Payerne south of Lake Neuchâtel had been closed for several kilometers since the evening before. The guard rails had been removed and the track was cleaned several times before the start, cannon fire was supposed to scare away birds. The Swiss Air Force's last exercise of this type took place in the canton of Ticino in 1991. Before the end of the Cold War, such exercises occurred regularly every few years.
Now the threat situation has changed significantly, said Oppliger: “The Air Force has to be prepared for everything.” It is no longer just about defense, but also about combating enemy surface-air systems. The Air Force wants to be able to keep opponents away up to 100 kilometers beyond the borders. The aim of the exercise was also to test how quickly the Air Force would be able to deploy elsewhere after a potential first strike on military airfields.
Switzerland is a neutral country that does not take part in acts of war and does not supply warring parties with material. This also applies to Ukraine. The concept is “defensive Switzerland”, which can defend itself in the event of an attack and ward off attacks. In 2022, a procurement contract for 36 modern F-35A fighter aircraft was signed with the US government. The first ones are scheduled to be delivered in 2027.
