Swiss Air Force — Fleet, Air Bases & Order of Battle

Order of Battle · Switzerland

Swiss Air Force

Schweizer Luftwaffe · Forces aériennes suisses · Forze aeree svizzere · Aviatica militara svizra

The Swiss Air Force is a neutral country’s small, professional air-policing force of 30 F/A-18 Hornets flying from two bases, one of them a mountain cavern, that is shedding its militia past and its F-5 Tigers as it waits for about 30 F-35As from 2027.

Swiss Air Force badgeService badgeSwiss Air Force
National markingRed disc, white cross, since 1947
Fin flashThe flag, square, 6:7 cross
55Combat aircraft
7Active air bases
1914Founded
30Types retired
Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
CountrySwitzerlandFounded1914StatusActiveHeadquartersBern (Air Force Staff); operations centre DübendorfCommanderDivisionär Christian OppligerFly the L-39 Albatros from Sion
The story

The Swiss Air Force story: neutral, militia, and built into the mountains

1914–1936: three requisitioned aircraft, then Hitler changed minds

The Swiss Air Force was born in a hurry on 31 July 1914, three days after the guns of August began, when cavalry instructor Theodor Real was told to build a flying corps (Fliegertruppe) with three aircraft requisitioned from the Bern national exhibition and nine pilots who brought their own machines. Neutral Switzerland fought no one, so for twenty years the air arm limped along on Häfeli biplanes built in the federal workshops at Thun and on Fokker C.Vs, its officers unconvinced that flying suited a militia army. It took the rise of Hitler to change minds: in October 1936 the Flieger- und Fliegerabwehrtruppen became an independent service, and Switzerland bought Messerschmitt Bf 109s from Germany and a licence for the Morane-Saulnier MS.406 from France, hedging against both future belligerents.

1940–1945: eleven kills, a ban on combat, and sixteen mountain airfields

The hedge paid off in the summer of 1940. When the Luftwaffe cut through France, Swiss Bf 109 pilots shot down eleven German aircraft in six days of fighting for the loss of two of their own, an act of defiance that brought sabotage teams, diplomatic threats and, on 20 June, General Guisan’s ban on air combat over Swiss soil. From 1943 the guns turned the other way, as damaged American and British bombers wandered over the Alps: six were shot down by fighters and nine by flak, and 36 Allied airmen died. The lasting legacy of the war was the Réduit: sixteen airfields in the Alpine fortress, from Ulrichen at 1,344 m to Saanen and Ambrì, built by hand in 1941-43 with runways, shelters and, after the war, caverns blasted into the rock.

1946–1964: all-jet by 1957, and the Mirage affair that toppled the top brass

The Cold War Swiss Air Force was a British affair flown by part-timers. Vampires arrived in 1946, then 250 Venoms and 160 Hunters, so that by 1957 Switzerland was the first country whose fighter squadrons were all jets, most of them militia units whose airline-pilot and farmer aircrew reported for three weeks a year to their cavern war base and practised landing on motorways. The doctrine was clever and cheap; the procurement was not. The 1961 decision to build 100 Mirage IIIs on a deliberately low budget blew up in 1964 as the Mirage affair, the first parliamentary inquiry in Swiss history, which cost the defence minister, the chief of the general staff and the air force commander their jobs, cut the buy to 57 and permanently separated procurement from the generals.

1993–2020: the Hornet referendum, the closing of the war airfields, 24/7 alert

The Hornet era began with a referendum. Pacifists gathered half a million signatures against 34 F/A-18s, but voters backed the aircraft in June 1993 and Emmen assembled them from 1996. The Hornet was too complex for militia crews, so the professional squadrons took it over, the Surveillance Wing became the Berufsfliegerkorps in 2005 and, one by one, the war airfields closed: Ulrichen in 1999, Turtmann, Interlaken and Buochs in 2003, Dübendorf’s jets in 2005, Sion at the end of 2017. What was left was too small: in February 2014 a hijacked Ethiopian 767 had to be escorted to Geneva by Italian and French fighters because Swiss jets did not fly outside office hours, a national embarrassment that finally funded round-the-clock alert, reached on 31 December 2020.

2014–2028: Gripen rejected, Air2030 won by 8,670 votes, and an F-35 buy that shrank

Replacing the Tiger and the Hornet has been a decade of democratic drama. Voters rejected 22 Gripens in May 2014, then approved the Air2030 fighter credit in September 2020 by 8,670 votes, and the Federal Council picked the F-35A in June 2021. The 2022 contract for 36 aircraft at a supposedly fixed CHF 6.035 billion unravelled in 2025 when Washington demanded up to USD 1.3 billion more; in March 2026 Bern chose to take about 30 jets rather than ask for more money. The air force itself has shrunk to two professional Hornet squadrons, Fighter Squadron 11 in the Meiringen cavern and the new Fighter Squadron 35 at Payerne; the militia fighter squadrons have been stood down, the F-5s and the Patrouille Suisse stop flying at the end of 2027, and the Hermes 900 drones are seven years late. The first Swiss F-35A arrives in Arkansas in mid-2027 and at Payerne in 2028; the mountains, for now, keep only one squadron.

The hedge paid off in the summer of 1940.Swiss Air Force · verified 2026-09-07
At a glance

The Swiss Air Force in numbers

Service

Native name
  • Schweizer Luftwaffe
  • Forces aériennes suisses
  • Forze aeree svizzere
Founded
31 July 1914Independent service from October 1936; named Luftwaffe since 1 January 1996
Commander
Divisionär Christian OppligerIn office since 1 October 2025
Structure
  • Air Force Staff
  • Air Operations Centre
  • Air Force Brigade 31
  • Ground-Based Air Defence Brigade 33
  • Space Competence Centre (2026)
  • Aeromedical Institute
Operations centre
DübendorfRun with skyguide; FLORAKO radars on Pilatus, Scopi, Weisshorn and Weissfluh
Display teams
  • Patrouille Suisse — F-5E, Emmen
  • PC-7 Team — Dübendorf

Strength

Professional and civilian personnel
~1,3002019 figure; about 1,600 career military quoted elsewhere
Militia on mobilisation
~18,6002019
Pilots
~335210 professional, 125 militia, 2019
Combat aircraft
  • 30 F/A-18C/D Hornet
  • 25 F-5E/F Tiger II held

About 18 Tigers still flown, disarmed, retiring by the end of 2027

Trainers
  • 8 PC-21
  • 27 PC-7

7 of the 8 PC-21 serviceable

Helicopters
44 in total

  • 15 AS332M1 Super Puma
  • 10 AS532UL Cougar
  • 19 EC635
Transport and special
  • 15 PC-6 Turbo Porter
  • 1 Global 7500
  • 2 Challenger 604
  • 1 Falcon 900EX
  • 1 DHC-6 Twin Otter
  • 1 King Air 350C
  • 6 Hermes 900

Hermes 900 still delivering

Annual budget
No separate air force budgetSwiss Armed Forces CHF 5.5 billion (2024); framework CHF 25.8 billion for 2025–28; target 1 per cent of GDP by 2030; F-35A ceiling CHF 6 billion

Infrastructure

Active air bases
7

  • Payerne
  • Meiringen
  • Emmen
  • Dübendorf
  • Alpnach
  • Locarno
  • Bern-Belp detachment
Closed or reserve air bases
19Buochs, Mollis and St. Stephan kept for dispersal exercises from 2026
Jet-capable today
3

  • Payerne
  • Meiringen
  • Emmen
Flying squadrons
  • 2 fighter — Fighter Squadron 11, Fighter Squadron 35
  • 1 service flight — Fighter Squadron 26
  • 7 air transport — Air Transport Sqn 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
  • 1 drone — Drone Squadron 7
Display teams
2
Cavern hangars still in use
1Meiringen
QRA
2 armed F/A-18 on 15-minute alert at PayerneRound the clock since 31 December 2020
Structure

How the Swiss Air Force is organised

One command, six elements. Militia squadrons sit under Air Force Brigade 31 and fly in refresher courses; the operations centre and the professional squadrons work every day.

DivisionärChristian OppligerCommander of the Swiss Air Force · in office since 2025
Swiss Air Force CommandKommando Luftwaffe
Staff

Air Force Staff

Luftwaffenstab
Bern

Doctrine, planning, budget and the interface to the Armed Forces Staff.

Operations

Air Operations Centre

Operationszentrale Luftwaffe
Dübendorf

Runs the air picture and the live air-policing mission alongside skyguide, fed by the FLORAKO radars on Pilatus, Scopi, Weisshorn and Weissfluh.

Flying units

Air Force Brigade 31

Fliegerbrigade 31
Payerne, Meiringen, Emmen, Dübendorf, Alpnach, Locarno

Every flying squadron: the Hornet and Tiger wings, the transport helicopter squadrons, the drone squadron and the two display teams.

Fighter Squadron 35Air Transport Squadron 1Air Transport Squadron 5Fighter Squadron 11Patrouille SuisseFighter Squadron 26Air Force Pilot SchoolDrone Squadron 7 / Drone WingAir Transport Squadron 7Air Transport Squadron 3Air Transport Squadron 4PC-7 TeamAir Transport Squadron 6Air Transport Squadron 8Air Force Pilot School (basic phase)Parachute Reconnaissance Company 17Federal Air Transport Service
Ground-based air defence

Ground-Based Air Defence Brigade 33

BODLUV Brigade 33
Emmen

Surface-to-air defence, and the formation that will absorb the additional ground-based system bought when the F-35A order was cut from 36 to 30 aircraft.

Since 2026

Space Competence Centre

Kompetenzzentrum Weltraum

Stood up on 1 January 2026 for space situational awareness and satellite-based services, inside the Swiss Air Force.

Aeromedical

Aeromedical Institute

Fliegerärztliches Institut
Dübendorf

Selects and certifies aircrew, and runs the physiological training every Swiss military pilot passes through.

In service

What the Swiss Air Force flies today

Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.

Type Role In service Since Units Notes
Boeing F/A-18 HornetIn service Multirole fighter 30 1997 Fighter Sqns 35, 11 25 C (J-5001 to J-5026, J-5022 lost 2016) and 5 D (8 delivered, J-5231, J-5235, J-5237 lost); 34 licence-assembled at Emmen 1996-99
Northrop F-5 Tiger IIOut by 2027 Light fighter, aggressor, target-towing, display 25 1978 Fighter Sqns 26, 19, Patrouille Suisse 25 airframes held by the army in 2025, of which 7 already laid up and about 18 flown; open sources disagree on the E/F split (DE inventory 14 E + 12 F including stored aircraft; EN inventory 15 E + 4 F).

More

110 bought (98 E, 12 F) in two batches 1976-85; 44 E sold to the US Navy, 22 more bought by the USN in 2020 and stored at Emmen
Pilatus PC-21In service Advanced/lead-in fighter trainer 8 2008 Air Force Pilot School A-101 to A-108: 6 delivered 2008, 2 in 2012; A-105 badly damaged in a landing accident at Emmen on 28 November 2023, 7 in use since
Pilatus PC-7In serviceFly the PC-7 GoAviator Basic trainer, display 27 1982 Air Force Pilot School (basic phase), PC-7 Team, Instrument Flying Squadron 14 40 bought 1982-83 (A-901 to A-940); 28 modernised to NCPC-7 glass-cockpit standard 2008-09; 27 in service
Pilatus PC-6 Turbo PorterIn service STOL transport and parachute aircraft 15 1967 Air Transport Squadron 7, Parachute Reconnaissance Company 17 18 delivered from 1967 (V-612 to V-635 series); 14 with Air Transport Squadron 7 plus one armasuisse trials aircraft HB-FCF
Aérospatiale AS332 Super PumaIn service Medium transport and SAR helicopter 15 1987 Air Transport Sqns 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 T-311 to T-325; mid-life update 2012-14, one aircraft with FLIR for SAR
Eurocopter AS532 CougarIn service Medium transport helicopter 10 2001 Air Transport Sqns 6, 8, 1 12 delivered 2001-02 (T-331 to T-342); T-341 lost in the Maderanertal on 30 March 2011 and T-338 at the Gotthard hospice on 28 September 2016; T-331 in VIP fit; MLU completed 2022
Eurocopter EC635In service Light utility, training and SAR helicopter 19 2008 Air Transport Sqns 3, 6, 8, Federal Air Transport Service 18 utility (T-353 to T-370) plus 2 VIP (T-351, T-352) delivered 2008-10 to replace the Alouette III; T-367 lost on 6 November 2024
Elbit Hermes 900In service Medium-altitude long-endurance reconnaissance drone 6 2019 Drone Squadron 7 / Drone Wing 6 ordered under Armament Programme 2015 (D-11 to D-18, two replaced after pre-delivery crashes); first delivered 9 December 2019; by 2025 about four in Switzerland with two in operational Drop 3.1 standard and one on test with armasuisse
Bombardier Challenger 604In service VIP and medevac transport 2 2019 Federal Air Transport Service T-751 and T-752, ex-Rega HB-JRB/HB-JRC; replaced the Beech 1900D
Bombardier Global 7500In service Government long-range transport 1 2024 Federal Air Transport Service T-787; being fitted with a self-protection suite in 2025
Dassault Falcon 900In service Government transport 1 2013 Federal Air Transport Service T-785, second-hand from Monaco; the English-language inventory lists it and the Citation Excel T-784 as withdrawn in 2025 after the Global 7500 arrived, the German inventory still carries both
de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin OtterIn service Aerial survey aircraft (swisstopo) 1 1976 Air Transport Squadron 4 T-741; ADS100 sensor since 2017
Beechcraft King Air 350In service Aerial survey aircraft (swisstopo) 1 1993 Air Transport Squadron 4 T-721
Pilatus PC-12In service Trials and liaison aircraft (armasuisse) 1 2001 — HB-FOG, FLORAKO test bed at Emmen
Diamond DA42In service Optionally-piloted trials aircraft (armasuisse) 1 2012 — R-711 at Emmen
F/A-1830
PC-727
F-525
EC63519
PC-615
Super Puma15
Cougar10
PC-218

On order

Type Ordered First delivery Notes
Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIOn order 30 2027 Selected 30 June 2021 over Rafale, Eurofighter and Super Hornet; procurement approved by referendum on 27 September 2020 with 50.14 per cent; contract for 36 signed 19 September 2022 for CHF 6.035 billion.

More

After the US refused to honour the fixed price in summer 2025 (extra cost USD 650 million to 1.3 billion), the Federal Council decided on 12 December 2025 to buy only as many aircraft as the CHF 6 billion ceiling allows and on 6 March 2026 declined the extra CHF 1.1 billion needed for 36, requesting a CHF 394 million supplement instead; the money covers about 30 aircraft, with the definitive number to be notified to Washington by mid-2027. Main assembly of the first Swiss aircraft began in May 2026. The first eight will be delivered from mid-2027 to Ebbing Air National Guard Base, Arkansas, for training; deliveries to Switzerland run from mid-2028 (Payerne), 2030 (Meiringen) and 2032 (Emmen), with later aircraft final-assembled at the Leonardo FACO in Cameri, Italy. Fighter Squadron 35 at Payerne converts first.
Formerly operated

Every type the Swiss Air Force has retired

30 types, from the Häfeli DH-3 / DH-5 to the Pilatus PC-9. Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.

Type Role Peak Served Replaced by Notes
Pilatus PC-9 Target-towing and electronic-warfare aircraft 12 1988–2022 F-5E/F service flights C-401 to C-412; C-404 lost after a collision; four with RM-24 winches, four with Vista 5 jammers
Pilatus PC-24 Government business jet 1 2019–2022 Global 7500 T-786, sold in November 2022
Beechcraft 1900D Government transport 1 2007–2020 Challenger 604 —
RUAG ADS-95 Ranger Tactical reconnaissance drone 28 2001–2019 Hermes 900 ADS 15 D-108 to D-134; two lost; system stood down 27 November 2019
Dassault Falcon 50 VIP transport 1 1996–2013 Falcon 900EX —
Aérospatiale Alouette III Utility and training helicopter 84 1964–2010 EC635 V-201 to V-284 bought in stages from 1964; 14 lost in accidents; only 35 in service after Armee XXI; last 20 retired 10 December 2010
Learjet 35A VIP transport 2 1987–2006 Falcon 50, Beech 1900D T-781 and T-782, bought from Rega
Dornier Do 27 Liaison aircraft 7 1958–2005 PC-6 —
Dassault Mirage IIIFlights with MiGFlug no longer available Interceptor and reconnaissance 61 1962–2003 F/A-18 Hornet (IIIS), none (IIIRS) 1 IIIC trials aircraft (1962), 36 IIIS (J-2301 to J-2336), 18 IIIRS (R-2101 to R-2118), 4 IIIBS and 2 IIIDS trainers; 100 planned before the 1964 Mirage affair cut the order to 57
BAE Systems Hawk Advanced jet trainer 20 1990–2002 PC-21 and F-5F lead-in U-1251 to U-1270 under Armament Programme 1987, licence-assembled at Emmen; U-1256 lost in the Aletsch area 1990; 18 sold to Finland 2007-08
Pilatus P-3Fly the P-3 GoAviator Basic trainer 73 1956–1995 PC-7 Prototype A-801 plus 72 production aircraft (A-801 to A-873)
Hawker HunterFlights with MiGFlug no longer available Fighter-bomber 160 1958–1994 F/A-18 Hornet (air defence); ground-attack role abandoned 100 F.58 (1958-60), 52 F.58A (1971-76, mostly ex-RAF F.6), 8 T.68 two-seaters (1974-75); 28 lost
Sud Aviation Alouette II Observation and rescue helicopter 30 1958–1992 Alouette III 10 bought 1958, 20 in 1964 (V-41 to V-70)
de Havilland Vampire Fighter and jet trainer 221 1946–1990 Venom, Hunter, Hawk 4 Mk 1 trials aircraft (1946), 75 FB.6 built at Hatfield (1949), 100 FB.6 licence-built (1951-53), 3 assembled from spares (1960), 39 T.55 two-seaters (1953-56); 29 lost
EKW C-3603 / C-3605 Ground-attack, reconnaissance and target-towing aircraft 160 1942–1987 Venom (attack), PC-9 (towing) C-401 to C-560 built at Thun and Emmen; 24 re-engined with a Lycoming turboprop as the C-3605 target tug in 1968-72 and flown until 1987
de Havilland Venom Fighter-bomber and reconnaissance 250 1954–1984 Hunter, F-5E 126 Mk 1 (FB.50), 24 Mk 1R reconnaissance (FB.50R), 100 Mk 4 (FB.54); licence-built at Emmen, Altenrhein and Pilatus; about 50 lost
Pilatus P-2Fly the P-2 GoAviator Advanced trainer 55 1947–1981 P-3, PC-7 26 P-2/05 and 26 P-2/06 per the English inventory (52); the German inventory gives 55 (U-102 to U-157)
Junkers Ju 52/3m Transport 3 1939–1981 PC-6 Turbo Porter A-701 to A-703; all three flew with Ju-Air from Dübendorf after retirement, HB-HOT (ex A-702) crashed at Piz Segnas on 4 August 2018
Bücker Bü 131 JungmannFly the Bücker GoAviator Primary trainer 94 1936–1971 P-2, P-3 A-1 to A-84 plus 10 requisitioned from aero clubs (A-85 to A-94); mostly licence-built by Dornier Altenrhein
North American HarvardFly the Harvard GoAviator Instrument-flying trainer 40 1948–1968 Vampire T.55, P-3 U-301 to U-340, ex-RCAF surplus bought with the Mustangs
Bücker Bü 133 JungmeisterFly the Bücker GoAviator Aerobatic and combat trainer 52 1937–1968 P-2 U-49 to U-100
Fieseler Fi 156 Storch Liaison, observation and ambulance aircraft 5 1940–1963 PC-6 A-96 to A-100; used for the 1946 Gauli glacier rescue
FFA P-16 / EFW N-20 Indigenous jet prototypes 6 1949–1960 — 5 P-16 prototypes (100 ordered, cancelled after crashes in 1958); 1 N-20.2 Arbalète flew 1949, the N-20.10 Aiguillon only taxied
Morane-Saulnier MS.406 Fighter 322 1939–1959 P-51D Mustang, Vampire 2 MS.406H pattern aircraft, 82 D-3800 (1940-41), 224 D-3801 (1941-59), 13 D-3802A and 1 D-3803; the German inventory gives 224 D-3801 where other sources give 207
North American P-51 MustangFly the P-51 GoAviator Fighter, fighter-bomber, reconnaissance 130 1948–1958 Vampire, Venom 130 bought from USAAF surplus in 1948 at USD 4,000 each (113 P-51D, 15 F-6 reconnaissance, 2 TP-51D two-seaters); one P-51B interned 1944-45
EKW C-35 Reconnaissance and ground-attack biplane 90 1937–1954 C-3603 82 built plus 8 assembled from spares
Fokker C.V Reconnaissance and light bomber 64 1927–1954 C-35, C-3603 —
Messerschmitt Bf 109 Fighter 114 1939–1949 P-51D Mustang, Vampire 10 D-1 (J-301 to J-310), 88 E-1/E-3 including 8 assembled in Switzerland, 2 interned F-4/Z, 14 G-6/G-14 (12 of them the price paid in 1944 for blowing up an interned Bf 110 night fighter with its secret radar)
Dewoitine D.27 Fighter 66 1928–1944 Bf 109, D-3800 60 ordered 1929 and licence-built by EKW Thun; the English inventory counts 65 D.27 III plus 15 D.27 III-R
Häfeli DH-3 / DH-5 Reconnaissance biplanes (Swiss-built) 189 1917–1940 Fokker C.V, C-35 109 DH-3 (1917-39) and 80 DH-5 (1922-40) built by K+W Thun
Air bases

Where the Swiss Air Force flies from, and the mountain airfields it left behind

Black pins are active air bases, hollow pins the Cold War dispersal network of cavern airfields that closed between 1994 and 2017. The blue pin is where you can fly a jet yourself. Hover a pin or a row for the units stationed there.

MiGFlug flies here Active air base Closed or reserveClick a pin to open the base page
Base ICAO Status Runway Units and aircraft
AlpnachObwalden LSMA Active 01/191,500 m
Bern-Belpfederal air transport baseBern LSMB Active 14/321,730 m
  • Federal Air Transport Service: Bombardier Global 7500, Challenger 604, Dassault Falcon 900EX
DübendorfZurich LSMD Active 11/292,355 m11R/29L650 mgrass
EmmenLucerne LSME Active 04/223,000 m
LocarnoTicino LSMO Active 08L/26R800 m08C/26C700 mgrass08R/26L700 mgrass
  • Air Force Pilot School (basic phase): PC-7 Turbo Trainer
  • Parachute Reconnaissance Company 17: PC-6 Turbo Porter (jump aircraft)
MeiringenBern LSMM Active 10/282,003 m
PayerneVaud LSMP Active 05/232,858 masphalt/concrete
BuochsNidwalden LSMU Reserve 06/242,000 m
SionValais LSMS Closed 2017Fly a military jet in Sion 07/252,000 m07/25660 mgrass
LodrinoTicino LSML Closed 2010 16/341,500 m
  • RUAG Center for Propeller Aircraft and UAV Systems: PC-6, PC-7, PC-9, ADS-95 (formerly)
MollisGlarus LSMF Closed 2007 01/191,707 m
InterlakenBern LSMI Closed 2003 05/231,656 m
TurtmannValais LSMJ Closed 2003 08/262,000 m
St. StephanBern LSMH Closed 2000 14/321,742 masphalt/concrete
UlrichenValais LSMC Closed 1999 05/232,100 masphalt, partly removed
  • Fighter Squadron 2: Venom, Hawker Hunter
  • Air Force Company 15: Hawker Hunter
  • Fighter Squadron 16 (half): C-35, C-3603
  • Air Transport Company 8: Alouette III, AS332 Super Puma
FrutigenBern LSFR Closed 1997 03/21900 masphalt, removed
ReichenbachBern LSGR Closed 1997 03/21805 masphalt, 900 m military
KägiswilObwalden LSPG Closed 1996 03/21780 m
  • Light Aviation Squadrons: Alouette II, Alouette III
MünsterValais LSPU Closed 1996 05/23815 m
  • Air Force Company 16 (half): C-35, C-3603
RaronValais LSMN Closed 1995 10/28842 masphalt, shortened
ZweisimmenBern LSTZ Closed 1995 17/35587 m
AmbrìTicino LSPM Closed 1994 10/281,245 m
SaanenBern LSGK Closed 1986 08/261,400 m
San VittoreGraubünden LSXV Closed 1955 —— mreinforced grass —
Thun airfieldBern LSZW Closed 1955 14/32800 mgrass
  • K+W flight test: Häfeli DH-1 to DH-5, C-35, C-3603
Bex airfieldVaud LSGB Closed 1935 15/33700 mgrass —

No air base matches that search.

Order of battle

Who is stationed where in the Swiss Air Force

Flying units by base under the 2026 organisation. Militia squadrons exist on paper all year and fly in refresher courses; professional units fly daily.

Payerne Air Base · LSMPAirfield Command 11
Fighter Squadron 35 (Fliegerstaffel 35)Fighter squadron · professional
F/A-18C/D Hornet
Air Transport Squadron 1 (Lufttransportstaffel 1)Air transport squadron · militia
AS332M1 Super Puma, AS532UL Cougar, EC635
Air Transport Squadron 5 (Lufttransportstaffel 5)Air transport squadron · militia
AS332M1 Super Puma, AS532UL Cougar, EC635
Fighter Squadron 171976–2025
Mirage IIIS, F/A-18C/D Hornet
Fighter Squadron 181975–2025
Hawker Hunter, F-5E Tiger II, F/A-18C/D Hornet
Fighter Squadron 61983–2025
F-5E Tiger II
Meiringen Air Base · LSMMAirfield Command 13
Fighter Squadron 11 (Fliegerstaffel 11)Tigers · Fighter squadron · professional
F/A-18C/D Hornet
Fighter Squadron 81980–2017
Hawker Hunter, F-5E Tiger II
Fighter Squadron 71975–1994
Hawker Hunter
Fighter Squadron 111959–1975
Hawker Hunter
Emmen · LSMEAirfield Command 7
Patrouille SuisseAerobatic display team · professional
F-5E Tiger II
Fighter Squadron 26 (Fliegerstaffel 26)Target-towing and service-flight squadron · professional
F-5E/F Tiger II
Air Force Pilot School (Pilotenschule der Luftwaffe)Pilot school (advanced/jet phase) · professional
PC-21
Drone Squadron 7 / Drone Wing (Drohnenstaffel 7 / Drohnengeschwader)Reconnaissance drone squadron · militia
ADS 15 Hermes 900 HFE (ADS-95 Ranger until 2019)
Air Transport Squadron 7 (Lufttransportstaffel 7)Air transport squadron · militia
PC-6 Turbo Porter
Fighter Squadron 192018–2025
F-5E Tiger II
Target-Towing Squadron 121991–2025
PC-9, F-5E Tiger II
Fighter Squadron 171955–1967
Venom FB.50/FB.54
Dübendorf · LSMDSubordinate to Airfield Command 7 Emmen; Air Force operations centre
Air Transport Squadron 3 (Lufttransportstaffel 3)Air transport squadron · militia
AS332M1 Super Puma, AS532UL Cougar, EC635
Air Transport Squadron 4 (Lufttransportstaffel 4)Air transport and survey squadron · militia
AS332M1 Super Puma, AS532UL Cougar, EC635
PC-7 TeamAerobatic display team · professional
PC-7 Turbo Trainer
Instrument Flying Squadron 141989–2025
PC-7 Turbo Trainer
Surveillance Wing (UeG)1941–2005
D-3801, Vampire, Venom, Hunter, Mirage IIIS/RS, F-5E, F/A-18
Fighter Squadron 111999–2005
F/A-18C/D Hornet
Alpnach · LSMAAirfield Command 2
Air Transport Squadron 6 (Lufttransportstaffel 6)Air transport squadron · militia
AS332M1 Super Puma, AS532UL Cougar, EC635
Air Transport Squadron 8 (Lufttransportstaffel 8)Air transport squadron · militia
AS332M1 Super Puma, AS532UL Cougar, EC635
Fighter Squadron 191947–1994
P-51D Mustang, Venom, Hawker Hunter, F-5E Tiger II
Fighter Squadron 111946–1997
Vampire, Hawker Hunter, F-5E Tiger II
Fighter Squadron 81976–1980
Hawker Hunter
Locarno · LSMOAirfield Command Locarno
Air Force Pilot School (basic phase) (Pilotenschule der Luftwaffe)Pilot school · professional
PC-7 Turbo Trainer
Parachute Reconnaissance Company 17 (Fallschirmaufklärer Kompanie 17)Parachute reconnaissance company · militia
PC-6 Turbo Porter (jump aircraft)
Bern-Belp (federal air transport base) · LSMBFederal Air Transport Service
Federal Air Transport Service (Lufttransportdienst des Bundes)Government VIP transport · professional
Bombardier Global 7500, Challenger 604, Dassault Falcon 900EX
Buochs · LSMUWas a Fighter Squadron 10 and 16 war base; activated by Airfield Command Meiringen for exercise Revita in 2014
Reconnaissance Squadron 101968–2003
Mirage IIIRS
Fighter Squadron 161968–1999
Mirage IIIS
Fighter Squadron 192000–2003
F-5E Tiger II

No unit matches that search.

Timeline

Swiss Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1914

31 July: three days after the outbreak of war, cavalry instructor Theodor Real is ordered to form a flying corps (Fliegertruppe); he requisitions three aircraft from the national exhibition in Bern and the first nine pilots move to Dübendorf.

1936

The Flieger- und Fliegerabwehrtruppen become an independent service in October; rearmament begins with Bf 109 from Germany and licence-built Morane D-3800 fighters.

1940

Swiss Bf 109s shoot down eleven Luftwaffe aircraft in May and June for the loss of two fighters; after German threats and sabotage attempts General Guisan bans air combat over Swiss territory on 20 June. Eleven Réduit airfields are ordered in 1941.

1944

Swiss fighters and flak shoot down Allied bombers straying over the country (36 Allied airmen killed 1943-45); 6,501 airspace violations, 198 foreign aircraft landed and 56 crashed by 1945.

1946

Four Vampire Mk 1 arrive: Switzerland enters the jet age. 130 surplus P-51D Mustangs follow in 1948, then 178 Vampires, 250 Venoms and 160 Hunters, all British and flown by militia pilots from mountain caverns.

1964

The Mirage affair: cost overruns on 100 licence-built Mirage IIIs force the first parliamentary inquiry in Swiss history, the resignation of the defence minister and chief of the general staff, the sacking of the air force chief and a cut to 57 aircraft. The Patrouille Suisse is founded on 22 August.

1978

First F-5E Tiger II squadron operational; 110 Tigers bought in two batches by 1985 as the militia interceptor.

1993

6 June: voters reject the GSoA initiative against buying 34 F/A-18 Hornets (57.2 per cent no); Emmen assembles the Hornets 1996-99. The Hunter retires in 1994 and the service is renamed Luftwaffe on 1 January 1996.

2005

The professional Surveillance Wing is dissolved on 31 December and jet flying ends at Dübendorf; Fighter Squadron 11 moves into the Meiringen cavern in January 2006. Buochs became a sleeping base in 2004 and Sion is dropped in the 2013 stationing decision.

2014

17 February: a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines 767 lands at Geneva escorted by Italian and French fighters because Swiss jets are not on duty outside office hours. 18 May: voters reject the Gripen purchase (53.4 per cent no).

2020

27 September: the Air2030 fighter credit passes by 50.14 per cent. 31 December: the Luftpolizeidienst reaches 24-hour, 365-day readiness with two armed Hornets at Payerne.

2021

30 June: the Federal Council selects the F-35A (36 aircraft) and Patriot; the contract is signed on 19 September 2022 after Parliament approves CHF 6.035 billion.

2025

Parliament confirms retirement of the F-5 Tiger by end 2027 (Council of States 22-20 on 17 September); Divisionär Christian Oppliger takes command on 1 October; Fighter Squadron 17 and 18 hold their farewell on 9 December before merging into Fighter Squadron 35.

2026

6 March: the Federal Council abandons the 36-aircraft plan and asks Parliament for CHF 394 million, enough for about 30 F-35A; main assembly of the first Swiss jet starts in May and the first components are joined at Cameri in August. First deliveries due in the United States from mid-2027.

In action

The Swiss Air Force in action, 1914 to today

Switzerland has not fought a war since 1847, but its air force has fired in anger, lost pilots, and shot down aircraft belonging to both sides.

8operations
1914First
3Aircraft lost
3Killed
  • Round-the-clock air policing 2021-present Holds two armed fighters ready to be airborne within fifteen minutes at any hour of any day, to identify, escort and if necessary divert aircraft over Switzerland
  • Conference protection and the Davos restricted airspace 2003-present Patrols a temporary restricted airspace over the World Economic Forum each January with armed fighters and ground-based air defence, and flies protected persons
  • Air policing in the office-hours era 1990-2020 Identified and intercepted unannounced or unresponsive aircraft, but only while the alert force was manned, which for decades meant working hours
  • Peace support and disaster relief abroad 1974-present Flew transport, evacuation, liaison and firefighting missions for Swiss humanitarian corps, the UNHCR and, in Kosovo, for the NATO-led KFOR
  • Cold War air defence 1945-1990 Kept a large militia fighter force dispersed in mountain caverns, with the professional Surveillance Wing providing the standing alert and the flak and guided weapons covering the approaches

Open the full combat record

From the magazine

Swiss Air Force news from Afterburner

Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Swiss Air Force and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.

All stories in Afterburner

Questions & Answers

Everything people ask about the Swiss Air Force

Can I fly with the Swiss Air Force?
No — the Swiss Air Force does not offer passenger flights in its Hornets or trainers. But you can fly a genuine military jet from a former Swiss Air Force base: MiGFlug has offered L-39 Albatros flights from Sion, the Valais airfield the Air Force closed in 2017, since 2004. Thirty and forty-five minute flights include aerobatics and time on the controls; jet operations there are limited to a handful of days a year by Swiss regulation.
Which fighter jets does the Swiss Air Force fly?
In 2026 the Swiss Air Force flies 30 F/A-18 Hornets (25 single-seat C and 5 two-seat D) from Payerne and Meiringen, plus about 18 of its remaining 25 F-5E/F Tiger IIs, which are disarmed and used only as training adversaries, target tugs and the mounts of the Patrouille Suisse. The Tigers stop flying by the end of 2027. Their successor is the F-35A Lightning II: about 30 aircraft are being bought within a CHF 6 billion ceiling, the first eight go to Arkansas for training from mid-2027, and deliveries to Payerne begin in mid-2028.
Does Switzerland really keep fighter jets inside mountains?
Yes, although far less than it used to. From the 1950s the air force blasted aircraft caverns into the rock at Alpnach, Buochs, Meiringen, Raron, Turtmann, Ambrì and other Réduit war airfields so that Venoms, Hunters, Mirages and Tigers could shelter, refuel and rearm underground and take off from a runway a few hundred metres away. Today only Meiringen still uses its cavern in daily operations: Fighter Squadron 11 is the only Hornet squadron in the world that taxis out of a mountain each morning. The caverns at Turtmann and Ambrì survive empty, and the air force has announced that from 2026 it will again practise dispersal to the sleeping fields at Buochs, St. Stephan and Mollis.
Was the Swiss Air Force really only open during office hours?
For decades, yes. On 17 February 2014 a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767 was escorted to Geneva by Italian Eurofighters and French Mirages because Swiss fighters were only on duty from 8 to 5 on weekdays, a fact that made headlines worldwide. The embarrassment forced Parliament to fund the Luftpolizeidienst 24 project: hours were extended in 2016, weekends added in 2017, 06:00-22:00 cover from 1 January 2019, and since 31 December 2020 two armed Hornets have stood 15-minute alert at Payerne 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with Emmen and Meiringen as alternates.
Why is Switzerland buying the F-35A, and how many will it get?
After voters killed the Gripen in 2014, the Air2030 programme re-ran the competition with Rafale, Eurofighter, Super Hornet and F-35A; the F-35A scored best on capability and lowest on cost, and the Federal Council chose it on 30 June 2021. The purchase of 36 aircraft, approved by referendum in September 2020 by a margin of 0.14 per cent, was signed on 19 September 2022 for CHF 6.035 billion. In 2025 Washington refused to honour what Bern believed was a fixed price, adding up to USD 1.3 billion. Rather than ask taxpayers for another CHF 1.1 billion, the government decided on 6 March 2026 to take as many jets as the ceiling allows, about 30, with the final number due to the US by mid-2027.
What was the Mirage affair of 1964?
Parliament approved CHF 828 million in 1961 for 100 licence-built Mirage IIIs on a deliberately low estimate. Swiss modifications, a Hughes radar, American Falcon missiles and JATO short-take-off gear pushed the bill up by CHF 576 million, and in 1964 the first parliamentary investigation committee in Swiss history found the government message had been misleading. Defence minister Paul Chaudet and chief of the general staff Jakob Annasohn resigned, air force commander Etienne Primault was dismissed, the order was cut to 57 aircraft and procurement was separated from the military command, which is why armasuisse exists today. The Mirages themselves served well until 2003.
Did the neutral Swiss Air Force shoot down aircraft in the Second World War?
It did, on both sides. In May and June 1940 Swiss Messerschmitt Bf 109 pilots shot down eleven German aircraft that violated the frontier, losing two of their own, until Berlin threatened reprisals and General Guisan banned air combat over Swiss soil on 20 June 1940. From October 1943 Swiss fighters and flak also brought down Allied bombers that strayed across the country, six by fighters and nine by anti-aircraft guns, killing 36 Allied airmen; crews were interned at Adelboden and Davos. Switzerland recorded 6,501 airspace violations during the war, with 198 foreign aircraft landing and 56 crashing on its territory.
Why does a neutral country need militia fighter pilots?
Switzerland’s defence rests on a militia army, and until the 1990s most fighter pilots were part-timers, airline captains, farmers and engineers who flew the Hunter and F-5 Tiger for a few weeks a year from their squadron’s war airfield. In 1982 about 600 pilots flew, only 200 of them professionals. The Hornet was judged too complex for militia crews, so its squadrons became fully professional when the Surveillance Wing was turned into the Berufsfliegerkorps in 2005. The last militia fighter squadrons, 6 and 19, were called up for the final time in 2025, and the F-35A will be flown by professionals only.
Where can you still see or fly historic Swiss military aircraft?
The Flieger-Flab-Museum at Dübendorf holds the national collection from the Häfeli biplanes to the Mirage IIIRS and the Aiguillon prototype, and the Musée de l’aviation militaire de Payerne flies a Mirage IIIDS. Privately owned Hunters and Vampires in Swiss markings fly from Altenrhein, Mollis and St. Stephan, where the Hunterverein associations keep the old squadron aircraft alive, and a D-3801 Morane and a P-51D still appear at Swiss shows. For a seat in a jet, MiGFlug offers L-39 Albatros flights from Sion, the former Swiss Air Force base in the Valais, and the Patrouille Suisse can be watched on F-5s until the end of the 2027 season.

The part of the collection you can touch

Fly a jet from a Swiss Air Force base.

Sion closed to the Air Force in 2017. The runway is still there, and so is a L-39 Albatros with a second seat. MiGFlug has put civilians in real military jet cockpits since 2004.

Fly the L-39 Albatros from Sion

Sources & Further Reading

Every fact, checked

Figures verified 2026-09-07. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.

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