First Swiss Tiger fighter jet handed over to US forces
The Swiss air force handed over the first of 22 Tiger fighter jets to the US armed forces on Monday. It was picked up at the Emmen military airfield in canton Lucerne. The US Navy will use the acquired Tigers for training purposes.
The Swiss defence procurement body, Armasuisse sold the decommissioned F-5 Tiger fighter jets to the US military in 2020, as announced on Monday. Transport from Emmen was done on board a Lockheed KC-130J from the United States Marine Corps.
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Many of the F-5 Tigers procured in the 1970s and 1980s have already been sold. A few years ago, the US naval forces purchased 44 F-5 Tigers from Switzerland, which had originally been used by the Swiss air force for airspace defence.
The Swiss Armed Forces still have 25 F-5 Tigers in their inventory today, 18 of which are currently in service. According to Armasuisse, they provide relief for the F/A-18 Hornet fleet and are used for target visualisation, training, towing and test flights.
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Around half of the F-5 Tigers are used by the Patrouille Suisse aerobatic team for flight demonstrations. However, the defence ministry has already announced that it will cease operations of the F-5 by the end of 2027. It is not yet clear what future Patrouille Suisse air shows will consist of.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dkk/amva
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