The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Christian Oppliger named new head of the Swiss Air Force

Christian Oppliger becomes the new commander of the Swiss Air Force
Christian Oppliger becomes the new commander of the Swiss Air Force Keystone-SDA

Divisional Commander Christian Oppliger has been named the new head of the Swiss Air Force, starting October 1. He takes over from Peter Merz, who has stepped down and will become the CEO of Skyguide in early November.

+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

Oppliger, 52, joined the professional flying corps as a military pilot in 1993, the Swiss government announced on Wednesday. As a squadron pilot and instructor, he also participated in various project groups.

In the summer of 2021, Oppliger became the head of operations for the introduction of the US F-35 fighter jet, which Switzerland had purchased. By January 2024, he was appointed deputy commander of the Air Force.

Translated from German with DeepL/sp

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then briefly reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team.

Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey on this page to help us understand your needs.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

UBS launches another billion share buyback programme

More

UBS launches buyback scheme for up to $2 billion in shares

This content was published on UBS is starting a share buyback programme for up to $2 billion (CHF1.6 billion) in shares, in line with a plan approved at its annual general meeting (AGM) in April, the Swiss bank said on Monday.

Read more: UBS launches buyback scheme for up to $2 billion in shares
Vevey refuses surveillance cameras at the station

More

Swiss town rejects surveillance cameras at train station

This content was published on Vevey does not want the station area to be monitored by cameras. In a vote held on Sunday, the population rejected a plan to install 44 cameras in the area in order to combat street dealing.

Read more: Swiss town rejects surveillance cameras at train station
Helicopter crashes on the Oberaletsch Glacier VS

More

Passenger dies in helicopter crash on Swiss glacier

This content was published on A helicopter crashed in the Fusshörner region on the Oberaletsch Glacier in canton Valais on Saturday afternoon. The passenger in the helicopter, which was carrying three people, died.

Read more: Passenger dies in helicopter crash on Swiss glacier

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR