F/A-18s take off and land at Bern Airport

F/A-18 take-offs and landings at Bern-Belp Airport Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Armed Forces are training their fighter jets in Bern to fly from a civilian base. The exercise at Bern Airport will last until Wednesday. F/A-18 fighter jets will be taking off and landing.

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Today, all air force resources are concentrated at the three military airfields in Payerne, Emmen and Meiringen. This makes them vulnerable to long-range enemy weapon systems, according to the air force.

To reduce this risk, the army is focusing on decentralisation. This means that troops and material should be able to be distributed throughout the country within the shortest possible time. The air force must also be able to deploy its resources from temporary locations wherever possible.

+ ‘Alpha Uno’: Swiss fighter jets take off and land on motorway

The last time this was practised was in June 2024 during an exercise in Payerne. At that time, a fighter jet took off and landed on the motorway.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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