Switzerland to decommission Tiger fighter aircraft
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Switzerland to decommission Tiger fighter aircraft
The end is near for the last F-5 Tiger fighter jets in the Swiss Armed Forces. On Wednesday, the Senate approved a federal decree to decommission these aircraft, which have been in service since 1978.
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By a narrow margin of 22 votes to 20 with two abstentions, the Senate rejected a motion by three conservative members not to enter the debate and approved the federal decree in the overall vote with the same result.
The definitive end for the Tiger jets became apparent after the Senate had already spoken out against the continued operation of the F5 in the Patrouille Suisse last December. In June, the House of Representatives clearly voted in favour of decommissioning the F5.
According to statements made by Commander Peter Merz last year, the Swiss Air Force intends to continue using the F-5 aircraft until the end of 2027 and then decommission them.
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Back in 2018, the federal government requested that parliament agree to decommission half of the 53 F-5 Tigers in service at the time. The remaining 26 aircraft have since been used to relieve the F/A-18 Hornet for secondary tasks and for Patrouille Suisse.
The decommissioning of the Tigers also means the end of Patrouille Suisse with the current aircraft. However, former Defence Minister Viola Amherd said last year that Patrouille Suisse should continue to exist whenever possible, probably consisting of propeller-driven aircraft.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
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