The first copy of the mighty fighter-American bomber was delivered to the Swiss Air Force 23 January 1997.
to then carries out surveillance of the airspace of the Swiss Confederation.
The race to choose a replacement fighter Dassault Mirage III in Air Force files saw several contenders: in addition to the twin-jet McDonnell Douglas it was offered the Northrop F 20, much more "handsome" cousin of the F 5E Tiger II already present in several units in the Schweizer Luftwaffe and the classic world opponent of the Hornet, the everlasting F 16 Fighting Falcon. The F won 18 but the time for his arrival was not yet ripe. There was a subsequent race, in which MiG also participated 29 and Mirage 2000, with the latter favorite due to French pressure for a change 1:1 with the already present Mirage III.
Also in this case the Hornet prevailed but the vicissitudes were not yet finished. It took the interval of the people to be able to make such a big shopping and so a referendum was called which definitively decreed the purchase. All this time served at least to have state-of-the-art equipped aircraft: General Electric F404-GE-402 engines and Raytheon AN / APG 73 radar instead of the less performing APG 65, they made the Swiss Hornets among the most modern aircraft on the European continent. They were ordered 34 specimens, between F / A 18C single-seater and F / A 18D two-seater. Unfortunately over the years they were lost 4:
- F/A 18D J-5231 07/03/1998
- F/A 18D J-5237 23/10/2013
- F/A 18D J-5235 14/10/2015
- F/A 18C J-5022 29/08/2016
The first specimens went to equip the no 17 Payerne squadron. The following equipped the n ° 18, always by Payerne, and the no 11, then in Alpnach and now in Meiringen.
Swiss Hornets are armed with AIM missiles 120 AMRAAM e AIM 9X Advanced Sidewinder. They almost always fly with the ventral tank from 1200 l.
During airspace protection flights during the World Economic Forum which takes place in Davos in the second half of January of each year, you can watch them go flying with live weaponry and, sometimes, con il pod AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) by Rayteon, purchased in 15 specimens.
Below are the photos of almost all the specimens that fly and have flown with the white cross on a red background. At the end of the gallery there are also some photos of the Swiss Hornet cockpit.
J-5002
J-5003
J-5004
J-5005
J-5006
J-5007
J-5008
J-5009
J-5010
J-5011
J-5012
J-5013
J-5014
J-5015
J-5016
J-5017
J-5018
J-5019
J-5020
J-5021
J-5022 (lost the 29/08/2016)
J-5023
J-5024
J-5025
J-5026
J-5232
J-5233
J-5234
J-5235 (lost the 14/10/2015)
J-5236
J-5237 (lost the 23/10/2013)
J-5238
Cockpit
