The Swiss Air Force has started having fighters on standby 24 hours a day.
Previously, the nation’s F/A-18s were only available during ‘office hours’.
Two F-18 fighter jets will be operational 24/7 to protect the airspace over the country, the nations armed forces said in a statement.
“From now on, the air police service will be on call 24 hours a day to guarantee the security and the sovereignty over Swiss airspace.”
Local media has also reported that the pilots spent nearly a month practising night-time aerial manoeuvres in Britain.
The two armed aircraft will mainly be used for ‘hot missions’ and ‘live missions’, the Swiss Military said in a statement on Tuesday. The former are triggered by aircraft that violate Switzerland’s air sovereignty or air traffic regulations.
Live missions include random checks of foreign state aircraft, which are only allowed to fly over Switzerland with diplomatic clearance.
Jeezo, before you know it our Air Force will be doing that 24 hour thing, they’ll not like that. 😉
I’m pretty amazed that they were not 24 hours anyway
I am surprised they were not doing this all along. Glad to see it, anyway.
Hmm, presumably they have been practicing QRA with the RAF.
Wonder what the chances are of them selecting Typhoon as their new interceptor and whether this cooperation will increase it’s chances?
Bout damn time!