Requirements defined for the new combat aircraft and new ground-based air defence system

News about the new fighter aircraft (NKF) and ground-based air defence (BodLuv) today (pdf with full text)

- Evaluation of the new fighter aircraft: Germany (Airbus: Eurofighter), France (Dassault: Rafale), Sweden (Saab: Gripen E), USA (Boeing: F/A-18 Super Hornet; LockheedMartin: F-35A).

Operational requirements for the new combat aircraft (NKF):
a. The fleet as a whole must be capable of:
 - carrying out routine air policing tasks around the clock and enforcing restrictions on the use of Swiss airspace; 
 - in times of heightened tension, responding within minutes to airspace infringements by non-cooperative civilian aircraft, military transport aircraft, drones, and individual combat aircraft in the entirety of Swiss airspace;
 - in case of armed attack, in cooperation with the ground-based air defence systems, denying enemy air superiority for a limited period and simultaneously supporting the armed forces with operational firepower beyond the range of Swiss artillery and with air reconnaissance.

For maintenance (e.g. procurement and storage of spare parts) and training (e.g. use of airspace, air bases, firing ranges, and simulation infrastructure), there should be – to the extent compatible with Swiss neutrality – opportunities for cooperation with the producer states and/or other states that operate the same system.

- All candidates for the new combat aircraft must conduct at least part of their flight and ground testing in Switzerland (main base will be PAYERNE).
- Apart from minimal adjustments necessary (e.g. integration into Swiss command and control systems), there may be no "helvetisation", i.e. the systems (combat aircraft and ground-based air defence) shall be introduced to and operated by Switzerland in the same configuration as by the producer state and released for export.
- Switzerland seeks a one-type fleet for combat aircraft. Once all new combat aircraft have been delivered and introduced into service with the Swiss Air Force, the current F/A-18C/D aircraft will gradually be withdrawn from service. The F-5 Tiger aircraft will be decommissioned before the beginning of deliveries of the new combat aircraft. 


- Evaluation of the new air defence system: France (Eurosam: SAMP/T), Israel (Rafael: David's Sling), USA (Raytheon: Patriot).

Operational requirements for the ground-based air defence system (Bodluv):
a. The long-range ground-based air defence system has to be capable, either independently or in cooperation with combat aircraft, of protecting at least 15,000 km2 and, as a priority, engaging targets in the medium and upper airspace. The system shall be effective to altitudes beyond 12,000 m (vertical) and a distance beyond 50 km (horizontal).
b. The ground-based air defence system's sensors contribute to the recognized air picture.
c. A capability for ballistic missile defence is not a requirement.
d. The following data serve as a theoretical model to calculate the logistics package:
 - continuous operation as long as there is an assurance of a continuous crossborder flow of materiel;
 - when the cross-border flow of materiel is not assured, sustainability has to be at least six months.

Tiger F-5 will leave the Air Force in a hurry with the new combat aircraft arriving