The Swiss Air Force’s F-5 fighter
"Tiger II" is an important one in the F-5 fighter series, which has enhanced the anti-air combat capabilities compared to earlier models. Probably in the 1970s, Northrop of the United States won the "International Fighter" program and began to develop the F-5 E. The performance of the F-5 fighter was improved by lengthening the fuselage, updating the avionics, and increasing the wing area. . Specific improvements include the replacement of AN/APQ-159 radar and a more powerful J85-GE-21B engine. The F-5 E/F nose gear can be raised three degrees during takeoff, making the F-5 E The angle of attack of /F during takeoff is increased by 3 degrees (the takeoff performance is estimated to be increased by 30%), and the design of the fuselage catch hook allows the F-5E/F to land in a short field when necessary.
The Swiss Air Force’s F-5 is dozens of years old, and there is almost no combat power available anywhere in the world. As Switzerland is a permanent neutral country and is located in the European hinterland, it does not make much sense to improve its national defense capabilities. But for the United States, these old F-5s do have many uses, and they can even play an important role in the US military, mainly because F-5s can play the role of "enemy aircraft", which is what we often say The "Blue Army".
With the increasing demand of the US military for its own strength improvement, strengthening the air combat capability is definitely the most important part. However, many people in Switzerland did not understand the US's "high-priced recycling" behavior. A Swiss congressman mocked: "If the Americans want to take over the scrap iron, then just do it." The Swiss Air Force has not driven these F-5s into the sky for a long time. For a long time, these fighters have been parked in the hangar to accumulate dust.
But the United States cherishes F-5 very much. The Navy plans to use new electronic aviation equipment, data links and radar jammers to make magic changes to this 12-ton "flying tiger" so that they can reach the latest F-5 N standard.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have been "at war" with the flexible F-5 fleet for decades, because the U.S. military believes that the F-5 jet fighter has flight characteristics similar to Russian-made MiG fighters. The F-5 even played the MiG in the movie "High Aspirations" released in 1986. The United States did not have the ability to get the MiG-28 from the Soviet Union.
is an early F-5 E
, but now, the F-5 E/F in the U.S. military has gradually aged, and even many fighters have been unable to take off. In contrast, the Swiss Air Force has served thousands or even hundreds. The hourly F-5 E/F is like a "new machine". That's why the US Navy is willing to be taken advantage of, spending half a billion to buy back more than 20 old Swiss Air Force F-5 fighters.
The Swiss Air Force has continued to retire F-5s in recent years. The most recent batch is 27 retired in 2018. The cost of an F-5 was about 1.8 million US dollars at the time, but now it is absolutely far more than this price. So it seems that the average purchase price of 2 million US dollars is very high, but considering the actual cost of the F-5 and the role it plays, this is "the price that is broken."
If possible, the U.S. Navy may in the future buy back all the remaining 26 F-5s still in service in the Swiss Air Force and sell another batch of F/A-18 "Hornets" to compensate. But Switzerland actually does not need so many fighters. In April 2019, Switzerland’s air power has shrunk to only 10 full-time pilots, so the redundant active fighters still have to be in the hangar.
