Patrouille Suisse

The Patrouille Suisse is an aerobatic team of the Swiss Air Force. The team flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II fighter/bomber jets.

History


The Patrouille Suisse flew its Hawker Hunters for the last time in 1994 and transferred to the faster and more maneuverable Northrop F-5E Tiger II. In 1996 smoke systems were installed to increase the team's visual appeal. In April the following year, a Pilatus PC-6 Porter single-engine turboprop light aircraft, painted in the team's colour scheme, was added for the team to use as a support aircraft.

In February 2013, the Swiss Minister of Defence, Ueli Maurer, stated that the Patrouille Suisse would be disbanded by early 2016 due to the withdrawal of the F-5 from Swiss Air Force service.

Aircraft
The Patrol Suisse currently flies six Northrop F-5E Tiger II aircraft. These six are the only ones in the fleet to be fitted with smoke generators.

They are also used for other purposes such as training and, by the Target squadron 12, as target tugs because of their high visibility colouring.

Pilatus PC-6 V-622 "Felix" is also painted in the Patrol Suisse coulours and is used to transport the Commander, speaker, and groundcrew.