Payerne Air Base is a

military airfield An airbase (stylised air base in American English), sometimes referred to as a military airbase, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base, is an aerodrome or airport used as a mi ...

of the

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (; ; ; ) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914, three days after the outbreak of World War I, as a part of the Swiss Army, army and in October 1936 as an independent service. In peaceti ...

north of

Payerne Payerne (; ) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully. The German name ''Peterlingen'' for the town is out of use. History The earliest traces of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, located approximately halfway between

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

and

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

History

In 2004 the International Air Show Air04 was held at Payerne. On 8 July 2010, Payerne Air Base was the location from which the long-range

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

solar-powered aircraft Solar-powered aircraft are electric aircraft that can be an airplane, blimp, or airship and use either a battery or hydrogen to store the energy produced by the solar cells and use that energy at night when the sun isn't shining. Usage Solar- ...

Solar Impulse 1 achieved the world's first crewed 26-hour solar-powered flight. Payerne also became the home base for the successor Solar Impulse 2 (HB-SIB) aircraft, with the aircraft's first flight made from Payerne on 2 June 2014. From 30 August 2014 to 7 September 2014 the International Airshow Air14 took place at Payerne AFB.

Today

Payerne AB is the home of the

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, fighter and attack airc ...

squadrons

Fliegerstaffel 17 Fliegerstaffel 17 (No. 17 Squadron) "Falcons" of the Swiss Air Force is a Berufsfliegerkorps squadron of professional pilots flying McDonnell Douglas F/A-18. Together with Fliegerstaffel 6 it forms ''Fliegergeschwader 11''. The home base of the sq ...

''Falcons'' and

Fliegerstaffel 18 Fliegerstaffel 18 (18 Squadron) «Panthers» of the Swiss Air Force is a Berufsfliegerkorps squadron equipped with McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 and forms ''Fliegergeschwader 14'' together with Fliegerstaffel 19. The home base of the Fliegerstaffel ...

''Panthers'', the militia

F-5E Tiger II The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and t ...

squadron Fliegerstaffel 6 ''Ducks'' and of the transport squadron Lufttransportstaffel 1. Every aircraft type of the Swiss Air Force can be seen operating from Payerne. It is home to the air investigation division of the

Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB, ; ; ) is a government agency of Switzerland. It investigates civil aviation accidents and incidents and cableway, roadway, waterway, and railway accidents. The head office is in Bern. T ...

(Schweizerische Unfall Untersuchungs Stelle). Previously this was the head office of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, before its 2011 merger into the SAIB. Payerne operates also as alternate airport for Bern-Belp airport for foreign government flights. Located on Payerne AB is also the Military Aviation Museum, Clin d'Ailes. Air Traffic Control is provided by the military branch of

Skyguide Skyguide (Swiss Air Navigation Services Ltd.) is an air navigation service provider which manages and monitors Swiss airspace. The company, which was formerly known as Swisscontrol, changed its name to Skyguide in 2001. Skyguide is a joint-st ...

, Skyguide National. Payerne is responsible for the education of ground crews (e.g., aircraft mechanic, airport fire fighter) of the Swiss Air Force. Therefore, Payerne is also the main base of the F/A-18C Mock-up X-5098. The F/A-18 flight simulators are also located in Payerne. The

A1 motorway (Switzerland) The A1 is a motorway in Switzerland. It follows Switzerland's main east–west axis, from St. Margrethen in northeastern Switzerland's canton of St. Gallen through to Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, ...

is connected via a taxiway at the hangar 5 with the airfield and can, if necessary, be used as runway for take off - and landing. However, this possibility has never been exploited since the construction of the highway.Book Uno Zero Zero Seite 230 The air base is, at both end of the runway, equipped with retractable

arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

devices (used by the F/A-18 and in case of a problem by the F-5). Payerne AB is home of the

Quick Reaction Alert Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) is state of Combat readiness, readiness and ''modus operandi'' of Anti-aircraft warfare, air defence maintained at all hours of the day by NATO air forces. The United States usually refers to Quick Reaction Alert as 'Ai ...

/ air policing activities of the Swiss Air Force. Inaugurated in 2019 at Payerne Airport, the company Speedwings Business SA provides VIP handling services for Business Aviation flights for which there is a dedicated apron. Speedwings Business SA runs handling facilities including 6'600 sqm of heated hangars. Within 4 years after opening, more than 250 business jets operators already flew in, reaching Payerne Airport non stop with 400+ cities in 63 countries on 4 continents. The 2'800m long runway permits long haul fligths to be carried out from Payerne Airport. Flights to/from US West Coast, South America, Far East and Indian Ocean have already been performed The Aviatic Museum Clin d'Ailes offers private flights with the

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet propulsion, jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly dev ...

trainer J-4203 HB-RVW and the

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizont ...

DS J-2012 HB-RDF from Payerne.

References

External links

Base aérienne Payerne (Official website of the Swiss Air Force)Clin d'Ailes - Musee de l'aviation militaire de Payerne
{{authority control Airports in Switzerland Payerne Buildings and structures in the canton of Vaud Transport in the canton of Vaud Military airbases in Switzerland

History

Today

See also

References

External links