US to Buy Back Swiss F-5s
 

Aggressor aircraft or as incentive/part eco change for new aircraft? Can’t think it anything to do with technology.....

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bloomberg/switzerland-plans-to-send-its-old-fighter-jets-back-to-the-u-s-/45437142

Switzerland Plans to Send Its Old Fighter Jets Back to the U.S.

Bloomberg) -- The U.S. is expected to buy 22 aging fighter jets from Switzerland, a country that’s struggling to modernize its own air force.

U.S. Navy representatives and the Swiss defense procurement agency, known as Armasuisse, discussed the deal in July, an agency spokesman said by email on Sunday. The contract is expected to be signed once U.S. lawmakers approve the fiscal 2020 defense budget, he said.

President Donald Trump is seeking $718 billion in Pentagon funding for 2020, including $39.7 million for the F-5s, an aircraft first delivered to Switzerland in 1978. Nowadays, the U.S. uses the F-5 to simulate enemy planes in aerial combat training.

Switzerland has been trying to buy new warplanes for years. Voters in 2014 rejected a 3.1 billion-franc ($3.2 billion) order for Saab AB Gripen fighter jets. Switzerland now plans to spend about 6 billion francs on new fighter jets, according to SonntagsZeitung newspaper and previous Swiss media reports.

“If the Americans want to take over the scrap iron, they should do it,” Beat Flach, a Green Liberal lawmaker, told SonntagsZeitung, which reported on the planned sale on Sunday. “It’s better than having the Tigers rot in a parking lot.”

Probably an(other), or renewed, attempt to sell the Swiss F/A-18 E/Fs.

The Swiss are nearly as bad as India as a country that can never come to a decision on military aircraft

Its what you get if you leave democracy to the uneducated public...

Probably in good condition. Might make a useful addition to either a Mil or commercial aggressor outfit......

They are in very poor condition, which is why the Swiss are getting rid of them. Will likely be used for spares to support Taiwan's fleet and also the US Aggressor fleet.

LOL... You can add Canada to that list.

And Canada as well.
Not sure why Swiss and Canada (try to) keep a front line jet fighters, they should ditch that the way New Zealand did.

They are in a terrible condition. Just Google 'Swiss F-5 cracks' and/or 'Swiss F-5s grounded' - it's all there for you.

The ROC cannot build their own spares, which is why the US is trying to source them itself - https://www.janes.com/article/88184/...or-taiwan-f-5s

Now don't come back to me until you've done some research...

Nowt wrong with a capability gap to save the tax paying public some moolah. I mean, we've done alright in the UK without an aircraft carrier and maritime patrol capability for going on a decade. Makes one wonder what all the fuss is about.

I'm minded to agree, though not sure how long the patience of our NATO allies who covered the MPA gap in particular would have lasted had a replacement not been on the horizon.

It’s the same argument as for paying for safety.

If you think paying for a military capability is expensive - just wait till so see the cost of not having it when you need it.....

The buyback of 22 F-5E/F aircraft is in 2020 DoD Budget for USN / USMC aggressor units.

"Moving on to the Navy, one unique item in today's budget materials was the inclusion of acquiring 22 F-5E/Fs Tiger IIs from the Swiss Air Force to fulfill fleet adversary support duties. The 44 F-5N/Fs that are currently flying with two US Navy and one Marine adversary squadrons came from surplus Swiss Air Force stocks. The delivery and refurbishment of those jets wrapped up roughly a decade ago and the fleet continues to age while demand for its services continue to rise."

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...budget-request

I expect that some / all will get modified to the current F-5N/F standard with updated avionics and other improved systems that the other ex-Swiss AF aircraft bought in 2006 got.

My understanding is that these latest buy-back aircraft will indeed 'support' the Agressor fleet, but will not increase the fleet. They will be used for spares.

I once flew a Swiss big cheese in the back of a jet they were thinking about buying. He gave me a watch as he got out as a thank you. They're still in the market I think.

hoss183 Switzerland is the only truly democratic country in the world, and to rag their decision not to spend money on fighter jets because it contravenes your opinion is, well, undemocratic. The wisdom of the masses more often than not supersedes an individual's or small group's wisdom (or lack thereof). It also leads to economic stability. Just look at how strong the Swiss Franc remains, despite the absence of any natural resources in that country. They're doing something right. There are more important things to spend money on than fighter jets in a country whose borders are 60 seconds of afterburner time across, and whose air force only works office hours (c.f. Ethiopian hijack intercept a couple of years or so ago).

I don't think a metric exists by which you can claim that aircraft being grounded due to cracks are "most certainly not in poor condition".