Swiss Air Force

Swiss Air Force
Schweizer Luftwaffe (German) Forces aériennes suisses (French) Forze aeree svizzere (Italian) Aviatica militara svizra (Romansh)
Logo of the Swiss Air Force
Founded	31 July 1914; 109 years ago (1914-07-31)
Country	Switzerland
Type	Air force
Role	Aerial warfare Aerial defence
Size	20,000 active personnel [1]
Part of	Swiss Armed Forces
Website	www.vtg.admin.ch/en/organisation/kdo-op/air-force.html
Commanders
Commander of the Air Force	Divisional General Peter Merz
Deputy Commander of the Air Force	Brigadier Werner Epper
Insignia
Roundel
Aircraft flown
Electronic warfare	F-5F Tiger II, Pilatus PC-9
Fighter	F/A-18C Hornet, F-5E Tiger II
Helicopter	Eurocopter Cougar, Super Puma, Eurocopter EC635
Reconnaissance	ADS-15 Hermes 900
Trainer	Pilatus PC-7, PC-9, PC-21, F/A-18D Hornet, F-5F Tiger II

The Swiss Air Force (German: Schweizer Luftwaffe; French: Forces aériennes suisses; Italian: Forze aeree svizzere; Romansh: Aviatica militara svizra) 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 army and in October 1936 as an independent service.

In peacetime, Dübendorf is the operational air force headquarters. The Swiss Air Force operates from several fixed bases (see current status) but its personnel are also trained to carry out air operations from temporary highway airstrips. In case of crisis or war, several stretches of road are specially prepared for this option.