‘Alpha Uno’: Swiss fighter jets take off and land on motorway

This is not the first time the Swiss Air Force has conducted exercises on the motorway: on September 3, 1988, the Swiss Air Force conducted a manoeuvre called "NOSTRA" on a motorway in canton Obwalden. Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Air Force is conducting a military exercise on the motorway in canton Vaud between the Payerne and Avenches municipalities on Wednesday.

For the exercise, called “Alpha Uno”, the section of highway will be temporarily converted into a runway for fighter jets.

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Eight F/A-18 fighter jets are expected to take off and land during the exercise, as announced by the Swiss Air Force. According to the Swiss Air Force, the aim of the exercise is to test and expand decentralisation capabilities. Decentralisation means the ability to distribute people and their material throughout the country within a very short space of time, it says. The Swiss Armed Forces says one reason for this is the deteriorating security situation in Europe and it wants to strengthen its defence capability.

The air force has three jet airfields throughout Lucerne and Bern. This concentration in just a few locations makes them vulnerable and susceptible, it says. The air force therefore wants to check whether its fighter jets can also be used from improvised locations – such as highways – and test the take-off and landing capabilities of their aircrafts and pilots.

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The aircrafts will land on the motorway and then will be prepped for take-off from the same motorway. This take-off preparation includes refueling the aircraft, army spokesman Mathias Volken told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

In preparation for the exercise, the motorway’s central crash barrier has to be dismantled. For flight safety, special markings are required on the roadway. After the exercise, the crash barriers will be reinstalled and the road markings removed.

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This work will be carried out by members of the army, civilian employees of the Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) and cantonal police forces from canton Vaud and Fribourg.

During the exercise, the affected motorway will remain closed until 6:00am on June 6 at the latest. Traffic will be diverted via the cantonal road network. It will be difficult for viewers who want to watch the exercise as the area will be widely cordoned off.

Adapted from German by DeepL/amva

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