F/A‑18 fighter jets land on Swiss motorway, vignette in tow
The Swiss Air Force recently conducted Alpha Uno exercises involving landing F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets on a motorway. In the training footage, a notable element on the jet drew attention: the pilot had affixed a motorway vignette to the aircraft.
Armies worldwide regularly train their pilots to handle even the most critical situations. One such scenario may be the necessity of landing a fighter jet far from an airbase—on a public road. This type of training is also conducted in Poland, with the latest such event occurring a few months ago.
It is no different in Switzerland, which completed Alpha Uno operations in early June this year. The scenario involved attempts to land on a motorway (A1 near Payerne). The local armed forces landed F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets on a public road, and aside from this rare sight, one detail stands out in the training footage. Since he was moving on the motorway, one of the pilots decided to affix a vignette on the aircraft's windshield, which entitles any vehicle to use such roads in Switzerland.
Fighter jets landed on a motorway in Switzerland
The mentioned aircraft, which participated in the Swiss exercises to test take-off and landing capabilities outside an airbase, are American supersonic F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets. Their history dates back to the late 1970s, with the first Hornet flight in 1978. In the same year, serial production of this model began and is still ongoing in the USA.
The F/A-18 Hornet's propulsion consists of two General Electric F404 engines, which accelerate the structure to a speed of Mach 1.8, or over 1300 mph. The aircraft's maximum altitude is 49,000 feet, while its real range with fully fuelled tanks exceeds 2,050 miles.
The F/A-18's armament varies depending on the specific model (A, B, C, D, E, F). Still, generally, the Hornet's arsenal is quite substantial – primarily the basic six-barrel M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon, AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, AIM-132 ASRAAM, AIM-120 AMRAAM, and various models from the precision-guided munitions AGM family. The Hornet can also carry nuclear weapons on underwing pylons.
