Swiss pilots in fighter jets have practised taking off and landing on a motorway in Payerne, south of Lake Neuchâtel in western Switzeland, as part of exercises to potentially use in times of war.
On a motorway bridge between fields with a distinct smell of liquid manure in the air, the deputy commander of the air force, Brigadier Christian Oppliger, said he was pleased with the so-called "Alpha Uno capability test" on Wednesday.
The pilots of the F/A-18s had made perfect landings, he said. The aircraft had a landing speed of around 260 kilometres per hour.
The a stretch of several kilometres of motorway near Payerne, south of Lake Neuchâtel, had been closed for several kilometres since the previous evening.
The last Swiss Air Force exercise of this kind had taken place in 1991 in the canton of Ticino. Before the end of the Cold War, such exercises took place regularly every few years.
Now the threat situation has changed significantly, said Oppliger: "The air force has to be prepared for anything."
The aim of the exercise was also to test how quickly the air force could be deployed elsewhere following a potential first strike on military airfields.
Switzerland is a neutral country that does not take part in acts of war and does not supply warring parties with material. This also applies to Ukraine. However, the approach is one of "Switzerland in defence," in other words which can defend itself in the event of an attack.
In 2022, a contract was signed with the US government for 36 modern F-35A fighter jets. The first are due to be delivered in 2027.