Swiss F-5 Tiger Jet Crashes, Pilot Safe

The Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (VBS DDPS) announced that an Air Force F-5 Tiger jet crashed on Wednesday.

The pilot of the F-5 Tiger ejected from the cockpit and survived the crash near Melchsee-Frutt in the central canton of Obwalden.

“The Tiger F-5 took off from Payerne and was on a training flight as a sparring partner for an Air Force F/A-18 [when the crash took place]. Military justice is currently investigating the cause of the accident,” VBS DDPS said in a tweet.

There were no immediate details on what caused the incident with the F-5 Tiger, a single seat, tactical fighter jet.

The F-5 is a light multirole fighter developed by Northrop Grumman in the 1950s. In the fall of 2020, Switzerland approved the purchase of 40 new fighters to replace four-decades old F-5 jets by 2030. The shortlist includes the F-35A, F / A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon. A contract is scheduled to be signed in 2022.