Meiringen’s Tiger Swansong
February 2025 marked another step in the steady draw down of the Swiss F-5 Tiger fleet as they completed their final deployment to Meiringen.
For many years, the Emmen based Fliegerstaffel 19 have deployed a handful of Tigers to Meiringen twice a year, usually in February and October, in support of the resident unit’s Hornet training. The F-5s act as aggressors and target towing platforms when flying alongside and against the Fliegerstaffel 11 F/A-18Cs. A pair of Patrouille Suisse F-5Es were deployed to Meiringen in early February with the jets carrying a centreline target-towing pod - an unsual sight on jets wearing the colourful Patrouille Suisse display scheme.
At the time of the deployment, the Tigers were expected to have one final fortnight operating from Meiringen in October 2025; however this was cancelled during the summer. The Swiss Tigers can still be seen flying from their home base at Emmen, but it seems as though opportunities to catch them with the stunning Meiringen backdrops now appear to be a thing of past. The F-5 Tiger will retire from Swiss Air Force service in 2027.
