Schweizer Luftwaffe Fliegerstaffel 17 disbanded
On 9 December 2025, Schweizer Luftwaffe (Swiss Air Force) Fliegerstaffel 17 was disbanded at Payerne Air Base during a ceremony attended by relatively few people due to intense fog.
Instead of a final flight and flypast, the ceremony remained on the ground and featured an 'elephant walk' involving nine F/A-18C/D Hornet fighter aircraft. An elephant walk is a mass taxiing of military aircraft in close formation.
The formation consisted of F/A-18C Hornets J-5002, J-5004, J-5007, J-5012, J-5013, J-5017, supplemented by F/A-18D Hornets J-5234 and J-5236.
Fliegerstaffel 17 'Falcons' featured a red falcon on a white background with the black number 17 as its coat of arms. The unit was founded on 17 January 1925 as Jagd-Flieger-Kompanie 17 and celebrated its centenary this year.
As part of Army Organisation 2026 (Armeereform 2026), Fliegerstaffel 17 'Falcons' and Fliegerstaffel 18 'Panthers' will transition into the newly formed Fliegerstaffel 35, which will be equipped with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II.
The first eight F-35A Lightning IIs will be built by Lockheed Martin in the US and delivered from 2027. They will be based in the US for two years for pilot and personnel familiarisation and training. A further 28 aircraft will be built and delivered from the FACO Cameri facility in Italy between 2028 and 2030.
Credit photo: Hilco Schigt (Scramble Archive)