Every year, the Swiss Air Force deploy their F/A-18 Hornets to RAF Leeming to take part in Exercise Yorknite.
Ex Yorknite is very important to the Swiss - they do approximately 50% of their annual night flying training whilst they're here. The Swiss Air Force used to be known for sticking to 'office hours' and thus not being able to police their airspace 24 hours a day and seven days a week. There were agreements with neighbouring countries - particularly Italy and France - to help secure Switzerland's skies whenever there was a potential threat. However, in the last half decade, the Swiss Air Force have moved to a 24/7 air policing force. Since 31st December 2020, two armed F/A-18 Hornets are on kept on standby for QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) every minute of the year.
This footage was taken on station at RAF Leeming last week and shows one of the Hornets powering up and taxiing out , just as it would to fly. The aircraft didn't launch in the end due to the winds being over the limits for a safe ejection. Instead, the aircraft taxied out and followed the taxiway round and back to the hangar where it shut down. Nonetheless, it was fantastic to be granted close-quarters access to the jets on base!
Don't forget to check out my other social media sites:
► INSTAGRAM: @aviation_highlights
► TWITTER: @av_highlights
► TIKTOK: @aviationhighlights
► FACEBOOK: / aviahighlights
Copyright © Aviation Highlights 2023