Switzerland’s armed forces landed fighter jets on a stretch of motorway in the west of the country on Wednesday, testing the ability of combat aircraft to operate from improvised locations amid heightened national security concerns in Europe.
A handful of onlookers and emergency services watched the twin-engine supersonic jets touch down as a heat haze shimmered over the closed-off stretch of the A1 motorway.
“It went really well,” Alain von Bueren, the first pilot to land on the motorway, said after exiting the U.S.-made jet, designed for use on aircraft carriers.
The government said last week the test was necessary because all of the Swiss air force’s assets were concentrated on three airfields in Payerne, Meiringen and Emmen, making them vulnerable to long-range enemy weapons systems.
