Both the squadron of Flugplatzcommando 13 provided air coverage: the Flieger Staffel 11, with its F/A‐18C/D
"Hornet" flew by professional pilots, and Flieger Staffel 8, equipped with the F‐5E/F "Tiger II" flew by both profes‐
sional and reservist pilots. The participation of the F‐5s was uncertain until the last days because at the beginning of
the year a crack was found during the routine checks on a structural component of a single seater "Tiger". All the sin‐
gle seater fleet was grounded in order to check all the airframes, but fortunately some fighters were ready just in
time for operational use, while the checks on the remaining 13 jets will be completed in the second quarter of 2015.
Due to this event, some F‐5E from "Patrouille Suisse" national demo team were involved into the patrols, a rare op‐
portunity to see the fighters with the special red/white livery carry live missiles under their wings.
The main role in defending the no‐fly zone was completed by the fast jets which provided the control of the upper
air space, with F/A‐18s flying on the restricted area in particular, while the F‐5s covered the rest of Switzerland. Pro‐
tection of the lower part of the no‐fly zone and "slow‐movers" interception were guaranteed by PC‐7 trainers and
EC‐365 helicopters. The surveillance was integrated also with the antiaircraft artillery and the radar stations located
on the ground. As the no‐fly zone area covered a little part of Austrian territory, the CAP missions involved also the
Osterreichische Luftwaffe with its EF‐2000 Typhoon based in Zeltweg that worked in close cooperation with the SAF.
The F‐5s flew only daily missions, armed with two AIM‐9Ps on the wingtips and a ventral tank. The F/A‐18s were in‐
stead employed for both night and day flight and a typical mission, flown with a pair of aircrafts, lasted