Watch This Rafale Fighter Drop Like A Brick During Crazy Approach To A Mountain Airport

By Joseph Trevithick

Published Apr 24, 2020 7:44 PM EDT

We here at The War Zone are always on the lookout for cool and otherwise intriguing military aviation videos. Today, a clip appeared online of a French Air Force Rafale making a spectacular landing last year at Mollis Airport in Switzerland.

The video in question, from ARithner Photography , shows the jet making an extremely rapid descent on its approach to landing at the mountain airbase. The pilot pulls up at tree-top level and then soars to a smooth landing amongst the clear jubilation of plane spotters and other onlookers on the ground.

That approach and then brick one baby!!! AWESOME . Fantastic video @axalppro pic.twitter.com/1ezt5ojw81 — Combat Learjet (@Combat_learjet) April 24, 2020

That approach and then brick one baby!!! AWESOME . Fantastic video @axalppro pic.twitter.com/1ezt5ojw81

It’s a fantastic display of the pilot’s skill and the Rafale’s maneuverability. The scenic location doesn’t hurt, either.

The clip is from the Mollis Zigermeet 2019 airshow, which took place in August of last year. A pair of French Rafales took part in this event, performing aerobatic routines above the scenic airport, which is located in a valley at the northeast edge of the Swiss Alps. You can see more video their full routines below.

Mollis Airport was previously a Swiss Air Force base and a stereotypical one for a country well known for building hardened military facilities inside mountains. Mollis’ command center and aircraft hangars were built into a nearby mountainside, providing good protection against surprise attacks. Aircraft had to cross a nearby road to get from their shelter to the main runway.

A satellite image of Mollis Airport., Google Earth

A close up of the north end of the runway at Mollis showing the old taxiway leading to the hardened “aircraft cavern” to the right. At the bottom right-hand corner you can see where it crosses the winding road that leads south from the town of Mollis., Google Earth

A Swiss Air Force F-5E Tiger II crosses the road that lies between Mollis’ hardened “aircraft cavern” and base’s main runway in 1999., Kobel via Wikimedia

Though the Swiss Air Force ceased operating from Mollis years ago, Meiringen Air Base, which has a similar “aircraft cavern,” does remain in use. The service’s other remaining fighter jet bases, Payerne and Emmen Air Bases, are both situated in more open areas of the country. Meiringen is also situated near the Axalp-Ebenfluh, which is host to another annual air show in Switzerland, the Fliegerschiessen Axalp .

Last year’s Zigermeet notably came around two months after the Swiss ended in-country evaluations of five different fighter jets as part of the Air 2030 program . The Swiss Air Force is looking for a replacement for both its remaining Cold War-era F-5E/F Tiger II combat jets and its F/A-18C/D Hornets, the latter of which it acquired in the 1990s.

The Rafale is one of the aircraft in the running for the Air 2030 tender. The competition also includes the Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing’s F-18E/F Super Hornet, and the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter. Saab has also submitted it Gripen E for consideration, but did not take part in the fly-off last year. In 2014, the Swiss government had announced it would buy Gripen Es as the replacement for its F-5s and F/A-18s, but that plan collapsed after a public referendum against the purchase.

The Swiss government is looking to make a final decision on the winner of the Air 2030 competition either later this year or early next year. Depending on the outcome, Rafales may become a more common sight in Switzerland’s skies, though they might not always be making such spectacular displays of their agility.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com

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作者：约瑟夫·特雷维西克

发布于美国东部时间2020年4月24日晚上7:44

我们“战区”栏目一直在寻找精彩有趣的军事航空视频。今天，网上出现了一段视频，记录了去年一架法国空军“阵风”战斗机在瑞士莫利斯机场的壮观着陆。

这段由ARithner Photography拍摄的视频显示，这架喷气式飞机在接近山顶空军基地降落时，以极快的速度下降。飞行员在树梢高度拉起飞机，然后平稳着陆，地面上的飞机爱好者和其他围观者爆发出热烈的欢呼声。

那种方法，然后就砸了个砖头！太棒了！@axalppro 的视频真精彩！pic.twitter.com/1ezt5ojw81 — Combat Learjet (@Combat_learjet) April 24, 2020

用这种方法，然后把一个婴儿砖头砸碎！！！太棒了。精彩的视频 @axalppro pic.twitter.com/1ezt5ojw81

这完美展现了飞行员高超的技艺和阵风战斗机的卓越机动性。风景优美的拍摄地点也为这场飞行增色不少。

这段视频来自去年八月举行的莫利斯-齐格尔梅特2019航展。两架法国阵风战斗机参加了此次航展，在风景秀丽的机场上空进行了特技飞行表演。该机场位于瑞士阿尔卑斯山东北边缘的一个山谷中。您可以在下方观看它们的完整表演视频。

莫利斯机场原为瑞士空军基地，是瑞士典型的山地军事设施建设基地，瑞士素以在山中建造坚固的军事设施而闻名。莫利斯的指挥中心和飞机库建在附近的山坡上，能够有效抵御突袭。飞机必须穿过附近的一条公路才能从掩体飞往主跑道。

莫利斯机场的卫星图像。，谷歌地球

这是莫利斯机场跑道北端的特写，图中可以看到通往右侧硬化“飞机库”的旧滑行道。在右下角，可以看到它与从莫利斯镇向南延伸的蜿蜒道路相交。（谷歌地球）

1999年，一架瑞士空军的F-5E“虎II”战斗机飞越莫利斯基地加固的“飞机洞穴”和主跑道之间的道路。（图片来自Wikimedia Kobel）

尽管瑞士空军多年前就已停止在莫利斯空军基地运作，但拥有类似“飞机库”的迈林根空军基地仍在继续使用。瑞士空军的其他战斗机基地，帕耶讷空军基地和埃门空军基地，都位于瑞士较为开阔的地区。迈林根空军基地也靠近阿克萨尔普-埃本弗卢，那里每年都会举办瑞士另一场航空展——阿克萨尔普飞行表演赛。

值得注意的是，去年的Zigermeet展会大约在瑞士结束其“空军2030”计划中对五款不同战斗机的国内评估两个月后举行。瑞士空军正在为其剩余的冷战时期F-5E/F“虎II”战斗机以及上世纪90年代采购的F/A-18C/D“大黄蜂”战斗机寻找替代机型。

阵风战斗机是参与“空军2030”项目竞标的机型之一。其他竞标机型包括欧洲台风战斗机、波音公司的F-18E/F超级大黄蜂战斗机以及洛克希德·马丁公司的F-35A联合攻击战斗机。萨博公司也提交了其鹰狮E战斗机参与竞标，但并未参加去年的试飞。2014年，瑞士政府曾宣布将采购鹰狮E战斗机以取代其F-5和F/A-18战斗机，但由于全民公投反对该采购计划，该计划最终搁浅。

瑞士政府计划在今年晚些时候或明年初对“航空2030”竞赛的最终获胜者做出决定。根据结果，阵风战斗机可能会更频繁地出现在瑞士的天空，尽管它们可能不会总是展现出如此惊人的飞行技巧。

联系作者：joe@thedrive.com

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