08:44 GMT, December 3, 2008 Tests with all three candidates for the Partial Tiger Replacement (TTE) of the Swiss Air Force were successfully completed with the return of two Eurofighters yesterday. During the past months flight and ground tests with the French Rafale as well as with the Swedish Gripen and the Eurofighter build by a European consortium were performed from the Emmen military airbase in Switzerland. The evaluation was conducted by Armasuisse, the Swiss federal competence center for military procurement and carried out together with the Swiss Air Force.

The selected aircraft will replace 3 of the countries 5 Tiger II squadrons. They will partner with the 3 squadrons of upgraded F/A-18C/D Hornets that make up the rest of the Swiss fighter fleet. The procurement contract could be worth some €1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) and will also include Pilatus PC-21 advanced trainers.

In late 2006, Armasuisse started the TTE Programme for a partial replacement of the 30 years old F-5-Tiger fleet. For the tender the Swiss Air Force accepted only aircraft which were already introduced in the Air Force of the manufacturing country. In January 2008 the Swiss authorities announced a Request for Proposal (RFP) related on the Tiger-Replacement and invited Boeing, Dassault, EADS and Saab to submit a proposal. However, Boeing refused to submit an offer.

After a one-week training session in summer 2008, the evaluation tests began with the landing of the Gripen on 28 July 2008. In the following same test have been done after the landings of the Rafale on 9 October 2008 and the Eurofighter on 6 November 2008.

Each candidate presented two double-seat aircraft for the test. The candidates were flown in each case by a Swiss pilot. A second pilot of the manufacturer flew on the rear seat along and supported his Swiss colleague during the tests.

The two Gripens have flown 30 flights and 35 flying hours almost like the Eurofighter (31 flights and 45 flying hours), while the Rafale have flown 39 flights and over 60 flying hours due to a test on an alternative radar system.

The flight and ground tests are a central cornerstone within the entire evaluation process. The Swiss Air Force supported the evaluation with about 50 F-5E/F and F/A-18C/D missions each (target aircraft and formation flying). Night and supersonic flights were also carried out. During the tests the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA) conducted noise measurements in Emmen and Meiringen, the results of which will also become part of the evaluation.

Now, the collected data will be evaluated and will issue a second request to industry in January 2009. After received more information from the manufacturers a type selection is expected for July 2009. The following procurement is expected to take place in 2010.