Axalp Air Power Demonstration – Farewell to the Mirage III RS – 2003
The 2003 edition of the Axalp Air Power Demonstration was a historic milestone for the Swiss Air Force. Held in October at the Ebenfluh firing range above Meiringen Air Base, this event marked the official farewell of the Mirage III RS from operational service.
This gallery captures one of the last public appearances of the Mirage III RS in Swiss colors, alongside high-altitude operations by the F/A-18 Hornet, F-5E Tiger II, SA3160B Alouette III, and training aircraft such as the Pilatus PC-7. The demonstration included flare drops, live-fire gun runs, and formation flying over the spectacular Swiss Alps. A tribute to the Mirage’s long-standing reconnaissance role was paid both in the air and on the ground.
➤ Scroll down to explore the full gallery and relive the memorable farewell of the Mirage III RS at Axalp 2003.
Nearby Brienz, in Berner Oberland Switzerland, you can find the Ebenfluh Shooting Range at the village Axalp. The winter sports area maybe known for his beautiful alpine territory, the Ebenfluh has another charm: here you will find the Ebenfluh Shooting Range from the Swiss Air force at an altitude of 2240 meter in the middle of the Swiss Alps. On an annual basis the Swiss Air force gives here, in October, demonstrations. This gives you a unique opportunity to watch airplanes and helicopters in the mountains and to see jet fighters doing live shooting.
The aviation live fire demonstration Axalp (known as Fliegerschiessen or "aviator shooting") is an air show of the Swiss Air Force on the shooting range Axalp-Ebenfluh (also called Äbeflue). There is a designated spectator area at the summit of Tschingel (46.7066°N 8.0476°E, 2240 m), about 1 km west of the target area. Initially a wartime exercise arena, in use during 1942–1945, Axalp-Ebenfluh was retained as an air force training ground after 1945. The first shooting exercise with jet engine planes, de Havilland Vampire, was held in 1949. Exercises were not public, and observation was by invitation. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Tedder were present at the exercise of February 1950. The exercises are usually held annually over two days on the beginning of October. Fighter planes no longer do bombing runs with exercise bombs, as was the original main purpose of the wartime exercise range. The event was extended into a public air show in the 1990s, in addition to the live fire exercises also including aerobatic displays, including performances by Patrouille Suisse. The "live fire" involves the use of aircraft cannons on ground targets mounted on the rock face. Depending on weather conditions, there are also exercises involving army helicopters, parachutists or landing troops. The event was cancelled in 2001 due to an accident with an air force Alouette III a few days before the scheduled date. The number of spectators was estimated at 6,500 in 2005, 9,000 in 2006 and 2009, and at 11,000 in 2012 The event was cancelled due to bad weather conditions in 2013 and 2015, and not scheduled in 2014 due to the Air14 show in Payerne. It was again cancelled in 2016 due to several accidents suffered by the Swiss Air Force. It was again held in 2017 and 2018.
