Swiss Federal Air Transport Service takes delivery of Global 7500
January 3, 2025
The new aircraft was was inspected by flight test specialists from the Federal Office for Armaments (Armasuisse) and the Air Force before being formally handed over to Swiss representatives by the manufacturer Bombardier in Montreal, Canada on 17 December 2024. After successful acceptance, the aircraft was flown to Switzerland by a mixed crew from the Air Force and Armasuisse. The aircraft landed at Payerne military airfield on the evening of 19 December after a flight of around seven hours.
The new Global 7500 will be stationed at Payerne for the first two years before being stationed at Bern-Belp Airport, the home of the Lufttransportdienst des Bundes (LTDB). Until the defensive aids upgrade is completed, the LTDB will continue to use its existing aircraft including the Citation Excel 560XL (T-784, built in 2002) that the Global 7500 was acquired to replace, and a Dassault Falcon 900EX (T-785, built in 2008).
A Swiss Air Force Lufttransportdienst des Bundes (LTDB) Pilatus PC-24 (T-786) was sold off in February 2022, after less than three years of service, due to limited utilisation by the various Swiss government departments.
The Federal Air Transport Service (LTDB) operates the aircraft used by the state government, departments, federal offices and the army, providing cross-departmental services for the Swiss Confederation within the framework of the Ordinance on the Federal Air Transport Service (V-LTDB).
The new Global 7500 aircraft will increase the federal government’s transport capacity, offering significantly greater range and autonomy than the existing types. The LTDB currently provides emergency aid in the event of environmental disasters and humanitarian emergencies, transports negotiating delegations, supports Swiss embassies, and provides air transport for the benefit of magistrates (members of the Federal Council, Federal Chancellor, members of the Federal Courts and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office). It can also provide aeromedical evacuation services.
By 2023, the Citation Excel 560XL and Falcon 900EX were no longer state of the art, and were suffering poor availability, with an increased demand for maintenance work and repairs. The Federal Council therefore decided to procure a new state aircraft in August 2023, and commissioned the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) to replace the existing Cessna Citation Excel 560XL with a Bombardier Global 7500, at an estimated cost of US $109 million (CHF 103 million).
The Federal Council was informed of the status of the procurement of the Bombardier Global 7500 state aircraft at its meeting on 9 October 2024. It soon became clear that due to the state of the federal budget, replacement of the Dassault Falcon 900EX would be reviewed again at a later date.
The Global 7500 will provide the federal government with a state aircraft that is state-of-the-art in terms of safety, efficiency and performance and that will have an aircraft with an integrated self-protection system.
