Museums and associations are struggling to survive because of the cost of disposing of aircraft parts containing thorium. 18 years ago, the radiant fighter jets caused a great deal of excitement.
A Mirage III during the test run of the engine, which has to be disposed of at great expense.
There is a good chance that the National Council will approve the procurement of the F-35 on Thursday, giving Switzerland a fifth-generation fighter jet. But no matter how technologically advanced and highly equipped the new aircraft will be, for long-time Air Force connoisseurs it is clear that the F-35 cannot compete with the Mirage III in terms of elegance and finesse.
Even today, twenty years after the last aircraft was taken out of service, the jet used as an interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft inspires many aviation enthusiasts. Around 300 of them, including former military and test pilots as well as technicians, have joined forces in the Buochs Mirage Association. The great pride of the association, which meets regularly at the former Mirage base in Nidwalden, is the Mirage reconnaissance aircraft with the registration R-2109, which is maintained with a lot of love and effort.
Alloy with radioactive thorium
This plane is now causing trouble. It has a working Atar 9C engine, which is run at full power including afterburner at least every three months and also at the general meeting. The problem is not the noise, but rather a letter from the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), which the board received in October 2021, causes a medium-sized tremor.
Why is the BAG of all people interested in an association dedicated to the preservation of historical army material? The reason is explosive: All engines of the Mirage jets used by the Swiss Air Force between 1965 and 2003 are radioactive. They contain around 3 kilograms of thorium. The radiant mineral was used by the manufacturer SNECMA to alloy the magnesium used for the compressor and the center housing, making it more temperature-resistant. The air brakes and other components of the combat aircraft, which could reach twice the speed of sound, also contain thorium.
Of course, those responsible are well aware of this. “When we received the engine as a gift in 2006, we had to obtain permission from the BAG to handle radioactive material. One of the conditions was the establishment of a waste disposal fund,” says Olivier Borgeaud, President of the Buochs Mirage Association. The association had to undertake to put aside CHF 1,500 each year for later disposal. With these amounts he would have brought together the disposal costs set at 75,000 francs in the coming years.
But now, suddenly, everything looks different. The FOPH’s Research Facilities and Nuclear Medicine section sets the disposal fee for a complete Mirage at CHF 350,000. In its letter, the Federal Office cites “the revised ordinance on radiation protection fees” as the reason for the massive increase in fees.
“For us, the letter came out of the blue,” says Borgeaud, who, as the author of the book “Mirage – The Flying Triangle”, has dealt intensively with the history of the fighter jet. “For a small organization like our club, it is not impossible, but it’s a lot of trouble to raise such an amount. The risk of being left with uncovered costs is enormous.” There is no guarantee that the BAG will not multiply the costs again in 15 years. “We pull out all the stops. But in the worst case, this could lead to the dissolution of the club,” says Borgeaud.
The Atar engines of the machines assembled in Switzerland were assembled by the Sulzer company.
A Mirage engine on a Swiss Army truck.
Federal Council apologizes
The gleaming Mirage engines caused a nationwide scandal back in 2004. At that time, the news magazine “10 vor 10” reported for the first time that the engines were slightly radioactive. At the same time, the journalists revealed that the defense department wanted to store the nuclear waste from the 33 fighter jets in an army bunker near Amsteg. Without the canton of Uri knowing about the DDPS plans.
The affair eventually also concerned Parliament. In the Council of States, Defense Minister Samuel Schmid apologized for the night and fog action. The problem was apparently solved elegantly in 2005. Armasuisse succeeded in recycling all aircraft. Some machines were given to museums at home and abroad. The remaining stock with spare engines was returned to the manufacturer Dassault in France. But now the problem is back.
According to army spokesman Mathias Volken, there are currently seven contaminated Mirage engines in Switzerland. Four of these belong to the inventory of the Central Office for Historical Army Material (ZSHAM) and thus to the Swiss Army. Three of these are on display in the walk-in display warehouse of the Dübendorf Aviation Museum. The fourth engine from the central office is part of the Junod Vehicle Museum collection in Bäretswil, Zurich.
Three engines are privately owned. In addition to the Buochs Mirage association, the Clin d’Ailes museum in Payerne owns two aircraft with intact engines. The ZSHAM is in contact with the Junod Vehicle Museum in Bäretswil and with the Museum and Historical Material Foundation of the Air Force, which looks after the military history collection of the Air Force on their behalf. “The ZSHAM is not in contact with the other organizations because these engines were never in the inventory of the central office,” explains Volken.
The private owners should therefore not expect any support from the army. The letter from the Federal Office of Public Health also caused hectic activity for Jürg Studer, the director of the Clin d’Ailes Museum. “All in all, we would incur costs of around 650,000 francs. That’s a huge chunk and in the medium term it threatens the existence of our museum,” he says.
In Payerne they are currently looking for a museum abroad that would take over the two Mirages III. However, this would require an import permit from the country in question. In addition, Switzerland would have to issue an export permit. The clubs and museums concerned are also clarifying whether a “collective disposal” of several engines would be cheaper. “However, there are only a few companies in Europe that are active in this area, and it is questionable whether a lower price can be negotiated,” explains Olivier Borgeaud from the Buochs Mirage association.
In view of the enormous effort that the owners of the Mirage jets would have to make for disposal, the question arises as to how dangerous the radiation is for people in the area. “One can safely forget the radioactive emissions,” says nuclear physicist Walter Rüegg. Before retiring, he worked for 20 years at ETH Zurich and at the Swiss Institute for Nuclear Physics, now the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), and was a militia officer and chief physicist in the Swiss army.
“If I’m in the Alps for a week, I’m exposed to more radiation than if I’m under the Mirage engine for a week,” explains Rüegg. The problem is not the radiation, but the Radiation Protection Ordinance, which he believes is far too strict. If there was any danger at all, it was that of being poisoned. But that would require finely grinding and eating the alloy of thorium and magnesium.
When the Mirage fighter jets were taken out of service, it was already known that the engines were contaminated with thorium.
Dispose of engines in Nagra repository
Rüegg has his own suggestion on how to deal with the radiant aircraft parts. He has written to the National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste. On behalf of the former chief physicist of the army, Nagra is now clarifying whether the parts containing thorium can be disposed of in a repository for low-level radioactive waste.
However, those responsible at the Buochs Mirage Association cannot wait for an answer from Nagra as to whether the components could be stored without separating the alloy, they want to be prepared for all eventualities. An extraordinary general meeting will therefore be held on September 24th. A decision should be made as to whether a provision of 300,000 francs should actually be made or whether the engine should be dismantled in the near future and the parts containing thorium should be disposed of.
Club president Olivier Borgeaud regrets it has come to this. “The Mirage era began with a scandal and it threatens to end with a scandal,” he says, drawing a bitter conclusion. In fact, the deployment time of the delta wing was under an unlucky star. In 1964, the Federal Council had to apply for an additional credit of 576 million Swiss francs. Originally, the cost of buying the French miracle weapon was estimated at 871 million francs. Instead of the originally planned 100 Mirages III, only 57 fighter jets were finally procured. Their disposal now threatens to become another debacle.