“Defense Express analyzed whether Ukraine will be able to get almost 80 F/A-18 fighters, which are written off in Spain November 12, 21:03 Share: F/A-18 Hornet (Photo: Wikipedia) Ukraine may have an opportunity to get fighters F/A-18 from Spain, which are planned to be decommissioned there. It is about almost 80 fighters, Defense Express reported on Tuesday, November 12. According to analysts, Madrid ordered 20 in 2020”, — write on: ua.news
F/A-18 Hornet (Photo: Wikipedia)
Ukraine may have an opportunity to receive F/A-18 fighters from Spain, which are planned to be decommissioned there. It is about almost 80 fighters, Defense Express reported on Tuesday, November 12.
According to analysts, in 2020 Madrid ordered 20 Eurofighter fighters, which are the second type of fighter of the Spanish Air Force. They were ordered to replace the F/A-18 within the Halcon program. This purchase cost 2.636 billion euros.
“Currently, the country’s defense department is in the final stages of signing an additional 25 Eurofighter aircraft in the latest version of Tranche 4+ for approximately 4 billion euros. The second order, called Halcon II, has been in the works since 2023, but is currently in the final stages of finalizing a firm agreement,” the analysts added.
Analysts believe that this shows that Madrid already “is unlikely to change its decision on the timing and extent of decommissioning the F/A-18.” According to Defense Express, the fleet of Spanish F/A-18 fighter jets underwent modernization several times during their service.
In particular, 46 fighters were upgraded in the 90s, in the 2000s some of the aircraft received the next upgrade. German missiles are also integrated into Spanish planes “air-to-air” IRIS-T and Taurus cruise missiles.
Analysts believe that everything “rests on time”, in particular, due to the schedule of receiving new Eurofighters by Spain. In 2026, the country should receive three fighters, in 2027 — five, in 2028 — six, in 2029 — four, in 2030 — two.
Because of this, analysts believe that it is hardly possible for Ukraine to count on a quick receipt of the F/A-18.
The F/A-18 Hornet is an American carrier-based multirole fighter developed in the 1970s. Today it is the main combat aircraft of the US Navy. It is also in service with a number of countries in Europe and Asia, and was used in military operations against Libya, Iraq, and Yugoslavia.
According to the classification, the F/A-18 Hornet simultaneously belongs to fighters and attack aircraft. This aircraft has been in service since 1983 and has a combat radius of about 1000 km.
The aircraft can use a wide range of weapons, in particular, unguided missiles Hydra 70 and Zuni, air-to-air missiles AIM-120, AMRAAM, AIM-9 Sidewinter, air-to-ground missiles AGM-88, HARM, Taurus, AGM-84 Harpoon, unguided bombs Mark-80, CBU-87, as well as guided bombs equipped with the JDAM system.