Could the F-18s that Spain has begun to withdraw from the Canary Islands end up fighting Russia in the Ukraine?

2023-07-16 17:17:21

The Spanish Air Force has begun to withdraw its F-18 F/A -18, until now in service at Wing 46 of the Gando air base, on the island of Gran Canaria. The first “retired” this July after flying from the islands to the León Military Aerodrome, where it will be used in the Basic Air Academy for teaching future non-commissioned officers.

In the medium term, these fighters will be replaced by 20 new Eurofighters for the purchase of which a budget of 2,043 million euros has been approved. Known as the Halcón project, the order will cover the delivery of combat aircraft equipped with electronically scanned radar (E-Scan), 16 single-seaters and 4 two-seaters, which will make it possible to renew the fleet of F-18s that Spain operates in the Canary Islands. , acquired second-hand from the US Navy, which will be withdrawn from now until 2024, although the new aircraft do not have to end up at this base. With this contract, the Spanish Eurofighter fleet will increase to 90 aircraft.

But, will all the F-18s from the Canary Islands end up at the Basic Air Academy? It seems unlikely in such a way that, as of today, it is not yet known what will be done with the withdrawn units. For this reason, an option comes into play that, although at the moment it does not seem to have even been evaluated by Defense, is on the table: the possible delivery of these devices to Ukraine with prior authorization from the United States.

There is a case and that is that, although at the moment there has only been talk of the transfer of F-16s to Kyiv, the governments of Australia, Ukraine and the United States are holding meetings to supply the Ukrainian air forces with F/A- 18 Australian Air Force Hornets that have been withdrawn from service, rather than scrapped, a decision that has been supported by military experts as they believe that this old fighter can provide air cover for Ukrainian troops to slow the advance of the lines Russian defenses. If the negotiations go ahead, the planes could be in Ukraine within four months, reveals the Australia Financial Review newspaper, which gave the exclusive.

In the case of the Australian F-18s, it has not been specified how the operation would be carried out, but the aforementioned medium assures that the transfer of retired combat aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) would be done as a military sale in donation place. It is estimated that the cost of the operation would not be excessively high since the planes are old and have been retired. The alternative for the Australian air force is to scrap them or sell them to RAVN Aerospace, a commercial aviation company, for pilot training in the US. At the moment, the Australian Department of Defense has not yet made an official statement although the Said Texas-based fighter aircraft contractor (ADAIR), RAVN Aerospace (formerly known as Air USA), reached an agreement to purchase up to 46 examples of the decommissioned Australian fighters, which remain in storage at the base of the Williamtown RAAF but in different states of preservation.

Australia, following a decision to purchase 72 fifth-generation F-35 fighters, decided to phase out its fleet of F/A-18 Hornets, currently parked in a hangar in Williamtown. Although they have not been used for two or three years, some sources believe they would be combat-ready in four to five months. These aircraft would have been upgraded to an A++ standard in the past, giving them many features of the more recent F/A-18Cs, such as the improved AN/APG-73 radar. The aircraft can carry a wide variety of lethal missiles, including the AIM-120 AMRAAM, Paveway II, JDAM-ER, AGM-158 JASSM, and Harpoons.

The Hornet is a fourth-generation fighter that is still in service in countries like the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Finland, Malaysia, and Kuwait, as well as Spain. In the past it has participated in several military conflicts, from Iraq, Afghanistan, Serbia, Libya to Syria.

The Australia Financial Review quotes Australia’s Director of Strategic Analysis Michael Shoebridge as saying the F/A-18 could carry Ukrainian missiles and radar to hit Russian targets at greater distances. Former Army General Mick Ryan says the problem for Ukraine is that the sought-after F-16s are not available in many countries. “But the F/A-18s are already available. This is about leveling the playing field when it comes to air-to-air combat,” he qualified.

Could something similar happen with the retired Spanish F-18s? At first it doesn’t seem very likely. Until now, Spain has only ruled on the F-16, ensuring that “absolute and total support within our availability to Ukraine. And on the issue of fighters, solidarity with other countries, but specifically Spain does not have this model of aircraft.” explained Defense Minister Margarita Robles. According to her, she remarked, the Spanish Air Force operates the F-18 and Eurofighter fighters, and each model has “its dynamics.”