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The Canadian and Finnish ones are not due to be replaced fully until -2030. The Spanish ones 2037.I second that. Notice we are talking old Hornets here, not the newer superhornets.
Retired RAAF fighter jets could be sent to Ukraine
Australia, the US and Ukraine are discussing sending 41 Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornets to Kyiv, rather than sending them to the scrapheap as planned.www.afr.com
However that should only be the start ... Canada, Finland, Spain should follow pace, all of them have some F-18 that are about to be retired soon.
E.g.:
Spain finalizes $2.1 billion deal for 20 Eurofighters to replace old F-18s
Eurofighter had something of a lock on replacing the oldest of Spain's American-made planes, stationed on the popular tourist island of Gran Canaria. The government in Madrid had cleared the purchase in late 2021.www.defensenews.com
Why scrap if you can recycle. And why recycle if you can reuse.
There's no vehicle in existence that the Aussies can't Ute.
Spain bought 2 batches of F-18The Canadian and Finnish ones are not due to be replaced fully until -2030. The Spanish ones 2037.
I got the 2037 date direct from the Spanish Air Force during a meeting with them and all other Hornet operators late last year.Spain bought 2 batches of F-18
A 1rst batch of 72 EF-18A and EF-18B (EF-18A/B is the version McDonellDouglas built for Spain based on the F/A-18A/B).
A second batch of 24 F/A-18A/B that was bought second hand directly from US Navy.
The first batch was modernized to EF-18M in 2009
The second batch is due for replacement and it has already been approved the program to buy 20 Euro-Fighters to replace them (programa Halcon).
It is expected that the remaining 20 F/A-18A/B (4 have been lost) are retired in 2024. Timing is perfect to send them to Ukraine, why not retire them a few months earlier.
As for the EF-18M what i heard is they they will be replaced by a mix of Eurofighters and F-35. After all Spain has to buy a few F-35 to replace its aging Harriers anyway.
I don't know where you got the 2037 date, but I think they will start to be retired well before the end of this decade.
Clearly the work of the Azov mother/daughter team.They may want to explain how Ukraine broke through the Russian lines, made it a good number of miles behind their lines, were able to get on the bridge, place a lot of explosives in just the right place, and make it all the way home again without being spotted.
They had been laying low for a while.Clearly the work of the Azov mother/daughter team.
I'd rather we just expedited F-16s. It's not for lack of aircraft that Ukraine has been denied NATO-origin fighters until now. My vote is as a reaction to Russia's latest war crime we send the first, if only a symbolic few F-16s this month. And release ATACAMS tomorrow - target 1, Kerch bridge.Timing is perfect to send them to Ukraine, why not retire them a few months earlier.
I hope there are enough quality F/A-18s to assemble a capable squadron or two.
Jobs right here in the U.S.A. too! Win win!
Its perfectly plausible that 2037 is the date when the last replacement aircraft is delivered to the Spanish Air Force (be it a Eurofighter or a F-35). But that does not mean the F-18 can't start the retirement phase much earlier. Those planes have been flying since the mid eighties.I got the 2037 date direct from the Spanish Air Force during a meeting with them and all other Hornet operators late last year.