Spain Ditches F-35, Prioritizes Eurofighter, FCAS
An EF-18A+ Hornet fighter of the 12th Wing of the Spanish Air Force with two rockets AIM-9 Sidewinder wingtips, two GBU-16 Piveveu II laser-guided bombs and three additional fuel tanks
Earlier, the head of Lockheed Martin told Breaking Defense that the F-35B is Madrid's only viable option to replace its aging Harrier fighters for naval operations.
Spain has abandoned plans to acquire a fleet of American-made F-35 fighter jets, focusing instead solely on potential competitors such as the Eurofighter Typhoon or the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).
"The Spanish option involves the purchase of a batch of the existing Eurofighter fighter and plans to purchase the future FCAS fighter,"
— a representative of the press service of the Spanish Ministry of Defense told Breaking Defense.The spokesman declined to provide further details, but Spanish newspaper El Pais first reported that Madrid had decided to "indefinitely postpone" any orders for Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation aircraft in a bid to "prioritise investment in European industry".
The publication also noted the consequences for the Spanish armed forces that would arise from not acquiring the stealth aircraft: the Air Force would miss out on “the most technologically advanced option as a bridge to the FCAS,” which is expected to enter service in 2040. El Pais also noted that the decision could be a “strategic loss” for the Spanish naval ship Juan Carlos I, which will carry the Harrier fighters, which are expected to enter service around 2030.
A Lockheed spokesman told Breaking Defense: "Foreign military sales are government-to-government transactions and are best left to the US or Spanish governments."
In a 2021 interview with Breaking Defense, Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin’s executive vice president of aeronautics, highlighted Madrid’s Harrier problem, saying the European country is “demanding a replacement for these Harriers.” He added, “The only option is really going to be the F-35 [short takeoff and landing version]. So I’m pretty sure Spain will be interested in the F-35.”
Spain is in the process of acquiring new fourth-generation Eurofighters, having already signed contracts for 45 aircraft under the Halcon I and Halcon II programs. Halcon is Spain’s national two-stage procurement program to replace all F/A-18C/D Hornet fighters. It is divided into a $2,15 billion Halcon I contract for 20 aircraft and a similar €4,6 billion ($4,8 billion) project for 25 aircraft. Airbus declined to comment for this report.
A pair of F/A-18A+s from the Spanish Air Force's 46th Air Wing take off from Gando Air Base, Gran Canaria, in February 2008.
The Spanish Hornets spend 60% of their time as all-weather interceptors and the rest of the time as all-weather strike aircraft. In the event of war, each of the front-line squadrons would take on a leading role: 121st is responsible for tactical aviation support and naval operations; the 151st and 122nd conduct all-weather interdiction and air-to-air combat; and the 152nd conducts enemy air suppression Defense. Air-to-air refueling is provided by KC-130H Hercules and A400 aircraft. EF-18 pilot conversion training is centralized at 153 Squadron. 462 Squadron's mission is air defense of the Canary Islands, with responsibility for fighter and strike missions from Gando Air Base.
EF-18 fighters of the Spanish Air Force, under NATO command, carried out ground attack, air defense suppression, and air patrol missions in Bosnia and Kosovo from Aviano Air Base, Italy. They shared the base with other Canadian F/A-18s and US Marine F/A-18s. May 25, 1993 was the day of the Spanish F-18s' baptism of fire. Two US Air Force F-18s and four F-16s bombed Bosnian Serb positions near Sarajevo. Two other F-18s participated in the operation but saw no combat. In late August 1995, six Spanish F-18s attacked Bosnian Serb positions. These were the first combat sorties of the Spanish Air Force since the Ifni-Sahara Campaign in 1958. Spain provided four aircraft to NATO forces patrolling the no-fly zone over Libya in 2011.
The Spanish Air Force ordered a total of 60 EF-18A and 12 EF-18B (the E stands for "Spain") aircraft, designated C.15 and CE.15 by the Spanish Air Force, respectively. Deliveries of the Spanish version began on 22 November 1985. These fighters were upgraded to the F-18A+/B+ standard, close to the American F/A-18C/D. The Plus version included more modern flight and weapons control computers, a data storage system and data buses, new wiring, pylon and software modifications, and new capabilities such as FLIR AN/AAS-38B NITE Hawk targeting pods.
In 1995, Spain received 24 used F/A-18A Hornets from the US Navy, with an option for six more. They were delivered between December 1995 and December 1999 and were designated C.15A by the Spanish Air Force. They were modified to EF-18A+ specifications before delivery. This was the first sale of surplus Hornets to the US Navy.
12th Air Wing, Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base. This unit operated 30 EF-18A and 6 EF-18B aircraft; 3 single-seat aircraft were lost in accidents. The wing consists of two squadrons: 121st and 122nd Squadrons.
15th Air Wing, Zaragoza Air Base. This unit consisted of 30 EF-18A and 6 EF-18B aircraft; 5 single-seat aircraft were lost in accidents. They were concentrated in three squadrons: 151st, 152nd and 153rd.
46th Airlift Wing, Gando Air Base (Palmas). This unit operated a total of 24 F/A-18A (second-hand) aircraft transferred from the US Navy, three of which were lost in accidents and one was written off due to damage. In late 2021, the Spanish government approved the purchase of 20 new Eurofighters to replace the F-18s based in the Canary Islands with the 462nd Squadron.
Of the 96 Hornets received by the Air Force, 72 EF-18 and 24 F/A-18A, 85 aircraft remain operational: 65 EF-18 and 20 F/A-18A. Two EF-2As from the 18th Wing, five EF-12As from the 5th Wing and three F/A-18As from the 15th Wing were lost in accidents, while one F/A-3A from the 18th Wing, which suffered structural damage, was transferred to EADS CASA. All Spanish aircraft are worn out and are near the limits of their service life, both the calendar service life of 46 years and the flight life of the airframe and engines of 1 hours. All Spanish EF-18 and F/A-46A aircraft in service were built between 40 and 6.
The aircraft, created on the basis of the airframe of a light fighter - the prototype of the Northrop YF-17 Cobra company with a dry weight of 7800 kg, engineers of the McDonnell Douglas company fattened it up to twice the takeoff weight, of course, had no prospects for LEP programs with an extension of the service life of such an extremely loaded airframe, like, for example, its competitor F-16, which has an individual LEP program with a double extension of the airframe service life and engine replacement. In general, it's time for the Spaniards to change their main combat aircraft. But the Spaniards are a pragmatic people, they are in no hurry to buy the American F-35A, which is now fashionable among Europeans. And why do they need a fighter-bomber, albeit a very good one? They need an interceptor fighter at all costs in order to close the skies over Spain. A completely rational decision is to buy the Eurofighter as a temporary measure until the sixth-generation FCAS fighter appears.
Spain's prioritisation of the Eurofighter and FCAS programmes is a clear endorsement of European industry at a time when the sixth-generation fighter programme has been overshadowed by an embarrassing industrial scandal and an awkward partnership between Airbus and French manufacturer Dassault amid disagreements over how to proceed with the upcoming technology development phase.
A mockup of the FCAS (Future Combat Air System) at the 2019 Paris Air Show.
The row comes as several other potential foreign F-35 buyers, including Canada and Portugal, have expressed hesitation about joining the U.S.-led program amid geopolitical tensions with the Trump administration.
Politically, Spain was harshly criticized by US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit in the Netherlands for failing to commit to the alliance's new defense spending plan of 5 percent of GDP, split between allocating 3,5 percent of GDP to military items and an additional 1,5 percent to security investments such as infrastructure.
"We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investments, but we are not going to do so."
"Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in June, adding that spending at 2,1 percent of GDP would be enough for the country to meet its NATO commitments, France 24 reported.
Information