The latest accident of an Air Force F-18 fighter has rekindled the need to replace these aircraft with a more modern model such as the Eurofighter already in service or the F-35. This Friday, a lieutenant colonel died after crashing his fighter during maneuvers in Teruel.
The Spanish F-18s have been in service since the 1980s, when they were acquired from the United States, which at the time shared the joint air base of Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), where the Americans had a large fleet of deployed aircraft, including F-18 and F-16.
The F-18s arrived in our country thanks to the program Future Fighter and Attack Aircraft (FACA). This program was undertaken by the Spanish Ministry of Defense to acquire a fourth generation fighter for the Spanish Air Force in the 1980s.
And this resulted in the acquisition of 84 planes F-18 model for the Air Force for a total amount of 3 billion dollars (around 310 billion pesetas). The FACA program was for several years the largest investment made by the Ministry of Defense and a gesture from the new democratic power towards military power. A contract paid for by the government $35.7 million for each device.
More than 80 planes to be replaced before 2025
The American fighter-bomber Boeing-McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet This is the model chosen to modernize our air fleet. Initially, it was studied replacement of 144 planes out of 192 This was the case for the Spanish Air Force, but this figure declined as the price of aircraft increased and the dollar appreciated against the peseta.
The FACA program gave Spain, with long (and criticized) delivery times, in addition to some extensions, a total of 96 F-18 combat aircraft (24 used). combat planes which They must be replaced in 2025, after reaching 7,000 flight hours. Currently, more than 80 of these devices are still in use, which have also undergone improvements during their long period of use.
The decision was adopted in the Council of Ministers on July 23, 1984, when Felipe González’s PSOE was already in power. Behind this, there were years of evaluations (they began under the UCD government) by a special commission mandated by the Air Staff to objectively and scientifically evaluate the different possible models.
The first F-18, in 1986
They were looking for a versatile surface attack aircraft, with a wide range of action, with considerable weapons carrying capacity and survivability and at the same time capable of defending airspace and fight in the air.
The different types of fighters then existing on the market were evaluated: F-5 Tiger, F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, the European Panavia Tornado and Mirage 2000… Some due to lack of requirements. , others, due to additional costs, were gradually abandoned. After a long and complicated process, the option was centered between the F-16C and the F-18Athe latter finally winning in the summer of 1982.
The F-18 supported the coupling of innovations and weapon systems. Had two engines (optional, two crew members), which reduced the loss of life and aircraft caused by engine failures in both peacetime and wartime. Compared on 53 features and specifications, the two models were tied on nine, while the F-18A was better or slightly better on 35 and the F-16C only on nine.
The FACA program opted for this fighter also because of economic compensation and technology transfer. For some Defense experts, this program, despite its flaws, facilitated the first steps of the emerging process. industrial and technological fabric of Spanish aeronautics.
Spain obtained from McDonnell Douglas a minimum commitment of $1.8 billion in compensation, which represented 88% of the total project price. Furthermore, these devices marked the entry of fighter pilots into the digital world and opened the door for the Spanish industry to undertake subsequent programs such as the Eurofighter or the A400M, both from the European consortium Airbus and which is trying to stand up to the North American giant Boeing.
The future: fifth generation fighters
However, you will have to wait until July 10. 1986 land at Zaragoza air base the first four F-18s coming from San Luis, American headquarters of McDonell Douglas. The latest devices were received in 1990.
The F-18 was the only fighter that served during the Spanish democracy to enter combat. It was during the campaign in former Yugoslavia that the Icarus detachment carried out raids on Serbia And Bosnia between the years 94-97, against airstrips and airfields. They also performed escort work in Libya in 2013.
The future of replacing the F-18 involves another program, in this case the Future Combat Air System (FCAS)with which the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Air Force will provide fifth generation fighters and drones to the Air Force. Among the candidates: the new version of the F-18, the Super Hornet, still from Boeing, or the F-35 built by another American aeronautical company: Lockheed.
A program already underway, with the increase in committed military budget to 2% which will make it possible, and that it will have a time horizon similar to that of the FACA F-18 program at the time, i.e. approximately 10 years.
