Ejército del Aire Hornets
Spain’s Ejército del Aire operates a well-balanced fighter force of EF-18M/ F/A-18A+ Hornets and Eurofighter Typhoons. Salvador Mafé Huertas assesses the Spanish Hornet fleet, active within three frontline wings.
The Ejército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) received a total of 86 EF-18 and F/A-18 Hornets. The first 72 EF-18A/Bs acquired from 1986 to 1992 under the Futuro Avión de Combate (FACA) programme were followed by 24 secondhand (ex-US Navy and Marine Corps) F/A- 18As during 1995-2000 as part of the CX programme that initially set out to replace the F/RF-5A Freedom Fighters of Ala 21.
The original EF-18A/Bs underwent an extensive upgrade during the early 2000s, bringing them up to EF-18M configuration (single-seat C.15M and two-seat CE.15M under the Spanish military designation system). There have been several more upgrades since, mostly relating to operational software – OFP-08E is the latest to be installed, adding the Thales Scorpion helmet-mounted display and a ROVER datalink for the targeting pod. These jets equip Ala 12 at Torrejón air base and Ala 15 at Zaragoza. Of the original 72 jets purchased, six have been lost in accidents during 30 years of operational flying…
