military support forUkraine is enriched with a new chapter: the hypothesis of getting that F/A-18 Hornet owned by Australia. The Australian Financial Review has exclusively reported that the US government seems open to the hypothesis that Canberra is supplying the Ukrainian armed forces with the F/A-18s that have long been frozen in the US arsenal Royal Australian Air Force.
The F/A-18 debate in Ukraine
The news would confirm a long-running debate between Australian and US defense experts. While discussion of delivering planes to Ukraine has largely centered on the United States’ willingness to arrange for the Allies to deliver the F-16s, many analysts have wondered about the possibility that the Kyiv Air Force is now getting others could plane. And among the proposed alternatives, which could combine transmission speed, low price and ease of sale, was the Australian-owned F/A-18 block, which is now considered out of service.
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Already a few months ago, the Australian Financial Review itself had brought this hypothesis to light (stating that the $500 million contribution to Ukraine’s defense was not enough and therefore had to be increased with the delivery). 40 F/A-18 fighter-bombers) and the specialized portal The Drive, which, in a careful analysis of the sale of these aircraft to Kiev, recalled that dozens of these specimens, promised years ago to the private company Air Usa (now Ravn Aerospace), actually remained in the hands of Canberra . The company supports the US Air Force by supplying aircraft for exercises.
An American F-18. Photo: US Navy.
Why Australia might send F-18s
According to the website, around 40 Hornets would be essentially intact in the hands of Australian forces, having not been based on aircraft carriers or exposed to inclement weather or climatic conditions that could destroy them, and having been brought up to date which makes them the F/ A-18C very similar. In addition, some experts note that the infrastructure of this aircraft is easier to understand even for Ukrainian pilots, since the aircraft is rather similar in some characteristics Mig-29 or hey Su-27 delivered to the Kiev Air Force.
Add to this – not insignificantly – the fact that most of the countries that own these planes are there dispose of and to replace them. Basically, Ukraine has ready-made vehicles at its disposal, in a relatively large number and with all the spare parts that can be picked up thanks to various suppliers. Finally, the fact that they are not technologically advanced aircraft would also limit the risk that their downing could be exploited by Russia to obtain intelligence information about these aircraft.
The points of criticism of the possible supply
On the other hand, there are also critical voices who point out that these aircraft are now too old or at least have been stationed at one base for too long Guam and unable to support possible employment in a theater like the Ukrainian one. Others, however, point to the time factor: like the F-16, the F/A-18 need time and time instructor willing to provide their support full time and in a very limited time frame. All issues that are on the table in the Canberra-Kiev-Washington triangle, but which confirm that the debate is currently more open and can reignite certainty about which and how many Western Bloc aircraft to deliver to Ukraine.
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