Spain extends F-18 service life after FCAS programme collapse

Spain is extending the service life of more than 60 F-18 fighter jets until 2040 after the collapse of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme left Madrid without an immediate latest-generation replacement.

The Defence Ministry has commissioned Spanish defence and technology company Indra to develop new avionics test benches to support the ageing fourth-generation fleet, which will have been in service for more than five decades by 2040, Euractiv reports.

“These are nothing more than stopgap measures,” said Enrique Navarro Gil, an independent defence consultant specialising in the aerospace sector.

Spain has ordered 45 new fourth-generation Eurofighters, to be delivered over the next decade, but the absence of a replacement for FCAS has created a strategic challenge for the country’s air force.

“The outlook for 2040 is that, once the F-18s have been retired, the air force will have only one fighter aircraft type with the arrival of the newer Eurofighters,” Navarro said.

The extended service life of the F-18s is expected to increase maintenance costs and complexity, while concerns remain over whether the Eurofighter fleet will be sufficiently upgraded by 2040.

Spain also put a potential purchase of US-made F-35 stealth fighters “on hold” last year, leaving the country without an immediate replacement for its Harrier jets, which are due to be retired by 2032.

Madrid’s decision could have “enormous implications for security,” Navarro said. “The Spanish armed forces could have had operational F-35s within two or three years.”

By Sabina Mammadli