Will Australia send its “hornets” into battle? More Russian attacks at Bachmut +++ Huge amount of grain destroyed

Ukraine could soon be a big step closer to having a fleet of modern Western fighter jets thanks to a delivery from Australia of 41 F/A-18 Hornets. Negotiations on this are well advanced, reports the “Australian Financial Review”. The US government, which must issue an export license for the transfer of the jets, has already given its approval, it is said.

“The United States is very interested in purchasing modern fighter jets for the Ukrainian Air Force,” the paper quoted a source familiar with the negotiations as saying. “There are many formal hurdles to this, but the time seems to have come.” Another source said scrapping the “absolutely intact plane” would be absurd given the threat to Ukraine from Russia.

Kiev especially hopes for the F-16

In fact, the jets, dubbed the Hornet, would soon be decommissioned or sold to the United States to serve as training targets for the United States Air Force. Instead, they could be available for Ukraine within four months, they say. A “handful” of the 41 machines would likely serve as a spare parts warehouse, but the rest would be operational for several more years. Australian pilots could also train their Ukrainian colleagues, the newspaper writes.

So far, the debate on modern fighter jets for Ukraine has focused mainly on the F-16, the most widely distributed combat aircraft in the world. In Europe, several of Ukraine’s close allies, such as Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Greece, have large fleets of F-16s. The US government has already approved the transfer of the jets to Kiev.

Remedy against Russian glide bombs

Britain and the Netherlands are currently working on a jet fighter coalition for Ukraine, but concrete commitments about deliveries are not known. However, several countries have already announced that they will participate in the training of Ukrainian pilots. Recently, Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov also requested the delivery of Eurofighters, the Bundeswehr’s main jet fighter. Great Britain, Spain and Italy also use this fighter.

The F/A-18 Hornet is comparable in capabilities to the F-16. The twin-engine aircraft was developed in the late 1970s by American manufacturer McDonnell Douglas and entered service in 1983. Designed for the United States Navy, it was the main jet fighter on the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers for decades.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet, developed by Boeing, has now taken over this task. In addition to the US and Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Malaysia and Kuwait also have F/A-18 Hornets. The machine can fight both enemy aircraft and targets on the ground.

The rapid availability of the Australian jets would be important for Ukraine – they could bridge the time until the first F-16s are operational. Time is of the essence for Kiev because since the spring Russia has been increasingly using so-called glide bombs, “dumb bombs” equipped with wings and GPS that can be fired from a great distance and are more difficult for Ukrainian air defenses to combat. intercept. Modern fighter jets such as the F/A-18 Hornet could help.

(t-online, mk)