Ukraine may receive more than 40 Australian FA-18 fighters, - media

The United States, Australia, and Ukraine are discussing the possibility of transferring 41 F/A-18 aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are to be decommissioned.

This was reported by the Australian Financial Review.

Sources in the Australian government said that the U.S. was favorable to the idea of transferring the F/A-18s to Ukraine. Washington's approval for the transfer of the planes is necessary since the USA owns the intellectual property for the fighters. It is reported that 41 aircraft have been decommissioned from the Royal Air Force and will be replaced with modern F-35s.

The decommissioned F/A-18s are parked in a hangar at the RAAF base in Williamtown, near Newcastle. Earlier it was assumed that the fighters will be scrapped or sold to a private aviation company, RAVN Aerospace, for use in the United States as "enemies" for the training of pilots.

Another source close to the negotiations agreed that there was no point in destroying the perfectly serviceable aircraft, which, he said, could be brought to combat readiness within four months and used to repel the Russian invasion.

The F/A-18 is a U.S. carrier-based fighter-bomber developed in the 1970s. It is in service in a number of countries in Europe, Oceania, and the Middle East. In the U.S., the aircraft has remained in service only in the Marine Corps, as well as training and experimental squadrons.

Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 06/06/2023