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Ukraine - F/A-18 Multi-Role Combat [BCV] aircraft

Ukraine is now formally requesting F-18 fighter jets. Canada has capacity to deliver @BillBlair . We have 138 CF-18 Hornets (86 in use), most are modernized to operate until *2035*. We also have 18 F-18s bought from Australia. With 88 F-35s on order, ???? could donate some CF-18s. Quote Jürgen Nauditt ???????? @jurgen_nauditt · 9h ??Ukraine has requested from the United States Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, F-18 fighter jets, Globemaster aircraft, as well as sophisticated THAAD air defense systems, - Reuters Adding retired F/A-18 jets and their weapons systems to Ukraine's air force would make Kyiv's military an "even more dangerous" force, All F/A-18s can undertake air superiority, reconnaissance, fighter escort, and close air support. The Classic Hornet was the first tactical airframe designed for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. The first fighter to use digital fly-by-wire flight controls and feature carbon fibre wings.

As of 15 June 2023, the USAF Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC, the “Boneyard”]) at Davis-Monthan AFB, had a total of 160 Hornets of various models on hand, including 100 F/A-18 C models.

As of 15 June 2023, the USAF Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC, the “Boneyard”]) at Davis-Monthan AFB, had a total of 331 F-16s of various models on hand, including 160 F-16A and 122 F-16C models.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/07/22/world/ukraine-war-russia?smid=url-share#us-considers-giving-warthog-warplanes-to-ukraine-and-training-its-pilots">U.S. considers giving Warthog warplanes to Ukraine and training its pilots. July 22, 2022 https://time.com/6207115/ukraine-train-fighter-pilots-russia/">Exclusive: Inside Ukraine’s Secret Effort to Train Pilots for U.S. Jets

Ukraine - A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft

Ukrainian pilots lobbied for transferring modern aircraft and anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. In the summer of 2022, a delegation of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine paid a visit to Washington, where they held a number of meetings in the interests of future rearmament.

The US Air Force currently had 281 A-10Cs in service. As of 15 June 2023, the USAF Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC, the “Boneyard”]) at Davis-Monthan AFB, had a total of 113 Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolts on hand, including 49 A-10A and 63 A-10C models. The USA "on paper" had almost 200 A-10 attack aircraft in storage, most of which were actually dismantled for spare parts.

The A-10 Thunderbolt II is a twin-engine jet aircraft that was designed to support ground forces. It can be used against light maritime attack aircraft and all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles. The A-10 is known for its high survivability and versatility. The United States Congress did not allow the Air Force to retire the A-10 Thunderbolt II for years. However, in 2022, the Congress gave the Air Force the green light to retire 21 of the aircraft. Now the Warthog fleet should be reduced to about 260 aircraft, and in general the US Air Force planned to say goodbye to by all its legendary veterans for 5-6 years.

The A-10 Warthog and the Su-25 Frogfoot are both twin-engine jet aircraft designed to provide close air support for ground forces. The A-10 is larger and has a slower top speed than the Su-25, but it can carry a heavier payload. The Su-25 is smaller and faster, but it has more titanium armor.

The Su-25 Grach ('Rook') is Soviet-era close air support (CAS) aircraft known by the NATO reporting name Frogfoot. Russia and Ukraine have used the Su-25 aircraft extensively in the ongoing war. The aircraft was also the “most destroyed” fighter in the Ukraine conflict. According to data published by the military tracking blog Oryx based on visual verification, by November 2022 a total of 38 Su-25s had been destroyed, 23 of which belonged to Russia and 15 to Ukraine. When the war began in February 2022, Russia fielded about 80 Frogfoots, while Ukraine deployed about 30. By August 2023, Oryx documented 30 Russia Su-25 losses, and 16 Ukrainian losses.

The Su-25 Frogfoot suffered a relatively high attrition rate purely due to its role as a CAS platform. Flying down low, slow and dirty to help the ground pounders out of a sticky situation, they were constantly exposed to danger within the combat zone; that's been the case since WW2. Frogfoot, as well as Warthog, are planes for CAS in a scenario when Air superiority is established.

North Macedonia confirmed it had joined Poland and Slovakia in supplying Soviet-era combat aircraft to Ukraine. Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska revealed during a 14 March 2023 television interview that the tiny Balkan state provided its four Sukhoi Su-25 “Frogfoot” ground attack aircraft to Ukraine.

The Colombian Air Force in November 2003 tried to negotiate with the Pentagon to lease 12 A-10 aircraft for air strikes against local drug cartels. At that time, the Colombians also asked for attack aircraft from storage, and were refused. At that time, the American military "on paper" had 198 A-10 attack aircraft in storage. But at the same time, 151 were immediately allocated for disassembly into spare parts for active attack aircraft. The other 47 aircraft were reserved for "intact storage". Serial production of "Warthogs" ended in 1984, the stock of components had to be replenished even then by the method of "cannibalism". Instead, the Colombians purchased Super Tucano light attack aircraft (38 units in service, according to The Military Balance 2022).

Ukraine asked the United States for the supply of A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, but Washington refused Kyiv. But in return, Ukraine received a sufficient number of components from the Western allies to restore and put into service Soviet-made MiG-29 and Su-25 aircraft.

According to the Washington Post, this happened at the very beginning of the Russian special military operation. In March 2022, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov personally addressed the head of the Pentagon with a request to supply the Ukrainian army with 100 (one hundred) A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft, better known as the Warthog ("Warthog"). In Kiev, they calculated the available number of American aircraft and came to the conclusion that the US Air Force has a hundred "extra" attack aircraft that could be used against "Russian tank columns."

The Pentagon also stated that the Warthog is not intended to break into areas saturated with military air defense, therefore it cannot be used in Ukraine due to Russian air defense, which closed the sky over the positions of both armies.

Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in his comment 21 August 2022 to Ukrainian Pravda appreciated the idea of enthusiasts regarding the possible replenishment of the tactical aviation fleet by American A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. “In particular, we are talking about multifunctional US-manufactured fighters F-16, F-15, or F-18 of certain modifications, or their European counterparts,” said a representative of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The possible transfer of attack aircraft to Ukraine, the A-10 Thunderbolt II, began to be discussed in the media after the Time magazine’s publication 19 August 2022. " Gorgan, 46, a low-level infantry officer in the Ukrainian military with high-level connections, would work with a band of other Ukrainians and retired American A-10 pilots to try and get their hands on some of America’s fleet of aging Warthogs. Their hope was to protect Ukrainian infantry units from devastating barrages of Russian artillery, and to turn the tide of the war. It hasn’t been easy. ... The facility, which has been operating since early May, uses sophisticated flight simulators to prepare a cadre of Ukrainian A-10 pilots for the hoped-for day when the U.S. does supply Ukraine with the planes. "

American journalists told the story about the initiative to train Ukrainian pilots of these machines with the help of simulators and consultations of American retired pilots. The publication described a “secret center” in which several Ukrainian pilots are already undergoing preliminary training. At the same time, the Air Force of Ukraine has not confirmed that its pilots are currently undergoing appropriate training. The Air Force press service explained that specialists tested the equipment, but no planned training of pilots is currently being discussed.

Julian E. Barnes at The New York Times reported "U.S. Air Force leaders have raised the possibility of training Ukrainian pilots in the United States and giving Ukraine the American fleet of A-10 Warthog ground-attack planes — an idea that could solve a problem for both countries. The notion is a classic trial balloon. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall this week entertained the idea of giving the A-10 planes to Ukraine, while adding that it was still in the discussion phase..... And the Air Force has for years wanted to get rid of the A-10s."

The Air Force stressed that in the current war, the work of attack aircraft is complicated by the presence of a large number of enemy’s air defense equipment. It is worth noting that both the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the enemy now use the same type of Soviet attack aircraft as the Su-25. However, in most cases, both sides use unguided rockets from pitch up, because of the threat of aircraft loss. That is, from a long distance and without line of sight, the target on which the strike will be carried out.

One of the main advantages of the Thunderbolt II A-10 — the seven-barrel 30 mm gun GAU-8 Avenger — does not have favorable conditions for effective use under such conditions. An attack aircraft can work with a dive on a target, that is, entering the air defense zone. Successful usage of ‘warthogs’, for example, in the Desert Storm operation in Iraq took place in the face of total Allied air dominance, the suppression of an air defense and enemy fighters threats.

F/A-18 to Ukraine - Finland

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky asked Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to hand over the fourth-generation F-18 (Hornet) fighter jets that Helsinki is decommissioning to the Ukrainian armed forces. "We take everything that they give us. <...> We are ready to learn from everything that floats or flies. If Finland does not need F-18s, then let's [take] with pleasure," he said at a joint press -conferences 23 August 2023 with Orpo, who was in Kiev. Zelensky noted that F-16s remain a priority for Ukraine because of their number, which can meet the needs of the country's air force. However, according to him, Ukraine is ready "to take any type of aircraft." The F-18 is a carrier-based fighter-bomber developed in the United States in the 1970s and remains in service with some European countries. Sanna Marin, the Prime Minister of Finland, noted that Finland could consider the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters supply to Ukraine during her visit to Kyiv on March 10, 2023. She emphasizes that Finland will take into account this issue if the country buys the fifth-generation fighters to replace the aircraft that are in a service with Air Force now. “Yes, I think, we can talk about the Hornet aircraft as well. Whether we can give them to Ukraine and what we need to do that,” Sanna Marin said. She also noted that the issue is at an early stage and wide international cooperation is required.

Finland, most likely, will not be able to deliver F / A-18 Hornet fighters to Ukraine until 2026, since the republic's air force needs them. This was announced on 24 March 2023 by the TV and radio company Yle. Finland will receive the first F-35 fighters ordered to replace the F / A-18 Hornet, not earlier than 2026, and the last batch ordered will arrive only by 2030. Until that time, the Finnish Air Force will need them. The director of the Finnish defense company Patria, Esa Rautalinko, believes that the supply of decommissioned fighter jets to Kyiv is unlikely to be effective, even if it takes place. "What will be the costs of re-commissioning them in another country? You will have to install new systems and carry out repairs. It is not known how effective this will be," he said.

If Finland decided to hand over its Hornets, this would require permission from the US, the airworthiness of the fighters would have to be approved, and pilot training would also be a challenge.

Finnish president Sauli Niinisto claimed that “nobody has discussed this question”. According to the Finnish Constitution, the President of the Republic leads Finland's foreign policy in cooperation with the Government. In practice, foreign and security policy decisions are made by the Government's Foreign and Security Policy Committee, which meets with the President.

Major general Juha-Pekka Keranen, the Commander of the Finnish Air Force, also claims that this question had not been discussed. “We haven’t discussed the matter in the defense forces, and I’m not aware of any related assignments from the Ministry of Defense,” Keränen told HS by email. “I understand that the prime minister also meant a possible later examination of the matter when the Hornets are leaving.”

Antti Kaikkonen, the Minister of Defense, says that the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters supply to Ukraine will be “a complicated task in the coming years” because Finland needs them as well.

Finland has 55 F/A-18C Hornet multirole fighters. It was also announced that Finland was going to buy 64 Block 4 F-35A fighters to replace the Hornet fighters in 2021. Furthermore, first F-35A fighters are going to be delivered in 2026 and the F/A-18 Hornet fighters are going to be decommissioned in 2028-2030.

Finland has ordered 64 state-of-the-art F-35 fighters from the US to replace the old fighters, and they should be delivered by 2026. The first F-35 fighters will enter service with the Finnish Air Force in 2025 given the personnel training in the United States. Decommissioning of the F/A-18 Hornet had been planned to begin in 2025.

Finnish Member of Parliament Jari Ronkainen from the Finns Party, criticized Prime Minister Sanna Marin's announcement on Hornet fighter jets during her recent visit to Ukraine. Ronkainen, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Defense Committee, expressed his surprise at Marin's comments on the donation of Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine during a press conference. Finland currently has 62 F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, which are set to be retired by 2025.

"It has been reported that the Prime Minister's statement during her trip came as a surprise not only to the President of the Republic but also to the Minister of Defense. In addition, she has hardly discussed the matter beforehand with the Commander of the Defense Forces. Bypassing foreign and security policy bodies and expressing personal opinions, which can be easily interpreted abroad as Finland's position, was thoughtless on the part of the Prime Minister," Ronkainen explained.

"The Hornets are a significant part of Finland's defense capabilities until the end of their life cycle. We cannot promise them to anyone without considering Finland's own defense capabilities or even the operational capability of the Hornets at the end of their life cycle. The Prime Minister cannot make such a decision without consulting experts first," Ronkainen said.

Finnish Member of Parliament Mikko Kärnä expressed his disappointment at Marin's promise to donate Finland's Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine without consulting with other members of the government or the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defense Forces. "Hornets, on the other hand, would be a bad idea for many reasons. Firstly, we need them until 2026 to secure our own air defense, and secondly, they would be worn-out equipment by then. Thirdly, I sincerely hope that the war will be over by then, with Ukraine victorious over the Russians. Marin's statement was a brazen and thoughtless election stunt," Kärnä said.

F/A-18 to Ukraine -

Albanese Government delayed the delivery of further assistance to Ukraine, despite urgent calls for support. Australian authorities are discussing the possibility of transferring 41 decommissioned Australian Air Force F-18 Hornet fighters to Ukraine by 13 July 2023. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who also holds the post of Minister of Defense of the country, called the issue of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine difficult, but assured that Canberra continues to discuss possible deliveries with Kiev. The minister said this on Thursday in an interview with ABC Radio National. “There is a dialogue on how we can support them in the best possible way, and the various announcements that have been made since we came to government indicate that the situation around aircraft is quite difficult. We will continue discussions with Ukraine,” the head of the Australian Ministry of Defense. The challenges, Marles said, are issues of technology, "timeliness" and "platform operation." "The issue of aircraft becomes much more complicated when these factors are taken into account," he said. "A fruitful and important discussion continues between us and Ukraine. But the end result of this discussion should be practical and timely proposals that will make it possible to change the situation for the better," the minister added.