Ukraine May Get Australian F/A-18 Hornets

Australia, the U.S. and Ukraine are discussing sending 41 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornets to Kyiv.

Sources told The Australian Financial Review (AFR) that the U.S. is favorably disposed to the idea of sending F/A-18s to the battle-ravaged country.

Retired RAAF F/A-18s are sitting in a hangar at the Williamtown base outside Newcastle and unless sent to Ukraine, will either be scrapped or sold to a private sector aviation company, RAVN Aerospace, to train American pilots.

AFR said negotiations are underway, as confirmed by Australian security expert Robert Potter, who is advising the Ukrainian government, but a specific deal has not been finalized at this time.

Related news: Ukraine Requests Finland’s F/A-18 Fighters

A separate source close to the discussions said,“it made no sense to destroy perfectly good aircraft that he said could be operational within four months and used to help repel the Russian invasion.”

Australia has committed to buying 72 stealthy F-35A jets for three operational squadrons, and plans to add a fourth squadron will bring the total number of aircraft to 96.