Australia has 46 F/A-18 Hornet fighters that could help Ukraine and are in danger of being destroyed

The Royal Australian Air Force has several dozen fourth-generation F/A-18 Hornet fighters on its books. They could have been a great gift for Ukraine, but are in danger of being scrapped.

Here's What We Know

Australia has 46 mothballed F/A-18 Hornet aircraft. They were retired last year following the arrival of the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jets.

Australia wanted to sell the planes to an American company, which trains and educates pilots, a year before they were retired. If the deal is not signed, the Royal Australian Air Force will simply scrap the fighters, which could help the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the war against the Russian Federation.

The strength of the F/A-18s is that they have been upgraded to A++ level. The fighters are equipped with AN/APG-73 radar. They can carry AGM-158 JASSM, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-132 ASRAAM, Harpoon missiles as well as JDAM, JDAM-ER and Paveway II bombs.

F/A-18 Hornets arrived in Australia in the second half of the 1980s. They were used on land bases while designed for operation on aircraft carriers. In the 1990s the RAF reduced the use of aircraft because of a shortage of pilots.

Australia is not the only country with F/A-18 Hornet fighters in service. But only Spain is considering scrapping them. Canada, Finland and Sweden have plans to use the planes for several years, until they begin receiving orders for the F-35 Lightning II.

Source: The War Zone