Spain - Typhoons and F-35's to replace Hornets?

[ricnunes]

By the way, what happened to your other post/article (the longer one)?

Note that you should always post excerpts from articles, not the entire article unless it is copyright free. I usually shorten them myself, if it is a good article from a reputable source.

Thanks for the heads up, Lieven!

[sharon_11]

As Alternatives to the F-35B Are Evaluated, the Spanish Navy’s AV-8B+ Harrier Attack Aircraft Could Remain in Service Beyond 2030 https://share.google/P3vIYBNlxOcNu4p5y


Spain may buy a traditional CATOBAR carrier. I am assuming that they would buy the Rafael.
Hmm Im not sure where the spanish are going with this. They say that they are angry at Trump for demanding that they raise spending. So to punish the U.S. they cancel the F-35B order and buy more expensive carrier and pkanes.

[ricnunes]

Yes, the current Spanish government is beyond pathetic!
They also announced that they will cancel military contracts with Israel and retire their Israeli made equipment which is composed by the SPIKE missile which is their main Anti-Tank guided missile (including variants launched by Eurocopter Tiger helicopters besides the portable ones) and the IAI Searcher drone which I believe is their main longer ranged surveillance drone.

And I repeat, Spain won't buy a CATOBAR carriers. I really, really doubt it.

[Corsair1963]

If the current Spanish Government stays in power short term. My guess is they will acquire some ex-Harriers from Italy as a stopgap. Just to hold off any decision on canceling Naval Aviation.

[optimist]

Yes, the current Spanish government is beyond pathetic!
And I repeat, Spain won't buy a CATOBAR carriers. I really, really doubt it.

Agreed and I think, like Australia, they will discontinue Naval fighters, They announced the Spanish production C-295 ASW, Short range without A2A refueling capability, Will do what's required, There is no expeditionary requirement, so we can forget about CATOBAR, They aren't going to spend the money on air and sea assets to support it, It was just someone making noise, If the FCAS falls over they could get some F-35A

[hornetfinn]

I think they might actually copy the Turkish TCG Anadolu, which is basically Juan Carlos I but equipped with just helos and drones. It could still use F-35Bs in the future but could also be used only as a carrier of drones like Bayraktar Kızılelma and helos. Spain already just decided to buy the TAI Hürjet trainer aircraft, so they might be willing to go for other Turkish products maybe. IMO, that route would be stupid choice over USA and US products like F-35B, but Spanish government might just do it.

[optimist]

As you would know, Australia has "Carlos" (2 ) as LHD, troop and material transport, To run a decent sized UAV fleet, You would have to clear the deck of helicopters and vica-versa, It would be a CONOPS headache, I would think you would prioritise one or have VTOL UAV

[hornetfinn]

As you would know, Australia has "Carlos" (2 ) as LHD, troop and material transport, To run a decent sized UAV fleet, You would have to clear the deck of helicopters and vica-versa, It would be a CONOPS headache, I would think you would prioritise one or have VTOL UAV

Very good point and I totally agree. One would be to have two such vessels, one for large fixed wing UAVs and another for helos and VTOL UAVs. The first one would be used for long range strike missions most likely and the second one as actual amphibious assault ship landing troops. It could possibly also be used to hunt submarines.

[optimist]

Very good point and I totally agree. One would be to have two such vessels, one for large fixed wing UAVs and another for helos and VTOL UAVs. The first one would be used for long range strike missions most likely and the second one as actual amphibious assault ship landing troops. It could possibly also be used to hunt submarines.

Then it could also make sense to run the F-35B, with stol UAV and the support assets you would need, You just made a significant cost increase
As you would know, You would need more than two to have two active, Australia's (2, ideally 3) are fully committed to provide (1) LHD and transport,
Turkey's (1) doesn't have a F-35b option at this stage
Spanish (1) has the option, but I question their intent to run naval fighters, They aren't setting up the support infrastructure, the C-295 is just one example
Murphy's law says that the single anything, would be out of service when it was needed, but they do look good for PR and national pride

[falcon.16]

I'm reading a lot of nonsense. I'm Spanish and I know what's going on. The current left-wing government is going from crisis to crisis, and the F-35 is just a smokescreen. In fact, the defense minister soon said that it wasn't true that the F-35 had been ruled out, but that now was not the time to consider it.

This current government has little time left, 1 or 2 years at most. The next one will buy the only option that makes sense, in fact, that's what they have said in other words.

F-35B for the Navy and F-35A for the EdA. The FCAS will replace the first batch of Typhoons.

The Catobar project is just a feasibility study commissioned by the Armada, but with the goal of ruling out anything other than the F-35B + Skyjump aircraft carrier. Armada wants 2 aircraft carriers on next future.

[Corsair1963]

Yes, the current Spanish government is beyond pathetic!
And I repeat, Spain won't buy a CATOBAR carriers. I really, really doubt it.

Agreed and I think, like Australia, they will discontinue Naval fighters, They announced the Spanish production C-295 ASW, Short range without A2A refueling capability, Will do what's required, There is no expeditionary requirement, so we can forget about CATOBAR, They aren't going to spend the money on air and sea assets to support it, It was just someone making noise, If the FCAS falls over they could get some F-35A

I honestly doubt Spain will give up on manned Naval Aviation. As for Australia, I wouldn't rule out the F-35B for the RAN.