Icicles on the wings of the Spanish EF-18M fighters of the Viespe Detachment

@DefAviation ES 2·03·2023 · 20:00 0

The Spanish Armed Forces operate, both in the national territory and abroad, in the most adverse weather conditions.

The defenders of the skies of Spain: this is the fleet of aircraft of the Spanish Air Force
The military purchases that Spain plans: MPA, MLRS and a substitute for the EF-18 and Harrier II

This ability has been demonstrated once again today with a series of photos published by the Defence Staff (EMAD). The images show some of the eight EF-18M Hornet fighters of the Air Force's 15th Wing deployed at the Feteşti Air Base, Romania, since the end of November, as part of an air tactical detachment made up of 130 soldiers and named the Viespe Detachment, on a NATO Enhanced Air Police (eAP) mission following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Two members of the Spanish Air Force together with a short-range air-to-air missile AIM-2000 IRIS-T , placed on the marginal support of the port wing of the EF-18M C.15-28 (numeral 15-15). Icicles are visible on the leading edge and trailing edge of the wing, as well as snow on the leading edge extensions, fuselage, and external fuel tank.

An impressive photo taken under the starboard wing of the EF-18M C.15-28. There are large icicles on the leading edge and also smaller icicles on the flaps. The snow on the runway gives an idea of what the snowfall these fighters endured was like.

Another image of the EF-18M C.15-28 after the snowfall in Feteşti. There are icicles even on some parts of the nose of the plane, as well as on the wings and on the lid located to the right of the numeral 15-15, next to the cockpit. Snow covers the extensions of the leading edges to the cockpit, most of the wing, a part of the fuselage and the external tank. Ice is even observed on the front landing gear rim.

Ice icicles on one of the stabilizers of the EF-18M C.15-27 (number 15-14). In this aircraft, icicles can also be seen on the starboard wing flaps.

Looking at these photos, the logical question is: Are there no hangars so that these planes don't have to be out in the open? Well, there are. On December 29, EMAD published two photos showing four EF-18M of the Viespe Detachment in separate external shelters like those also used in Spanish air bases. The question is whether there will be shelters of this type for the eight Spanish fighters deployed in Feteşti.