The transition from the EF-18 to the Eurofighter in the Canary Islands and its most positive effects

On June 26, Wing 46 held a farewell ceremony for its old EF-18 Hornet fighters after three decades of service.

The new Eurofighters in the Canary Islands and the change in numerals in the Spanish Air Force
The delivery of the first Spanish C295W MSA for search, rescue and maritime surveillance

As we saw that same day, the EF-18 Hornet, designated C.15 by the Spanish Air Force, handed over the air defense of the Canary Islands to eight Eurofighters, a model known as C.16 in Spain. These eight aircraft come from Wing 14, based in Los Llanos (Albacete), but their arrival at Gando Air Base, in Gran Canaria, was more than just a simple flight, as it required a huge amount of planning and training.

The Fighter Community has published an interesting video today explaining all the details of this transition, with testimonies from Colonel Bayardo Abós Álvarez Buiza, head of Wing 46 until a few days ago; Lieutenant Colonel Rubén Antonio López González, head of the Air Force Group of Wing 46; and Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Ramírez García, head of the Material Group of Wing 46 (the video is in Spanish but has an English audio track, you can activate it in the player):

This is undoubtedly a nostalgic moment for Wing 46. The EF-18 is an exceptional fighter jet that still boasts high availability rates and great reliability, 40 years after entering service with the Air Force and 30 years after the first aircraft arrived at Wing 46.

However, the EF-18s in the Canary Islands, which are F/A-18As bought second-hand from the USA, could not be modernized to the level of the EF-18Ms of Wing 12 and Wing 15, so they have become outdated, especially when participating in international missions.

One of the limitations of the EF-18s in the Canary Islands has to do with their armament. In addition to their M61A1 Vulcan rotary cannon, common to the EF-18Ms of Wing 12 in Torrejón and Wing 15 in Zaragoza, the air-to-air missile capability of the EF-18s of Wing 46 was limited to already outdated models: the short-range, infrared-guided AIM-9J Sidewinder (in service since 1977) and the medium-range, semi-active radar-guided AIM-7P Sparrow (in service since 1993).

The first eight Eurofighters of Wing 46 and those expected to arrive in the next three years (a total of 20 aircraft, 18 single-seaters and 2 two-seaters, from Wing 14) are of the Tranche 3 variant, capable of using more modern and capable missiles, such as the MBDA Meteor, long-range and active radar; the AIM-120 AMRAAM, medium-range and active radar; and the AIM-2000 IRIS-T, a short-range and infrared-guided model.

In the video, Lieutenant Colonel López indicates that the 20 new Eurofighter Tranche 4 aircraft purchased by Spain in 2022 will be assigned to Wing 14, which will be the unit responsible for adapting to this variant of the advanced European fighter jet. In turn, the Tranche 3 aircraft of Wing 14 will be progressively transferred to the 462 Squadron at Gando, allowing that unit to have a mature and fully operational variant, according to the head of the Air Force Group of Wing 46.

Furthermore, in the video, Lieutenant Colonel López also points out that since 2025, the EF-18 pilots of Wing 46 have been undergoing the operational conversion course to the Eurofighter in Morón (Seville), later integrating into Wings 11 (Morón) and 14 (Albacere), equipped with that model, to gain experience in this new weapons system.

The head of the 46th Wing's Air Force Group emphasizes that the Eurofighter represents a considerable technological leap compared to the EF-18 and also implies "a new way of fighting," since "the pilot is no longer limited to operating with the platform's sensors, but becomes part of a connected tactical ecosystem, where he exchanges information with other aircraft, control systems, and allied commands, thus exponentially increasing his situational awareness."

Likewise, Lieutenant Colonel López points out that the 462 Squadron is expected to reach its initial operational capability with the Eurofighter by the end of this year, which will mean having full autonomy in the air defense of the Canary Islands without needing support from other units. Full operational capability is planned for the end of 2028 or the beginning of 2029, which will involve the complete acquisition of air-to-surface capability with these aircraft.

In the video, Lieutenant Colonel Ramírez also details the challenges of this transition for the 46th Wing's Material Group, made up of some 400 people (approximately half the personnel of Gando Air Base) and which is in charge of the maintenance of both the fighters of Group 46 (made up of the 462 Squadron) and the aircraft of Group 82, made up of the 802 Squadron, dedicated to search and rescue tasks and equipped with CN-235 VIGMA fixed-wing aircraft, AS-332 Super Puma helicopters and the new C295W MSA received on June 24.

Lieutenant Colonel Ramírez emphasizes that the transition to the Eurofighter at Wing 46 will include a simulator for this aircraft at Gando Air Base, which until now did not even have an EF-18 simulator, meaning simulations had to be conducted on the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, with two two-seaters, conversion training can also be carried out at Gando, a base that previously lacked two-seater EF-18Bs, so this training process had to be done with Wing 12 at Torrejón or Wing 15 in Zaragoza. In this way, Wing 46 gains considerable autonomy, putting it on par with the fighter wings on the Iberian Peninsula.

---

Photos: Ejército del Aire.