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Ukraine is furious with the cancellation of donations of used fighter jets from Australia. The offer of 41 retired F/A-18 Hornet aircraft was deemed "junk" by Ukrainian Air Force officials, according to a report by the Australian Financial Review (AFR). Reportedly, Canberra wants to immediately "throw away" the plane because it is outdated.
This donation discourse emerged in March 2023, following the green light from US President Joe Biden at the G7 Japan Summit for Western allies to send US-made fourth generation fighter jets to Ukraine. However, when asked to make a formal request, unnamed Ukrainian Air Force officials described the plane as "junk" that Australia wanted to scrap.
"He called it 'flying trash,'" said the defense contractor, reported by AFR. "That basically buries the F/A-18 deal. Otherwise, those planes would probably be flying over Ukraine by now."
Ukraine is currently negotiating with several Western countries to receive F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands offered financial donations for the Ukrainian war, while other countries offered pilot training.
Even though they are both fourth-generation fighter jets, the heavier F/A-18 Hornet has different maintenance, ammunition and training infrastructure requirements than the F-16. It is feared that this difference will be an obstacle, considering that Ukrainian pilots are used to Soviet model aircraft.
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