How many fighter jets does Spain have?

The backbone of Spain's fighter fleet rests on two models. The Eurofighter Typhoon equips Ala 11 (Morón) and Ala 14 (Albacete): of the 73 aircraft delivered between 2003 and 2020, around 70 remain after two losses in accidents. The F/A-18 Hornet, in service since 1986, comprises two fleets: the modernized EF-18M of Ala 12 (Torrejón) and Ala 15 (Zaragoza), about 65 aircraft, and the roughly twenty second-hand F/A-18A+ of Ala 46 at Gando (Canary Islands). The latter are the oldest and first in line for replacement.

The Navy maintains the country's only fixed-wing carrier aviation with the AV-8B Harrier II Plus of the 9th Squadron, about eleven aircraft operating from the ship Juan Carlos I. Their retirement is expected around 2030 and there is still no decided replacement, since Spain has not purchased the F-35B, the only short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing fighter currently available on the market.

The replacement of the Hornets has been entrusted to the Eurofighter itself: the Halcón I program (20 aircraft, 2022 contract) will replace the Canary Islands' F/A-18A+, and Halcón II (25 aircraft, 2023 contract) will replace the first EF-18M. Both batches belong to Tranche 4, with ECRS Mk1 electronically scanned radar, and their deliveries extend to the end of the decade. With them, the Eurofighter fleet will reach around 115 aircraft and the total number of fighters will remain at around a hundred and fifty, pending the FCAS, the European sixth-generation fighter planned for the 2040s, which will begin replacing the whole fleet.