Spain’s government has indicated that the Spanish Air and Space Force’s F-18 fleet could remain in service until as late as 2040, a sign that Madrid is preparing to keep at least some of its legacy fighters flying longer than previously expected.
In a written parliamentary reply dated February 23, 2026, the government said that extending the F-18’s service life to “2035-2040” would require adapting the aircraft’s sustainment system so the fleet can be supported until retirement while maintaining both operability and safety.
The reply also makes clear that this will come at a cost. According to the government, the maintenance plan for the aircraft’s avionics subsystems will need to be adjusted to address the expected obsolescence of avionics maintenance benches, resulting in longer maintenance times and support activities that are “more costly and complex.”
The document does not announce a new fighter acquisition program. Instead, it suggests Spain is focused, at least for now, on extending the viability of its existing F-18 fleet initially due to retire by 2030.
Eurofighter to cover part of the gap
In August 2025, Spain effectively ruled out acquiring the Lockheed Martin F-35 in the near term, suspending talks with the US and prioritizing European defense programs instead.
That decision narrowed the options for replacing older EF-18 Hornets in the Spanish Air and Space Force and, perhaps more critically, left the Spanish Navy without a clear successor to its AV-8B Harrier II fleet deployed on the amphibious assault ship Juan Carlos I.
At the same time, Madrid has already moved ahead with part of its combat fleet renewal. In December 2024, Spain signed for 25 additional Eurofighters under the Halcon II program, a purchase Airbus said would replace part of the F-18 fleet and bring Spain’s Eurofighter inventory to 115 aircraft.
FCAS, the long-term question
That leaves Madrid looking to FCAS, the Future Combat Air System involving France, Germany, and Spain, as its main long-term option.
But the program itself remains stalled by the dispute between Dassault and Airbus over control of the next development phase. Following talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, France and Germany set a mid-April 2026 deadline to try to break the deadlock ahead of decisions on the German federal budget.