Project Halcón: Green light for the replacement of Canaria´s Hornets with Eurofighters

Yesterday, the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government authorized the funds to execute the Halcón Project, which aims to replace the EF-18A Hornets equipping the 46th Wing based in Gando (Gran Canaria) with new Eurofighters.

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As we reported in July 2020, Airbus Defence had approached the Spanish Government with a proposal, under the name of Project Halcón (Hawk), to replace the aging Hornets operating from the very strategic Gando air base (off the coasts of Morocco and Western Sahara) with new build Eurofighters.

Specifically, the proposal is for 20 EF-2000 Eurofighter, of a Tranche 3+ or 4, for an amount of around €2000 million. Airbus’ offer to Spain is very similar to the German Quadriga Project (for 38 aircraft to replace the German Tranche 1).

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Once delivered, these 20 aircraft will be the most modern and capable fighters of the Spanish Air Force (EdA), since, like the German Typhoons, they will be equipped with an AESA radar, the E-Scan or European Common Radar System MK. 1 or ECRS MK1 (developed on the basis of the ECRS Mk0 of the Kuwaiti Eurofighter).

Although the «Project Halcón» and «Project Quadriga» aircraft are almost identical, the Air Force requested certain specific capabilities that are now available on the Hornets, which operate from the Canary Islands.  The aim is probably to optimize these Eurofighters for operations over the ocean. In particular, they should have full anti-ship capability (perhaps using the existing US Harpoon missiles or a newer missile model) and the obligatory anti-corrosion treatment against salty air, mandatory for all aircraft operating over the seas on a recurrent basis.

According to earlier reports, if the purchase contract is signed by the end of the month or early next year, the first deliveries are expected to take place from 2025 and continue until 2030.