What future holds for Spanish Navy fighter fleet? Harrier is at sunset, no plans for F-35B

Spanish Navy Harrier jump jet in Beast Mode configuration.

Spain will soon have to make a major decision regarding the future of the Armada (Spanish Navy), as its Harrier jump jets are nearing retirement. Madrid will have to quickly decide whether to allow the Navy to continue operating a fixed-wing fleet or only helicopters.

In 2016, the Admiral Chief of Naval Staff, Jaime Muñoz-Delgado, said the AV-8B is expected to end its operational life between 2025 and 2027 and the market offers a unique STOVL option, the F -35B. However, the Spanish Defense can not currently proceed with Lockheed Martin's platform because of the tight budget. The price of a Marines F-35B is set at $115.5 million.

Today the Spanish Navy has a fixed-wing fleet composed of 12 AV-8B Harrier II Plus introduced almost 35 years ago. In November 2014, the Ministry of Defense extended the agreement to support the Harrier program following investment approval of € 47.6 million ($ 54.1 million) between 2014 and 2024.

The Spanish Defense Minister had previously considered a joint strategy between the Spanish Air Force and Navy, which envisioned replacing the Harrier and F-18 Hornet aircraft with F-35s. The plan was to purchase a larger package of Lightning IIs to obtain a more favorable price. However, Madrid subsequently chose to replace the Hornets with Eurofighters, leaving the Navy with little hope. According to some Spanish analysts, the Armada will continue to operate only with a rotary-wing fleet. Meanwhile, it has already started purchasing new helicopters, as confirmed by the NH-90 deal.

The Italian Defense had to face the same problem a few years ago and, as is well known, it has chosen to introduce the F-35B.

Written by Matteo Sanzani