Would Australian F-18s arrive in Ukraine faster and be better than F-16s?

By Maya Carlin

Reports from Australia are stating that the U.S. and Australia are contemplating delivering 41 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets to Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been requesting advanced Western jets since the onset of the war. While the Biden administration has resisted green-lighting the request for many months, the U.S. shifted its position during the G7 summit in early May.

Video Above: Maj. Gen. Pringle Manned-Unmanned Teaming

A Congressional Research Service report released in March laid out the aerial capabilities that Kyiv lacks. Air superiority, intelligence, suppression of air defenses, and ground attack roles were identified as facets that need improvement.

The likely shipment of Western fighter platforms like the F/A-18 Hornet would fill these gaps in Ukraine’s aerial capabilities.

F-16 Urgency

For more than 15 months, the U.S. has incrementally increased military aid provisions to Kyiv. The White House initially denied requests for Patriot missile defense systems, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, and M1 Abrams main battle tanks.