Ukraine’s choice: rejecting F-18s for MiG-29s – a strategic decision
The idea of gifting Ukraine with 41 retired F/A-18 Hornet fourth-generation fighters was first put forth by the Australian Defense Ministry in March 2023. This proposal came two months before the United States authorized the re-export of fighters to the Eastern European nation.
Ukraine is already slated to receive F-16 lightweight fighters from several European countries. However, the F-18 falls into a more expensive, medium-weight class of fighters. It was developed with a twin-engine setup which provides a longer range.
Interestingly, a senior official in the Ukrainian Air Force rejected the offer, referring to the planes as “airborne junk”. This information comes from a report published by the Australian Financial Review, which also states that this dismissal of the F/A-18 jeopardized the deal. If it hadn’t been for such an action, these aircraft could be patrolling Ukrainian airspace right now.
MiG-29, not F-18
Despite rejecting the F-18, Ukraine has welcomed a significant number of MiG-29 fighters from various Eastern European countries. These fighters, widely utilized in combat, are typically perceived as the F-18’s closest Eastern-bloc counterpart, produced by the former USSR and subsequently Russia.
Interestingly, the Australian F-18s and MiG-29s from Europe have notably comparable service lives. However, the MiGs come with substantial benefits, including superior climb rates, thrust-weight ratios, operational altitudes, speeds, and access to R-73 missiles with helmet-mounted sights, paving the way for high off-boresight targeting.
Upon comparison, both the MiG-29 and F-16 emerge as far more successful aircraft than the F-18. Even today, they remain in limited-scale production for export, whereas the F-18 — despite being a newer design — was discontinued 24 years ago, back in 2000.
The final F-18 Hornets in the U.S. Navy were replaced by F-16s, although a handful still serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. Something to note about the F-18 is that it’s essentially a derivative of the YF-17 design, which the U.S. Air Force turned down in 1975, favoring the F-16. The YF-17 itself drew significantly upon the design of the F-5 fighter — a model that first saw service in 1961 during the Vietnam War.
The U.S. Navy adopted the F-18 primarily due to its dual-engine design, which crucially reduced the risk of crashes — a fundamental requirement for aircraft carrier operations.
During its service history, the F-18 faced two types of foreign fighters in air-to-air combat — the Soviet MiG-21 and MiG-25, flown by the Iraqi Air Force. The F-18 emerged victorious in both encounters with the former, while it did not succeed in its lone engagement with the latter.
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