Kyiv eyes Aussie Hornets but no official request yet

Ukraine’s top diplomat in Australia has written to the Department of Defence seeking technical information on the RAAF’s retired F/A-18 Hornets in a sign Kyiv is actively considering purchasing the jets.

A RAAF F/A-18A Hornet from No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit, launches for a sortie out of RAAF Base Darwin during Exercise Diamond Storm.

Ukraine’s top diplomat in Australia has written to the Defence Department seeking technical information on the RAAF’s retired F/A-18 Hornets in a sign Kyiv is actively considering purchasing the jets.

Ukrainian Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko told The Australian he had been tasked by Ukraine’s Defence Minister to find out more about the aircraft, including their condition and flying hours, the availability of weapons and spare parts for the jets, and whether dedicated flight simulators were also available.

“We have made a request for information on the technical characteristics and operability of the aircraft to see if they are fit for Ukraine,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.

But he cautioned that Ukraine was yet to make an official request for the aircraft, saying “we are at the very early stages of studying this opportunity”.

The move came as Anthony Albanese defended his government’s support for Ukraine amid calls for the government to provide Kyiv with Hawkei tactical four-wheel drives, Abrams tanks and more Bushmaster tactical vehicles.

But the Prime Minister incorrectly claimed Australia’s slow progress in supplying promised Bushmasters to Ukraine was because “they’re being built”.

The army has about 1000 of the vehicles, although 78 more are being built by Thales Australia at its Bendigo plant to replace those gifted to Ukraine.

It’s understood about 80 of a promised 90 Bushmasters have been so far delivered, but Defence officials have refused to confirm the exact number claiming it could place the shipments at risk.

Mr Albanese is not expected to unveil a fresh package of support for Kyiv until he attends the NATO summit in Lithuania next month.

“We are working consistently, along with the Department of Defence, to see what we can do to add further support to Ukraine,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday.

Mr Myroshnychenko’s request for information on the Hornets follows a call by US company RAVN, which owns the rights to purchase 41 of the aircraft, for Australia to approve its bid to on-sell the jets to Ukraine.

Talks are also believed to be underway between Kyiv and Washington DC, which would need to agree to the transfer under US arms trafficking laws.

In a report on Thursday, US defence website The War Zone quoted an unnamed US official saying the Biden administration would be open to transferring the aircraft to Ukraine if Australia requested it.

The White House had “certainly heard about the idea, but we have not been approached by the Australians”, the official said.

Australian cybersecurity expert Robert Potter is currently in Ukraine trying to broker the deal, on the basis that it would be a commercial transaction between RAVN and Ukraine paid for by Kyiv’s global fundraising arm Ukraine24.

Senior Albanese government members have been briefed on the proposal but sources close to Defence Minister Richard Marles have so far sought to play down the prospects of the deal coming off.

A source connected to the proposed sale said there was a “high stakes poker game” currently underway over the future of the aircraft.

The fourth generation jets are said to be among the best preserved Hornets in the world. Unlike US-owned models, they have never been landed on aircraft carriers, and were maintained to the highest standards by the RAAF.

RAVN had placed a deposit on the aircraft, intending to use them as “enemy” jets in training for US military pilots. But the company is understood to no longer require the aircraft, leaving them at risk of being scrapped.

Supporters of the proposed sale argue destroying the jets would be a travesty when they could be use by Ukraine in its war against Russia.