Spain has reiterated its demand to the aeronautical industry to comply with the contracted performance and delivery deadlines for the first Eurofighters of the Halcón 1 program. A total of 20 new fighter jets will replace the current F-18 fleet stationed at Gando air base in Gran Canaria.

This request was conveyed by the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, during the annual high-level meeting of the Multinational Eurofighter Program. The event, held in Madrid on May 20 and 21, brought together representatives from the four member nations of the program (Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom), the Netma Agency, and the companies Eurofighter GmbH, Eurojet GmbH, as well as aerospace companies like Airbus-SAU and ITP Aero.

In her speech, Valcarce highlighted the program's growing importance for Spain and asked Eurofighter and Eurojet to modernize and improve their in-service support capabilities, ensuring an agile and resilient supply chain to maintain fleet availability aligned with operational needs.

During the working sessions, Spain's interest in receiving the first aircraft of the Halcón 1 program, which incorporate the Escan active electronically scanned array radar, was emphasized. The industry has been urged to meet both the performance specifications and the established deadlines.

As confirmed by the Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Army (JEMA), General Francisco Braco, late last year, these new aircraft are expected to arrive in early 2026.

The meeting also served to discuss future program developments for the next 10 years, such as Phase Enhancement 4 (P4E) and the new Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture. These improvements aim to ensure that the Eurofighter remains a key weapon system in terms of operational capabilities and interoperability with NATO systems.

Attendees were able to visit the assembly line for the Halcón I fleet at the Airbus-SAU facilities in Getafe (Madrid).