F-18s on NATO Libya mission to come home

Four F-18 fighter jets that were sent to Libya as part of the NATO operation mission in March will return home on Saturday, Defense Minister Carme Chacón said Wednesday.

The minister made the announcement at the Armed Forces Day parade and comes on the same day that EL PAÍS reported that the Defense Ministry is facing a growing financial crisis to meet repayments on its armament programs.

Chacón addressed Spanish troops serving overseas in different missions through a video conference.

According to military sources, the decision to call back the fighter jets was based on both operational and economic reasons. During the first months of the conflict, the Spanish F-18s were assigned to patrol Libyan airspace to ensure that Colonel Gaddafi's forces would not use their own air might against the rebels. They were flying out of the Italian air base at Decimomannu, Sardinia.

After the Libyan air force was grounded, the Spanish fighters then began escorting other NATO jets, especially those of the British and French air forces. But with the advance of the Libyan rebels, the jets are now reduced from flying 300 hours per month to 100.

The price of keeping the jets airborne as part of the NATO force was also costing Madrid some 14.4 million euros a month. The F-18s will still remain on stand-by in Spanish territory in case they need to be recalled to Libya.

Chacón said that the decision to call back the jets was made in conjunction with the rest of Spain's NATO allies.

As opposed to previous parades of the last eight years, the traditional annual booing by spectators of Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero didn't mar the festivities. Organizers ensured that King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía along with Zapatero sat far away from parade-goers.