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Operator profile / Europe

Spain: half a century of training fighter pilots

Spanish-built Freedom Fighters have been teaching jet pilots at Talavera la Real since 1970, one of the last places in Europe you can still see an F-5 fly.

VariantsSF-5A, SF-5B, SRF-5A; upgraded F-5M
Built by CASA70[4]
First arrived12 November 1970[1]
HomeAla 23, Talavera la Real[1]
A two-seat SF-5M trainer on a sunny ramp with pilots walking away
Original illustration A two-seat SF-5M on a hot Extremadura morning. Talavera la Real is where Spain trains its fighter pilots on the F-5. Painted for this site; it sets the scene and is not evidence of real markings.

Built by CASA

Spain built its F-5s at home. Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) produced them under a licence agreement with Northrop, signed in the 1960s, building 70 in all.[3][4] Spanish versions carried their own designations: the single-seat SF-5A, the two-seat SF-5B and the SRF-5A reconnaissance jet, Spanish-built counterparts of the F-5A, F-5B and RF-5A.

Talavera la Real

The first F-5s arrived at Talavera la Real air base on 12 November 1970, joining the jet school that became today's Ala 23, the fighter and attack school.[1][2] That is where Spanish fighter pilots still learn to fly fast jets, after finishing at the Air Force Academy.[3] The F-5 has logged more than 300,000 flight hours there.[2]

50

Fifty years and counting

To mark 50 years on 12 November 2020, Ala 23 painted SF-5M AE.9-10/23-04 with a special tail: a gold 50 and the F-5's outline over the Spanish flag colours.[1][5]

The F-5M and what comes next

The surviving jets were modernised as F-5Ms.[4] A new jet trainer, the Hürjet, is on order to replace the F-5.[1][4] Until then, Ala 23 remains one of the few places in Europe still flying the F-5 daily.[3]

The Hürjet takes over

After years of extensions, Spain picked its F-5 replacement. In September 2025 the government approved buying up to 45 Turkish-designed Hürjet trainers to replace the 19 remaining F-5Ms.[7] A contract for the first 30, led by Airbus, followed in December 2025, making Spain the Hürjet's first customer outside Turkey.[6][8] The new jets are due from 2028 and will be based at Talavera la Real, so the F-5's last Spanish home will also be the first for its successor.[6][8] In May 2026, with the end in sight, Ala 23 marked 300,000 hours on the F-5.[6]

Last updated

Sources

  1. The Aviationist | The F-5 reaches 50 years of service in the Spanish Air Force (2020)
  2. Militär Aktuell | Spanish F-5s celebrate 300,000 flight hours
  3. Aviation Photo Digest | Spanish Air Force Ala 23 (2019)
  4. AeroCorner | Spanish Air Force overview
  5. Scramble | Spanish Air Force 50 years SF-5 operations
  6. Spain's air force in 2026, AeroCorner
  7. Spain approves procurement of 45 Hürjets, The Aviationist (2025)
  8. Spain signs for 30 TAI Hürjet trainers, FlightGlobal
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