The Canary Islands are located approximately 1,000 kilometers southwest of Spain and form a group of islands just off the Moroccan and Western Sahara coasts. The Ejército del Aire y del Espacio, or Spanish Air and Space Force, maintains several air bases on these islands. The main air base, Gando Air Base, situated on the island of Gran Canaria, serves as the home base for an operational Wing that includes a fighter squadron and two search and rescue squadrons. Gando Air Base is positioned on the east side of Gran Canaria’s airfield – Las Palmas Int. airport, which ranks as the fifth-largest airport in Spain.

Currently, Ala 46 comprises two active squadrons: one fighter squadron and one Search and Rescue (SAR) squadron. The SAR squadron, 802 Escuadrón, is equipped with the Casa CN235-100MSA Maritime Surveillance Aircraft, also known as the D4 VIGMA (Vigilancia Marítima), and the Airbus H215M helicopter. The fighter squadron, 462 Escuadrón, callsign “Halcones,” is equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet.

The Hornets assigned to 462 Escuadrón differ from the originally acquired McDonnell Douglas EF-18 Hornets currently operated with Ala 12 at Torrejón Air Base and Ala 15 at Zaragoza Air Base. The Hornets allocated to 462 Escuadrón are F/A-18A models, which have been upgraded to the F/A-18A+ standard, acquired from the surplus United States Navy (USN) inventory. When the US Navy transitioned from the F/A-18A to the F/A-18C, they transferred most surplus aircraft to the United States Marine Corps (USMC) or placed them in long-term storage or put them up for sale. The Spanish Air Force acquired a batch of twenty aircraft, delivered in 1999 to Morón Air Base.

The other Hornets in the Spanish Air Force inventory were acquired directly from the factory, initially designated as EF-18A and EF-18B models, later modified to EF-18M and EF-18BM models. The difference is visible in the arrangement of the front undercarriage of the Hornets. The F/A-18As have a catapult-compatible nose gear wheel, while the EF-18M/BMs have a different arrangement.