The Airbus S-17 (NATO reporting name: Spartan) is an interceptor jet fighter produced by French aerospace and defense conglomerate Airbus for the Air Command, taking its first flight in 1970, and assuming active service in 1973. At the time of its production regarded as the most advanced and lethal interceptor to ever take flight, it became a staple of both French and CIC air forces in the 1970's and 1980's, serving as a cheap but efficient defensive plane. In 1978, the French Defense Ministry approved to sale of 2,000 S-17s to the Brazilian Air Force, and subsequently the plane was studied and improved upon by the Americans in the wake of the Brazilian War, who developed a more advanced multirole fighter in the F-18 Hornet in the late 1980's.