Wikipedia

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

1978 multi-role combat aircraft family by McDonnell Douglas

The F/A-18 Hornet (CF-18, F-18) is a fighter jet that is made by Boeing, and was originally manufactured by the McDonnell-Douglas Company. It first flew in 1978 and was introduced in 1983. Its main user is the United States Navy. It can take off from aircraft carriers because of its special design. The F/A-18 can attack land and air targets. Any aircraft which can do this is called "multi-role". The Hornet is also flown by the Blue Angels.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Flying

Variants

change

F/A-18A/B Hornet

change
 
An F/A-18B Hornet assigned to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School

The F/A-18A, single-seat variant, can employ the AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-65E Maverick,[1][2] AGM-88 HARM and the AGM-62 Walleye I/II.[3][4] The F/A-18A was also equipped with the AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk targeting pod and the AN/ASQ-173 laser spot tracker for targeting.[5] During the Gulf War, there were limited numbers of the Nite hawk for USN and USMC Hornets.[6] The F/A-18B has space for the two-seat cockpit, provided by a relocation of avionics equipment and a 6% reduction in internal fuel. Two-seat Hornets are otherwise fully combat-capable. The B-model is used primarily for training.

In 1992, the original Hughes AN/APG-65 radar was replaced with the Hughes (now Raytheon) AN/APG-73, a faster and more capable radar. A-model Hornets that have been upgraded to the AN/APG-73 and are capable of carrying the AIM-120 AMRAAM are designated F/A-18A+.

F/A-18C/D Hornet

change
 
A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C of VMFA-323, launches off the flight deck of the USS Nimitz in 2021.

The F/A-18C and D models are a better version created in 1987[7] with improved equipment and can carry new missiles such as the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile[8] and later on the AGM-84E SLAM as well as the IR version of the AGM-65 (AGM-65F).[9][5] The F/A-18C is the single-seat variant and the F/A-18D is the two-seat variant.[10]

Production of the C- and D- models stopped in 2000. The last F/A-18C was assembled in Finland and delivered to the Finnish Air Force in August 2000.[11] The last F/A-18D was delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps in August 2000.[12]

The U.S. Navy retired its F/A-18C/D in February 2019.[13] However, the USMC still retains theirs, and is in the process of upgrading their radar to APG-79(V)4 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system.

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

change
 
A VFA-11 F/A-18F Super Hornet performing evasive maneuvers during an air power demonstration above USS Harry S. Truman

The single-seat F/A-18E and two-seat F/A-18F, both officially named Super Hornet, is a very redesigned version of the original F/A-18 but have been extensively redesigned by McDonnell Douglas. It is a larger airplane with more powerful engines.[14][15][16] The Super Hornet is also operated by Australia and Kuwait.

EA-18G Growler

change

The EA-18G Growler is an electronic warfare version of the two-seat F/A-18F, which entered production in 2007. The Growler has replaced the Navy's EA-6B Prowler and carries a Naval Flight Officer as a second crewman in an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) role.[17]

Users

change

The F/A-18 is used by many countries, including the United States Navy

United States

change

The United States navy is the biggest user of the hornet. The hornet is currently only used by the United States Marine Corps, but until 2019 the U.S. Navy also had them.

The USMC currently has 143 F/A-18 hornets.

Blue Angels

change

The Blue Angels are the aerobatic team of the U.S. Navy. They use the F/A-18. Before the F/A-18 existed, they used the A-4 Skyhawk.

Australia

change

The Royal Australian Air force (RAAF) bought 57 F/A-18A and 18 F/A-18B (the b was used for training) in 1981 to replace the old Mirage III. The difference between the RAAF hornet and the US hornet is that the RAAF removed the carrier Capabilities, because Australia doesn't have any aircraft carriers big enough to fit the plane.

Armament

change

The hornet can carry a lot of bombs, missiles, rockets and guns. It can also carry pods, pods give the aircraft more options, the Litening targeting pod,for example, lets the pilot see the ground and guide bombs to the target.

Bombs

change

B81 and B83 nuclear bombs

Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM)

Paveway laser guided bombs (the bombs are guided by the targeting pod)

Mk80 bombs general purpose

CBU100 cluster bomb

Rockets

change

2.75 in (70 mm) Hydra 70 rockets

5 in (127.0 mm) Zuni rockets

Missiles

change

Air to Air

change

Aim-120 AMRAAM

Aim-9 Sidewinder

Aim-132 ASRAAM

Iris-T

Aim-7 Sparrow

Air to Ground

change

AGM-65 Maverick

AGM-88 HARM

AGM-164 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)

Taurus Cruise Missile

Anti Ship
change

AGM-84 Harpoon

change

References

change

Citations

change
  1. ↑ Decal Information from Twobobs 48-034 - F/A-18A VFA-97 Thoroughbred Warhawks!!, Part II. Twobobs Aviation Graphics. 2002.
  2. ↑ "F/A-18A Hornet of VFA-97 with AGM-65". 1998–2002. Archived from the original on 22 October 2004. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  3. ↑ "VFA-195 Dambusters Strike Fighter Squadron F/A-18E Super Hornet". Seaforces.org. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  4. ↑ Chang, Edward (10 November 2018). "Why the F/A-18C Hornet Was Truly One of a Kind". The National Interest. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "[1.0] McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A/B & F/A-18C/D". Airvectors.net. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "F/A-18A/C/D "Hornet"/CF-188A "Hornet"". Dstorm.eu. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "F/A-18 Hornet Milestones." Boeing. Retrieved: 17 March 2007. Archived 21 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "F/A-18 Hornet." Archived 8 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved: 4 July 2008.
  9. ↑ Navy Training Plan for the AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile (SLAM) - A-50-8813B/A - MAY 1996 (PDF). United States Navy. 1996. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 November 2021.
  10. ↑ Jenkins 2000, pp. 64–66.
  11. ↑ Senior 2003, p. 33.
  12. ↑ Senior 2003, p. 37.
  13. ↑ Reim, Garrett (6 February 2019). "Pictures: US Navy retires last of legacy F/A-18 Hornets". Flight Global. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  14. ↑ "Aerospaceweb.org - Ask Us - F-18E/F Rhino". Aerospaceweb.org. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "F/A-18 Super Hornet/Rhino". aero-pix.com. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "F/A-18E/F Rhino Breaks Speed of Sound". Military.com. 31 December 2014. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  17. ↑ U.S. Navy (2 December 2009), EA-18G achieves Initial Operational Capability, archived from the original on 8 January 2016

Books

change
  • Jenkins, Dennis R. F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. ISBN 978-0-07-134696-2.
  • Senior, Tim. "F/A-18 Hornet, The AirForces Monthly book". AirForces Monthly, 2003. ISBN 978-0-946219-69-8.
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=McDonnell_Douglas_F/A-18_Hornet&oldid=10191291"