F/A-18 Hornet
Two United States Navy F/A-18 Hornets prepare to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman. The nearest aircraft has folded its wingtips.
Specifications for C and D Models
Description
Role	Multi-role fighter and attack
Crew	1 (A/C), 2 (B/D)
Cost per unit	$29 million
Dimensions
Length	56 ft	16.8 m
Wingspan	40 ft 5 in	13.5 m
Height	15 ft 4 in	4.6 m
Wing area	300 ft²	27.87 m²
Weights
Empty	18,238 lb	8,273 kg
Loaded	27,350 lb	12,406 kg
Maximum take-off	51,900 lb	23,537 kg
Powerplant
Engines	Two General Electric F404-GE-402 enhanced performance turbofans
Thrust	17,700 lbf	79 kN
Performance
Maximum speed	Mach 1.7+
Fighter range	1,379 nm	2,537 km
Attack range	1,333 nm	2,453 km
Ferry range	> 1,546 nm	> 2,844 km
Service ceiling	50,000+ ft	15,000 m
Rate of climb
Armament
Internal	1 M61 Vulcan 20mm cannon
External	AIM-9 Sidewinder AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-84 Harpoon AGM-88 HARM, Shrike, SLAM, SLAM-ER, Walleye, Maverick Missles, Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW), Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), various general purpose bombs and rockets

The F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft.

The original single-seat F/A-18 Hornet was the United States's first strike-fighter. It was designed for traditional strike applications such as interdiction and close air support without compromising its fighter capabilities. In its attack mode, it is used for force projection, interdiction and close and deep air support. In its fighter mode, the F/A-18 is used primarily as a fighter escort and for fleet air defense, supplementing the F-14 Tomcat. F/A-18 Hornets were flown by the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels Flight Demonstration Squadron beginning in 1986.

The F/A-18 demonstrated its capabilities and versatility during Operation Desert Storm, shooting down enemy fighters and subsequently bombing enemy targets with the same aircraft on the same mission, and breaking all records for tactical aircraft in availability, reliability, and maintainability. The aircraft's survivability was proven by Hornets taking direct hits from surface-to-air missiles, recovering successfully, being repaired quickly, and flying again the next day.

The F/A-18 is a twin engine, mid-wing, multi-mission tactical aircraft. The F/A-18A and C are single-seat aircraft. The F/A-18B and D have two seats, space for the rear cockpit being provided by a relocation of avionic equipment and a 6% reduction in internal fuel; two-seat Hornets are otherwise fully combat-capable. The B model is used primarily for training, while the D model is the current Navy aircraft for attack, tactical air control, forward air control and reconnaissance squadrons.

The newest models, the single seat E and two-seat F Super Hornet, carry over the name and design concept of the original F/A-18, but are extensively redesigned, with a new, 30% larger airframe. The Super Hornet has a stretched fuselage and larger wings, leading-edge extensions, and horizontal tails; the GE F414 engines are a more powerful development of the F/A-18's F404; the avionics suite is upgraded but broadly similar. The E/F began when McDonnell Douglas (merged with Boeing in 1997 to become a division within The Boeing Corp.) proposed an enlarged Hornet to replace the cancelled A-12 project. (The ambitious and very expensive A-12 design was to have been a stealthy replacement for the US Navy A-6 and US Air Force attack aircraft.) Congress was unwilling to fund a "new" aircraft, however the proposed F/A-18E could be represented as a mere upgrade, and a $3.8 billion development contract was signed in December 1992. The first of the new aircraft was rolled out at McDonnell Douglas September 17, 1995, and the Super Hornet is currently in production, with two Super Hornet squadrons in the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) airwing: VFA 14 (F/A-18E) and VFA 41 (F/A-18F).

All F/A-18s can be configured quickly to perform either fighter or attack roles or both, through selected use of external equipment to accomplish specific missions. This "force multiplier" capability gives the operational commander more flexibility in employing tactical aircraft in a rapidly changing battle scenario. The fighter missions are primarily fighter escort and fleet air defense; while the attack missions are force projection, interdiction, and close and deep air support.

The F/A-18C and D models are the result of a block upgrade in 1987 incorporating provisions for employing updated missiles and jamming devices against enemy ordnance. C and D models delivered since 1989 also include an improved night attack capability.

Apart from the US Navy, US Marine Corps and NASA, F/A-18 is used by the armed forces of: Australia (Royal Australian Air Force), Kuwait (Al Quwwat Aj Jawwaiya Al Kuwaitiya), Switzerland (Kommando der Flieger und Fliegeabwehrtruppen), Finland (Suomen Ilmavoimat, F-18C/D interceptor variant), Malaysia (Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia [F-18D]), Canada (Canadian Armed Forces, designation CF-188 and CF-188B, a/k/a CF-18 Hornet), Spain (Ej�rcito del Aire, designation C.15).

Other General Characteristics, C and D models

• Contractor: Prime: McDonnell Douglas; Major Subcontractor: Northrop
  • First flight - November 1978; November 1995 (E/F models)
  • Operational - October 1983 (A/B models); September 1987 (C/D models); September 2001 (E/F models)

See also

Super Hornet, F-18 Hornet, Comparison of 2000s fighter aircraft

External links

Navy Fact File (http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/aircraft/air-fa18.html)

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