F/A-18 Hornet Totally Explained

Everything about F A-18 Hornet totally explained

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a modern all-weather carrier-capable strike fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. Designed in the 1970s for service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, the Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels since 1986. Its primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), interdiction, close air support and reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload compared to its contemporaries.

Development

Origins

Development of the F/A-18 came as a result of the U.S. Navy's Naval Fighter-Attack, Experimental (VFAX) program to procure a multirole aircraft to replace the A-4 Skyhawk, the A-7 Corsair II, remaining F-4 Phantom IIs and to complement the F-14 Tomcat. Vice Admiral Kent Lee, then head of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), was the lead advocate for the VFAX against strong opposition from many Navy officers, including Vice Admiral William D. Houser, deputy chief of naval operations for air warfare - the highest ranking naval aviator.
   In August 1973, congress mandated that the Navy pursue a lower-cost alternative to the F-14. Grumman proposed a stripped F-14 designated the F-14X, while McDonnell Douglas proposed a navalized F-15, but both were nearly as expensive as the F-14. That summer, Secretary of Defense Schlesinger ordered the Navy to evaluate the competitors in the Air Force's Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program, the General Dynamics YF-16 and Northrop YF-17. The Air Force competition specified a day fighter with no strike capability. In May 1974, the House Armed Services Committee redirected $34 million from the VFAX to a new program, the Navy Air Combat Fighter (NACF), To meet Navy range and reserves requirements, McDonnell increased fuel capacity by, with the enlargement of the dorsal spine and the addition of a 96 gallon fuel cell to each wing (the YF-17 had dry wings). Most visibly, a "snag" was added to the leading edge of the wings and stabilators to prevent a flutter discovered in the F-15 stabilator. The wings and stabilators were enlarged, the aft fuselage widened by, and the engines canted outward at the front. These changes added to the gross weight, bringing it to . The computer-assisted control system of the YF-17 was replaced with a wholly digital fly-by-wire system with quadruple-redundancy, the first to be installed in a production fighter.
   The partnership between the McDonnell Douglas and Northrop soured over competition for foreign sales for the two models. Northrop felt that McDonnell Douglas would put the F/A-18 in direct competition with the F-18L. In October 1979, Northrop filed a series of lawsuits charging that McDonnell was using Northrop technology developed for the F-18L for foreign sales in violation of their agreement, and asked for a moratorium on foreign sales of the Hornet via McDonnell Douglas. The case was resolved in 1985 when McDonnell agreed to pay Northrop $50 million for complete rights to the design, without any admission of wrongdoing. By then Northrop had ceased work on the F-18L, and most export orders were captured by the F-16 or the F/A-18. F/A-18 stabilators were also used as canards on NASA's F-15S/MTD.
   The Hornet was among the first aircraft to heavily utilize multi-function displays, which at the switch of a button allow the pilot to perform either fighter or attack roles or both. This "force multiplier" capability gives the operational commander more flexibility in employing tactical aircraft in a rapidly changing battle scenario. It was the first Navy aircraft to incorporate a digital multiplex avionics bus, enabling easy upgrades.
   The Hornet is also notable for having been designed with maintenance in mind, and as a result has required far less downtime than its heavier counterparts, the F-14 Tomcat and the A-6 Intruder. Its mean time between failure is three times greater than any other Navy strike aircraft, and requires half the maintenance time. in blue-on-white colors marked with "Navy" on the left and "Marines" on the right. Its first flight was on 18 November. In all, nine F/A-18As and two F/A-18Bs were assigned to flight systems development.
   Following trials and operational testing by VX-4 and VX-5, Hornets began to fill the Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS) VFA-125, VFA-106, and VMFAT-101, where pilots are introduced to the F/A-18. The Hornet entered operational service with Marine Corps squadron VMFA-314 at MCAS El Toro on 7 January 1983,

Gulf war

Two U.S. Navy F/A-18s were destroyed, with the loss of their pilots, during the Gulf War. On the first day of the war, U.S. Navy pilots Lieutenant Nick Mongilio and Lieutenant Commander (now Rear Admiral) Mark Fox were sent from the USS Saratoga in the Red Sea to bomb an airfield in southwestern Iraq. While enroute, they were warned by an E-2C of approaching MiG-21 aircraft. The Hornets shot down two MiGs and resumed their bombing run, each carrying four 2,000 lb bombs, before returning to Saratoga. Mongilio and Fox become the first pilots to register air-to-air kills while still completing their original air-to-ground mission.

Balkans and Iraq

Both U.S. Navy F/A-18A/C models and Marine F/A-18A/C/D models were used continuously in Operation Southern Watch and over Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s. U.S. Navy Hornets flew in Operation Enduring Freedom from carriers operating in the North Arabian Sea. Both the F/A-18A/C and newer F/A-18E/F variants were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, operating from aircraft carriers. Later in the conflict USMC A+, C, and primarily D models operated from bases within Iraq. A F/A-18C was accidentally downed in a Friendly Fire incident by a Patriot missile early in the conflict, and two others collided over Iraq in May 2005. In January 2007, two Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets collided in mid-air and crashed in the Persian Gulf.(External Link

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Non-US service

Though Navy aircraft have not historically sold well on the export market, the F/A-18 has been purchased and is in operation with a number of foreign air services. Export Hornets are typically similar to U.S. models of a similar manufacture date. Since none of the customers operate aircraft carriers, all export models have been sold without the automatic carrier landing system, and Australia further removed the catapult attachment on the nose gear. The first F/A-18 was delivered to the RAAF on October 29 1984.
In 2001, Australia deployed four aircraft to Diego Garcia, in an air defence role, during coalition operations against the Taliban in Afghanistan. In 2003, 75 Squadron deployed 14 F/A-18s to Qatar as part of Operation Falconer.
In 2007 Australia Government decided to acquire 24 F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet multi role aircraft. At a cost of approximately $6 billion over 10 years, the acquisition of the Super Hornet will ensure the transition to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Super Hornet will be based at RAAF Base Amberley.

Canada

Canada was the first export customer for the Hornet, replacing the CF-104 Starfighter (air recce & strike, Germany), the CF-101 Voodoo (air interception, Canada) and the CF-116 Freedom Fighter (ground attack, Canada). The Canadian Forces Air Command ordered 98 A-models (Canadian designation CF-188A/CF-18A) and 40 B models (designation CF-188B/CF-18B).
In 1991, Canada committed 26 CF-18s to the Gulf War, based in Qatar. In June 1999, with 18 CF-18s were deployed to Aviano AB, Italy, and they participated in both the air-to-ground and air-to-air roles in the former Yugoslavia.
The fighters are undergoing an avionics and structural upgrade program to extend service to 2020,

Finland

The Finnish Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat) has 63 F-18C/Ds. Delivery started on June 7 1995. One fighter was destroyed in a mid-air collision in 2001.

Spain

The Spanish Air Force (Ejercito del Aire) ordered 60 EF-18A model and 12 EF-18B model Hornets(the "E" standing for "España", Spain), named respectively as C.15 and CE.15 by Spanish AF. and again in the 1990s for the later nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle, in the event that the Dassault Rafale M wasn't brought into service when originally planned. Austria, Chile, Since 1993, the AAS-38A NITE Hawk added a designator/ranger laser, allowing it to self-mark targets. The later AAS-38B added the ability to strike targets designated by lasers from other aircraft.
Production of the F/A-18C ended in 1999. In 2000, the last F/A-18D was delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps. The 57 single-seat F-18C model units were assembled by Patria in Finland.

F-18C/D Hornet

Switzerland uses F-18C/D, later Swiss specific mid-life update. The Swiss F-18s were originally without ground attack capability until hardware was retrofitted.

Operators

Royal Australian Air Force

Canadian Forces

Finnish Air Force

Kuwait Air Force

No 25 Squadron, Ali Al Salem military air base
No 4 Squadron, Ali Al Salem military air base

Royal Malaysian Air Force

Spanish Air Force

Ala de Caza 15 (15th Fighter Wing) Zaragoza AB, with 30 A+ and six B+ shared between Squadrons 151, 152 and 153
Ala de Caza 12, Torrejon AB (Squadron 121 and 122) with 30 A+ and six B+.
Ala de Caza 46, Gando AB (Canary islands), formed by Squadron 462 with 21 F-18s.

Swiss Air Force

17 Tactical Squadron, Payerne
18 Tactical Squadron, Payerne
11 Tactical Squadron, Meiringen

Popular culture

Hornets make frequent appearances in action movies and military novels. The Hornet was featured in the film Independence Day. The Hornet has a major role in Jane's US Navy Fighters (1994), Jane's Fighters Anthology (1997) and Jane's F/A-18 Simulator computer simulators.

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