McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet J-5014 Swiss Air ForceMcDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet J-5014 Swiss Air Force

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (F/A designation for Fighter/Attack).

  • Role: Multirole fighter
  • National origin: United States
  • Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas/Boeing
  • First flight: 18 November 1978
  • Introduction: 7 January 1983
  • Status: In service
  • Number built: F/A-18A/B/C/D: 1,480
  • Developed from: Northrop YF-17
  • Variants: McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet
  • Developed into: Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing

McDonnell Douglas CF-188A Hornet (CF-18A) 188734 Canadian Air Force

Military operators F/A-18 Hornet

  • United States Navy
  • United States Marine Corps
  • Royal Australian Air Force
  • Spanish Air Force
  • Canadian Armed Forces
  • Swiss Air Force
  • Finnish Air Force
  • Kuwait Air Force
  • Royal Malaysian Air Force

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet Swiss Air Force with flare

Specifications

General characteristics

  • Crew: F/A-18C: 1, F/A-18D: 2 (pilot and weapons system officer)
  • Length: 56 ft (17.1 m)
  • Wingspan: 40 ft (12.3 m)
  • Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.7 m)
  • Wing area: 400 ft² (38 m²)
  • Airfoil: NACA 65A005 mod root, 65A003.5 mod tip
  • Empty weight: 23,000 lb (10,400 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 36,970 lb (16,770 kg)
  • Max. takeoff weight: 51,900 lb (23,500 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F404-GE-402 turbofans
    • Dry thrust: 11,000 lbf (48.9 kN) each
    • Thrust with afterburner: 17,750 lbf (79.2 kN) each
  • Fuel capacity: 10,860 pounds (4,930 kg) internally

Performance

  • Maximum speed:
    • High altitude: Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph, 1,915 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,190 m)
    • Low altitude: Mach 1.2 (915 mph, 1,473 km/h)
  • Range: 1,089 nmi (1,250 miles, 2,000 km)  with only two AIM-9s
  • Combat radius: 400 nmi (460 mi (740 km))  on air-air mission
  • Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,070 mi (3,330 km))
  • Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,240 m)
  • Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (254 m/s)
  • Wing loading: 93 lb/ft² (454 kg/m²)
  • Thrust/weight: 0.96 (1.13 with loaded weight & 50% internal fuel)

Armament

  • Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan nose mounted 6-barreled Gatling cannon, 578 rounds
  • Hardpoints: 9 total: 2× wingtips missile launch rail, 4× under-wing, and 3× under-fuselage with a capacity of 13,700 pounds (6,200 kg) external fuel and ordnance
  • Rockets: **2.75 inches (70 mm) Hydra 70 rockets
    • 5 in (127.0 mm) Zuni rockets
  • Missiles: **Air-to-air missiles:
      • 4× AIM-9 Sidewinder or 4× AIM-132 ASRAAM or 4× IRIS-T or 4× AIM-120 AMRAAM and
      • 2× AIM-7 Sparrow or 2× AIM-120 AMRAAM
    • Air-to-surface missiles:
      • AGM-65 Maverick
      • AGM-84H/K Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Range (SLAM-ER)
      • AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation missile (ARM)
      • AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)
      • AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM)
      • Taurus missile Cruise missile
    • Anti-ship missile:
      • AGM-84 Harpoon
  • Bombs: **B61 nuclear bomb
    • JDAM precision-guided munition (PGMs)
    • Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
    • Mk 80 series of unguided iron bombs
    • CBU-78 Gator
    • CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition
    • CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon
    • Mk 20 Rockeye II
  • Others:
    • SUU-42A/A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod or
    • Electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod or
    • AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk Targeting pods (US Navy only), to be replaced by AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR or
    • LITENING targeting pod (USMC, Royal Australian Air Force, Spanish Air Force, and Finnish Air Force only) or
    • up to 3× 330 US gallons (1,200 l; 270 imp gal) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for ferry flight or extended range/loitering time.

Avionics

  • Hughes APG-73 radar
  • ROVER (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver) antenna for use by US Navy’s F/A-18C strike fighter squadrons

McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet J-2011 Swiss Air Force NATO Tigermeet 2014

AIR 14 ceremonial fly F/A-18C and Morane-Saulnier M.S.406