This magnificent fighting jet from McDonnell Doglas has established
a place as the backbone of the U.S. Navy and Marine avaition; sailors
and marines wanted the F/A-18 Hornet so badly they relinquished other
aircraft to get it. Their faith is justified: the F/A-18 performed
superbly in raids on Libya and in Operation Deasert Strom.
To keep the F/A-18 on top in the crucible of air combat, they are
improving the Hornet constantly. Better flight instruments and
avionics have been added to new aircraft along with the capability to
use far-reaching missiles including the air-to-air AMRAAM and the
air-to-ground HARM. None of these changes detract from the
maneuverability of the Hornet, an exceedingly agile adversary.
The future F/A-18E (singel-seat) and the F/A-18F (two-seat) will be
33 1/2 feet longer and carry 3,000 pounds more fuel. Navy carrier
wings will soon boast as many as four Hornet squadrons, making them
more formidable then ever.
Other Pages I have Made
My main page
The A-4 Skyhawk II
The AV-8B Harrier II
The F-5 Tiger II
The F-14 Tomcat
The F-15 Eagle
The F-16 Falcon
The F-22 Raptor
The YF-23
The EuroFighter 2000
The Dassault Rafale
The Mirage F1
The Mirage 2000
The JAS 39 Gripen
The B-2 Spirit
The Stratofortress
The MiG-29 Fulcrum
The Su-27 Flanker
The Su-35 Flanker
The X-29
Air Combat Manouvres