Aircraft Profile: Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet

The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather carrier-capable strike fighter, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets.

Designed in the 1970s for service with the US Navy and US Marine Corps, the Hornet came as a result of the former’s Naval Fighter-Attack, Experimental programme to procure a multirole aircraft to replace the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, Vought A-7 Corsair II, and remaining McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs and to complement the Northrop Grumman F-14 Tomcat.

Powered by twin General Electric F404-402 turbofans, the first production F/A-18A flew in April 1980 and after a production run of 380 F/A-18As, manufacture shifted to the F/A-18C in September 1987.

In the 1990s, the USN faced the need to replace its aging Grumman A-6 Intruders, Northrop EA-6B Prowlers, A-7s and F-14s without proper replacements in development. To answer this deficiency, the navy had the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet developed. The aircraft has a new, larger airframe which utilises the design concepts of the Hornet.

The Super Hornet is capable of speeds of up to Mach 1.8 and has a ferry range of 2,340km (1,260nm). It can carry stores including Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground weapons, sensor pods and external fuel tanks from its 11 weapon stations.

In-Service

Legacy Hornets are in service with multiple nations around the world, while Australia in 2007 signed the first export deal for the latest production standard, ordering 24 two-seat F/A-18Fs. An electronic-attack variant dubbed the EA-18G Growler will also replace the USN’s EA-6B Prowler fleet.

Around 1,400 F/A-18s remain in service with the USA and seven export operators spread from north America, through Europe, the Middle East and into the Asia-Pacific.