F/A-18 Hornet

(this post is provided by Ghost Writer Mel)

The F/A-18 Hornet has been used by Navy & Marine pilots since 1983.

It can serve both as an air-to-air fighter and as an air-to-ground striker on the same mission.

The F/A-18’s typical assignments include suppression of enemy air defense, fighter escort, reconnaissance, close air support, forward air control, and day & night strike missions.

It is a twin-engine aircraft.

The Hornet has a 20-mm gun mounted inside its nose & can carry up to 13,700 lbs of external ordnance. This ordnance tends to come in the form of 2 Sidewinders combined with other air-to-air or air-to-ground weapons depending on its mission.

There are 2 models of the F/A-18. The C model has just 1 seat for the pilot while the D model seats both a pilot and a WSO (weapons/sensor officer).

We were lucky enough to have a demonstration of the F/A-18 before seeing in participate in the Navy Heritage Flight. It is an aircraft that has served America well over the last (almost) 30 years and has seen combat around the world.