F/A-18 Hornet fighter
The Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornet is a multi-role fighter designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. It is capable of air interception, air combat, close air support of ground troops, and interdiction of enemy supply lines including shipping.
The Hornet is operated by:
Hornet weapons include:
- 20mm nose-mounted cannon
- wide range of air-to air and air-to-surface missiles
- laser-guided and conventional bombs.
The Hornet is capable of air-to-air refuelling from our old Boeing B-707 aircraft and the new KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transports .
The Hornet was developed for the US Navy and Marine Corps and has been a very successful aircraft. It is also used by Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain and Switzerland. The fleet has just undergone a major avionics upgrade to ensure effective operations for the next 10 to 15 years.
Air Force will obtain 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets by 2010 to ensure Australia's air combat capability edge is maintained until the full introduction into service of the F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter.
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Boeing F/A-18 Hornet technical specifications
| Manufacturer |
Boeing (originally McDonnell-Douglas) |
| Role |
Multi-role fighter |
| Crew |
One or two |
| Engine |
Two low-bypass F404-GE-400 turbofans (7,258kg thrust each) |
| Airframe |
Length: 17.1m, height: 4.7m |
| Wingspan |
12.4m |
| Weight |
10,660kg basic, 20,412kg maximum |
| Speed |
Mach 1.8 (2,200km/h) |
| Range |
- Ferrying 2,700km (without refuelling)
- Interdiction over 1,000km
- Combat radius 740km
|
| Ceiling |
Above 45,000 feet |
| Weapons |
- AIM-120 AMRAAM active radar guided missiles
- AIM-7 Sparrow radar-guided long-range missiles
- AIM-9 Sidewinder infra-red seeking missiles
- Harpoon anti-ship missiles
- conventional and laser-guided bombs
- M61 20mm nose-mounted cannon
|
| Avionics |
- Hughes APG73 multi-mode radar
- GPS
- inertial navigation system
- VHF omni-directional range/instrument landing system
- two mission computers
- head-up cockpit display
- multi-functional cathode ray tube displays
|
