The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-
weather night fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the
first production flight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F/A-18As and in
September 1987 production switched to the F/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat
aircraft while B and D are tandem-seats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers
or land bases with the capability of in flight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.

In an effort to protect Libyan citizens that want to put an end to the autocrat Muammar
Gaddafi rule and are being shot and killed by the Libyan Army a coalition of NATO countries
have implemented a no-fly zone over the country. As part of the coalition Canada sent 6 of
its CF-188 fighters to assist. One of the 6 CF-188 aircraft was 188769 c/n 0485/A400 that
joined the Canadian Armed Forces on September 24, 1986 as the equivalent to an
F-18A-20-MC.

Specifications McDonnell Douglas CF-18 (officially CF-188)

General characteristics

Number of aircraft purchased – 62 A / 18 B

Crew - 1x CF-18A / 2 x CF-18B

Dimensions
Length - 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m)
Wingspan - 40 ft 0 in (12.31 m) with Sidewinders
Height - 15 ft 4 in (4.66 m)
Weights
Empty weight - 23049 lb (10455 kg)
Loaded weight - 37150 lb (16850 kg)
Max takeoff weight - 51550 lb (23400 kg)
Performance
Powerplant - 2 × General Electric F404-GE-400 turbofans, 16000 lbf (71.2 kN) per engine
Maximum speed - Mach 1.8 (1127 mph, 1814 km/h) @ 36100 ft (11000 m)
Combat radius - 330 mi (290 nmi, 537 km) on hi-lo-lo-hi mission
Ferry range - 2070 mi (1800 nmi, 3330 km) (range without ordnance)
Service ceiling - 50000 ft (15000 m)
Rate of climb - 50000 ft/min (254 m/s)
Armament
Nine Weapon/ Store Stations (5 pylons: 1 Under Fuselage and 4 Wing Stations) (2 LAU 116
located on sides of fuselage: deploys AIM 7 Sparrow and AMRAAM Missiles)(2 LAU 7
located on the wing tips: Deploys AIM 9 Sidewinder Missile), carrying up to 13700 lb (6215
kg) of missiles, rockets, bombs, fuel tanks, and pods
1 × 20 mm M61A1 Vulcan internal Gatling gun with 578 rounds, with a firing rate of 4000 or
6000 shots per minute
Missiles
Air-to-air - AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AIM-7 Sparrow
Air-to-ground - AGM-65 Maverick, CRV7 rockets
Bombs - Paveway, Mk 82, Mk 83, Mk 84, GBU-10, -12, -16 and -24 laser guided bombs.
Avionics
Raytheon AN/APG-73 radar
BAE Systems AN/APX-111 IFF
Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 RT-1556/ARC VHF/UHF Radio
General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems AN/AYK-14 XN-8 mission computer
Smiths Aerospace AN/AYQ-9 Stores Management System

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