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 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.

F/A-18A Hornet A21-26 was delivered to the RAAF on March 31, 1988 and became the first
aircraft to be assigned to 75 Squadron. The aircraft first flew with 75 Squadron in April and in
September 1988 both 75 Squadron and A21-26 arrived at RAAF Tindal. In 2005 the aircraft
received a special paint scheme to mark the 20th Anniversary of Hornet operations with the
RAAF and was first shown at the Avalon Airshow that year. Over its service time; A21-26
spent time with 3SQN, 75SQN, 77SQN, 2OCU and ARDU.

Specifications for the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C/D Hornet

Role - supersonic twin engine all-weather night fighter and attack aircraft

Crew – 1 x F/A-18C, 2 x F/A-18D (Pilot and Weapons Systems Officer – WSO)

Dimensions
Length – 56 ft   (17.1 m)
Wingspan
With AAMs – 40 ft 5 in   (12.31 m)
Folded – 27 ft 6 in   (8.38 m)
Height – 15 ft 4 in   (4.7 m)

Weights
Empty – 23,000 lb   (10,400 kg)
Loaded – 36,970 lb   (16,770 kg)
Maximum Take off – 51,900 lb   (23,500 kg)

Performance
Powerplants – 2 x General Electric F404-GE-402 turbofan
Dry Thrust – 11,000 lbf   (48.9 kN) per engine
After Burner Thrust – 17,750 lbf   (79.2 kN) per engine
Maximum Speed – Mack 1.8   (1,190 mph)   (1,915 km/h) @ 40,000 ft   (12,190 m)
Range – 1,089 nmi   (1,250 miles)   (2,000 km) with 2 x AIM-9s
Combat Radius – 400 nmi   (460 miles)   (740 km) air-to-air missions
Ferry Range – 1,800 nmi   (2,070 miles)   (3,330 km)
Service Ceiling – 50,000 ft   (15,240 m)
Rate of Climb – 50,000 ft/min   (254 m/s)

Armament
1 x 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon mounted in nose with 578 rounds
9 x Hardpoints - a capacity of 13,700 lb   (6,215 kg) with external fuel tanks and ordnance
2 x wingtip missile launch rails
4 x under-wing
3 x under-fuselage
Rockets
2.75 inch   (70 mm) Hydra 70 rockets
5 inch (127 mm) Zuni rockets

Missiles
Air-To-Air
4 x AIM-9 Sidewinders
or
4 x AIM-132 ASRAAM
or
4 x IRIS-T or 4 x AIM-120 AMRAAM and 2 x AIM-7 Sparrow
or
Additional - 2 x AIM-120 AMRAAM

Air-To-Surface
AGM-65 Maverick
Standoff Land Attack Missiles (SLAM-ER)
AGM-88 HARM Anti-radiation Missile (ARM)
AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW)
Taurus Missile (Cruise Missile)

Anti-ship
AGM-84 Harpoon

Bombs
JDAM Precision-Guided Munition (PGM)
Paveway series of Laser-guided bombs
Mk. 80 series of unguided iron bombs
CBU-87 cluster bombs
CBU-89 gator mine
CBU-97
Mk. 20 Rockeye II
B61/Mk. 57 nuclear bombs

Others
SUU-42A Flares/Infrared decoys dispenser pod and chaff pod
Or
Electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod
Or
AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk targeting pod (USN only) to be replaced by AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR
Or
LITENING targeting pod (only used by USMC, Royal Australian Air Force, Spanish Air Force
and Finnish Air Force)
Or
Up to 3 x 330 US gallons   (270 imp gallons / 1,200 liters) Sargent Fletcher drop tanks for
ferry flight Or Extended range/loitering time

Avionics
Hughes APG-73 radar
ROVER (Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver) antenna for use by USN F/A-18C
strike fighter squadrons
Inertial Navigation System (INS)
GPS
2 x mission computers
HUD (Head Up Display) cockpit display
Very High Frequency (VHF) omni-directional landing system
Multiple-functioning Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) display

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