McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

F/A-18 Hornet
A U.S. Navy F/A-18C in flight
General information
Type	Multirole fighter
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	McDonnell Douglas (1974–1997) with Northrop (1974–1994) Boeing (1997–2000)
Status	In service
Primary users	United States Navy (historical) United States Marine Corps Finnish Air Force Spanish Air and Space Force
Number built	F/A-18A/B/C/D: 1,480[1]
History
Manufactured	1974–2000
Introduction date	7 January 1983 (USMC) 1 July 1984 (USN)
First flight	18 November 1978; 46 years ago (1978-11-18)
Retired	2019 (Hornet, USN) 2021 (RAAF)
Developed from	Northrop YF-17
Variants	McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet High Alpha Research Vehicle
Developed into	Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Boeing X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a fighter and ground attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the YF-17 that lost against the YF-16 in the USAF's lightweight fighter program. The United States Navy adopted the YF-17 and renamed it F/A-18. The US Marine Corps later also adopted the aircraft. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations, and formerly by the U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels.

The F/A-18 was designed to be a highly versatile aircraft due to its avionics, cockpit displays, and excellent aerodynamic characteristics, with the ability to carry a wide variety of weapons. The aircraft can perform fighter escort, fleet air defense, suppression of enemy air defenses, air interdiction, close air support, and aerial reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset.

The Hornet entered operational service in 1983 and first saw combat action during the 1986 United States bombing of Libya and subsequently participated in the 1991 Gulf War and 2003 Iraq War. The F/A-18 Hornet served as the baseline for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, its larger, evolutionary redesign, which supplanted both the older Hornet and the F-14 Tomcat in the U.S. Navy. The remaining legacy Hornets in the U.S. Navy were retired in 2019 with the fielding of the F-35C Lightning II.