Hey everyone, Zerø here. And in this SimplePlanes post, I present to you: The Hornet.

I know you want to say it, but, I suggest don't.

Introduction:

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet is an American twin engine, carrier based, multirole combat aircraft that is known for it's user friendliness. Though the F/A-18 isn't directly supposed to be the F-14's successor, it ended up replacing the mighty Tomcat because of it's relatively low cost compared to the Tomcat.

History:

During the 1960s, the USAF needed a new, more lighweight and easier to maintain fighter than that of their F-15 Eagle. So, they built a program, which Northrop and General Dynamics participated. Northrop presented their prototype with the YF-17 Cobra, while General Dynamics presented their prototype with the YF-16 Fighting Falcon. The result of the LWF program was a win for General Dynamics.

However, at the Navy, things were a little bit rough. During their development with the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, they found out that the F-111 was too much for the Navy to handle. Thus, the VFX program was born. It introduced the Grumman F-14A Tomcat, which we all knew and love. Though the F-14 was smaller than the F-111, it was still big, and hard to maintain. Not to mention with their F-111 and almost all F-4 Phantoms which was used carry out ground strikes against enemies gone, the Navy needed a strike aircraft now or never.

GD offered the Navy their winning F-16 design. However, the Navy was more interested in the YF-17 design, as they believed it was easier to be converted into a carrier capable aircraft. So, they chose the YF-17 over the YF-16. It was redesigned to fit their requirements, and the outcome was the F/A-18A.

• 1x M61A1 Vulcan
     A 6 barreled rotary cannon that can fire 20mm at a rate of 6000 rounds per minute.

• Suppression of Enemy Air Defense

  • 2x AIM-9X Sidewinder
         The latest iteration of the Sidewinder family of close ranged heat seeking missiles. It's thrust vectoring allows it to turn at a steeper angle.

  • 2x AGM-88C High speed Anti Radiation Missiles (HARM)
    A high speed anti ground missiles which seeks out enemy radar dishes. Though the explosion isn't big, it's enough to take out a SAM battery.

  • 2x AGM-65G Maverick
    A heat seeking air-to-ground missile. Standard use for strike aircrafts.

• Strike/Close Air Support

  • 2x AIM-9X Sidewinder

  • 2x AIM-120C AMRAAM
    An advanced medium range active radar guided missile, standard use for most aircraft.

  • 4x Mk.83 UGB
    A 1000lb, low drag, unguided bomb, perfect for striking a high value target.

• Air Superiority

  • 2x AIM-9X Sidewinder

  • 6x AIM-120C AMRAAM

Controls & Features:

Controls:

• VTOL Up: Deploy Aibrakes
• VTOL Down: Flaps
• AG1: Deploy arresting hook
• AG2: Fold wingtips
• AG3: Disable autoflaps and pull slats up at lower speeds
• AG4: Extend refuel probe
• AG5: Drop external fuel tanks
• AG7: Turn on external lights

Features:

• Folding wingtips, for extra space at the carrier.
• A custom made airbrake.
• A refuel probe.
• Lights. Yes, lights.
  

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Gallery:

Well, with all of that said, enjoy and fly safe.