McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

what is it?

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather supersonic, twin-engined, 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 United States Air Force's lightweight fighter program. The United States Navy selected the YF-17 for the Navy Air Combat Fighter program, further developed the design and renamed it F/A-18; the United States Marine Corps would also adopt the aircraft.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 12.3 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 889 km/hcruise speed
• range 2,017 kmwithout refuelling
• size 23.5 tmax take-off weight
• built 1,480made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 48 years ago, in 1978.
• 🚗Wingspan of 12.3 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 2,017 km: 11× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1978-11-18

introduced

1983

retired

2019

status

still flying

number built

1,480

role

multirole fighter

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Boeing Defense, Space & Security

engines

2× General Electric F404-GE-402 / General Electric F404

crew

1

length

17.1 m

wingspan

12.3 m

height

4.7 m

max take-off weight

23.5 t

top speed

—

cruise speed

889 km/h

range

2,017 km

ceiling

15,240 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family