F/A-18 Hornet: Announcement & Pre-order!

Today we’ll be taking a look at the F/A-18 Hornet family of aircraft — the nations that will get this aircraft and the pre-order pack!

F/A-18A, F-18C (Sweden), F/A-18C Late and pre-order for the F/A-18C Early Hornet: A Jet Fighter for the USA and Sweden at Rank VIII At a glance:

• Outstanding maneuverability!
  
• Large selection of weapons.
  
• New air-to-air missiles.
  
• Weaponry for any type of mission!

Vehicle History
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The F/A-18 Hornet carrier-based fighter jet was a further development of the Northrop YF-17 prototype. This prototype took part in the Lightweight Fighter program for a promising U.S. Air Force fighter against the YF-16 prototype that went on to become the F-16 Fighting Falcon in 1975. After the YF-17 lost this competition, it was decided to return to the project to participate in a new program announced by the Navy. McDonnell Douglas joined in reworking the prototype into a carrier-based variant instead, ultimately becoming the sole developer of the carrier-based version.

Initially, two versions of the new aircraft were planned; a fighter and an attack variant, however during development both were combined into one. The first flight of the prototype took place in November 1978, with serial production beginning in 1980. Soon after, this new jet fighter began to enter service with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet was produced both in single-seat variants (A and C) and the two-seat variants (B and D).

The F/A-18 Hornet has been used in most military conflicts where the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have been involved in, including Libya, the Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm, the Balkans and Afghanistan. In addition to the United States, other countries have operated the F/A-18 Hornet, including Canada, Finland, Australia, Kuwait and some more. The F/A-18 Hornet was further developed into the F/A-18 Super Hornet.
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Introducing the F/A-18 Hornet!
Perhaps the most famous U.S. carrier-based fighter-bomber, the F/A-18 Hornet is coming to War Thunder in the Hornet’s Sting major update! Today, we’ll be telling you about the F/A-18A and F/A-18C (late) fighters, plus the premium F/A-18C (early), where the pre-order to receive bonuses has started today. Let’s take a closer look at this jet!



The F/A-18 Hornet family has gained great popularity in both the United States and abroad thanks to its versatile flight and combat capabilities. The powerful F404 series engine (that slightly varies in power in different models), excellent aerodynamics and advanced flap design not only makes the Hornet one of the best planes in the game in terms of maximum speed and climb rate, but also provides the highest maneuverability across the entire speed range — a great feature to have at high-rank air battles. The Hornet’s structural strength is also very high, but be sure to train your crew in resistance to overloads before going into battle!

Interesting: The Hornet became the first U.S. combat aircraft to receive the combined designation of F/A (Fighter/Attack).



The F/A-18 Hornet features the M61A1 rapid-fire aircraft cannon that’s conveniently located at the center of the front of the aircraft between the c*ckpit and nose cone. All Hornet variants in the game will receive almost identical types of radars with target differentiation, RWR and countermeasure pods for launching flares and chaff. However, the main aspect that sets the variants of the F/A-18 Hornet apart is the secondary weapons and sighting systems that make it possible to use more advanced types of weapons.

F/A-18A (USA) Let’s first take a look at the F/A-18A variant. This one has the least amount of available weapons, however it’s still enough to perform a wide range of combat tasks. For air combat, this one features the AIM-9L and AIM-7F and M air-to-air missiles. In addition to regular bombs and rockets, you’ll be able to take the new Walleye II ER/DL guided bomb with a thermal imaging homing head into battle, while a pod with a thermal imager can also be equipped under the wings.

F/A-18C Early (USA — pre-order pack) Moving onto the premium F/A-18C (early) variant that can be pre-ordered starting from today. This one has a thermal imaging and laser-guided targeting system that allows for the addition of the Paveway II family of guided bombs (GBU-12, GBU-16, GBU-10, GBU-24) and the advanced Maverick AGM-65E and AGM-65F guided missiles.



Pre-order - F/A-18С Early Pack To get to the Gaijin Store through Steam, go to the in-game hangar > Shop > Online Store!
79.99

• F/A-18С Early (Rank VIII, USA)
  
• 3000 Golden Eagles
  
• Premium account for 30 days
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique "Any time Wingman" title
  
• Pre-order bonus: unique "Hornet Silhouette" decal
  
  
  
  
• Pre-order bonus: VFA-81 "Sunliners" Camouflage
  
  

F/A-18C Late (USA) Next up is the most advanced F/A-18C (late) variant. This variant will add guided bombs with GNSS guidance, including the GBU-38, GBU-32 and GBU-31 compared to the previous variants. For air combat, the F/A-18C (late) features a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD), the maneuverable AIM-9M, the new to the game AIM-7P with inertial guidance with a mid-course update data-link, as well as the long-range AIM-120B active radar homing missile.





Finnish F-18C (Sweden) Lastly is the Finnish F/A-18C variant, coming to the Swedish aviation tree. This variant lacks weapons for strikes against ground targets, but is armed with a radar seeker, AIM-120B missiles for long-range air combat and maneuverable AIM-9M missiles for the closer ranges.

That’s it for this one! Four F/A-18 Hornet jet fighters will be coming to War Thunder with the release of the Hornet’s Sting major update — an uncompromising choice for air battles at the high-ranks for the USA and Sweden!

Please note that this vehicle’s characteristics may be changed before it is added to the game.