num_pages: 231
description: The fascinating true story of the controversial development and deployment of the supersonic fighter jet that changed aerial warfare foreverThe McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet was born in 1978 a state-of-the-art supersonic fighter and attack aircraft with a top speed of Mach 1.8 more than one thousand miles per hour. It was versatile fast and reliable and no war machine in the air could match it. The marines adopted it first followed by the navy impressed by its incomparable ability to engage in close aerial combat while at the same time efficiently delivering explosive payloads to designated enemy targets. It became the aircraft of choice for the US Navys famous Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron in 1986 and served ably in combat from its first missionAmericas launched air strike against Libya that same yearthrough 1991s Operation Desert Storm and well beyond. Yet the Hornet has always been shrouded in controversy and while still in its planning stages it sparked an unprecedented political battle that nearly doomed the miraculous machine before it could take flight.Orr Kelly the acclaimed military author who has notably chronicled the remarkable histories of the US Navy SEALs and other branches of Americas Special Forces tells the fascinating true story of the F/A-18 Hornethow it came to be how it almost wasnt and how it forever altered the way our nations wars are fought.
language: English
title: Hornet: The Inside Story of the F/A-18
publisher: Open Road Media