page_title: McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
section_title: E/F Super Hornet
hierarchical_section_title: McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet / Variants / E/F Super Hornet
caption_attribution_description: F/A-18F Super Hornet: An F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft from the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron Eleven fires off its flares while performing evasive maneuvers during an air power demonstration above USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) April 6, 2007. Truman is under way in the Atlantic Ocean conducting tailored ship's training availability.
context_page_description: The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft. Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations, and since 1986, 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, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload compared to its earlier contemporaries, such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in the fighter and strike fighter role, and the Grumman A-6 Intruder and LTV A-7 Corsair II in the attack role.
context_section_description: The single-seat F/A-18E and two-seat F/A-18F, both officially named Super Hornet, carry over the name and design concept of the original F/A-18 but have been extensively redesigned by McDonnell Douglas. The Super Hornet has a new, 25% larger airframe, larger rectangular air intakes, more powerful GE F414 engines based on F/A-18's F404, and an upgraded avionics suite. Like the Marine Corps' F/A-18D, the Navy's F/A-18F carries a naval flight officer as a second crew member in a weapon systems officer (WSO) role.  The Super Hornet is unofficially known as "Rhino" in operational use. This name was chosen to distinguish the newer variants from the legacy F-18A/B/C/D Hornet and avoid confusion during carrier deck operations.  The Super Hornet is also operated by Australia.
caption: A VFA-11 F/A-18F Super Hornet performing evasive maneuvers during an air power demonstration above USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)
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