Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

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 Origins 
Origins of the Super Hornets were to replace the United States Navy’s aging F-14 Fleet, The F-14’s were getting old and the Classic Hornets were made to replace earlier models of the F-14. 

 Testing and Production 
The testing and production went well for Boeing, the F/A-18’s were slowly phasing out the older F-14B’s, and from 2006 until the 2020’s the US Navy’s fleet was all Hornet variants until the F-35C Lightning II was introduced into the Navy.

 Other Users 
All users of the Super Hornets are;

United States - Operating 512 airframes of the Super Hornet and 155 Growlers, all for the United States Navy

Australia - Operating 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets based at No.1 Squadron - Royal Australian Air Force, and 12 E/A-18G Growlers based at No.6 Squadron - Royal Australian Airforce, all are being operated by the Royal Australian Air force, Based at RAAF Base Amberley

Kuwait - 28 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets on order, for the Kuwait Air Force

 Armament 
The Armament of the Super Hornets Includes;

 Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A2 Vulcan, 412 rounds
 Hardpoints: 11 (2× wingtips, 6× under-wing, and 3× under-fuselage) with a capacity of Max payload: 17,750 lb (8,050 kg). Carrier bringback payload: F/A-18E: 9,900 lb (4,491 kg), F/A-18F: 9,000 lb (4,082 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
 Missiles:
 Air-to-air missiles
 4× AIM-7 Sparrow
 6× AIM-9 Sidewinder
 12× AIM-120 AMRAAM
 12× AIM-260 JATM (to be integrated)
 Air-to-surface missiles
 6× AGM-65E/F Maverick
 4× AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER
 6× AGM-88 HARM
 4x AGM-158 JASSM
 4× AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) - glide bomb
 Anti-ship missiles
 4× AGM-84 Harpoon
 4× AGM-158C LRASM
 Joint Strike Missile (JSM) (to be integrated)
 Bombs:
 JDAM bombs (up to 10× GBU-32/35/38/54 or 4× GBU-31)
 Paveway series of laser-guided bombs
 Mk 80 series unguided bombs
 CBU-78 Gator mine system[citation needed]
 Mk 20 Rockeye II cluster bomb[citation needed]
 Mk-62/63/65 Quick Strike Naval mine
 Other:
 SUU-42A/A Flares/infrared decoy dispenser pod and chaff pod
 AN/ALE-50 towed decoy system pod
 AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR or AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening targeting pods
 up to 4× 480 US gal (1,800 L; 400 imp gal) drop tanks and 1× A/A42R-1 Aerial Refueling Store pod for aerial refueling.
 12× ADM-141C TALD decoys
 AWW-13 Advanced data link pod

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Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
Category:Aviation