The F/A-18 Hornet is the true multi-role aircraft. It can vault from a carrier deck, bomb a target and stay to dogfight even the best enemy aircraft without missing a beat. It's the Navy's first modern-era jet intended for double duty against air- and ground-based adversaries. Armed to the hilt with Sparrow and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, an internal cannon, and laser-guided bombs, this modern warbird was an outstanding performer in Operation Desert Storm. Strapped into a digital cockpit described as a cross between Star Wars and a video game, pilots of the F/A-18 Hornet take on the ultimate aviation job: blasting this single-seat, high-performance jet off the deck of a carrier, dropping bombs, and firing air-to-ground ordnance. Offering unmatched agility, the Hornet is the choice aircraft of the US Navy's elite Blue Angels aerobatic team.

The F/A-18A is the single-seat variant and the F/A-18B is the two-seat variant. The space for the two-seat cockpit is provided by a relocation of avionics equipment and a 6% reduction in internal fuel; two-seat Hornets are otherwise fully combat-capable. The B-model is used primarily for training.

In 1992, the original Hughes AN/APG-65 radar was replaced with the Hughes (now Raytheon) AN/APG-73, a faster and more capable radar. A-model Hornets that have been upgraded to the AN/APG-73 are designated F/A-18A+.

Pictured here is a gorgeous 1:72 scale diecast replica of a Royal Australian Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-18A Hornet Strike Fighter that was attached to No. 77 Squadron, then deployed to RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, Australia during 2007. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7-1/2-inches
Length: 9-inches

Release Date: December 2011

Historical Account: "Swift to Destroy" - No.77 Squadron was disbanded at RAAF Base Williamtown on August 12th, 1956, but was reformed on November 19th, 1956, equipped with CAC Sabres. In December 1958, the Squadron moved to RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaya where it flew ground attack missions against Communist guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency. The Squadron remained at Butterworth during the 1960s and served in the air defense role during the Indonesian Confrontation.

No.77 Squadron returned to RAAF Base Williamtown in early 1969 to be re-equipped with Mirage III fighters which it operated in the air defense role. In January 1985, the squadron was temporarily equipped with Aermacchi MB-326 jet trainers which it operated until converting to F/A-18 Hornet fighter bombers in 1987. The Squadron operated a detachment of Pilatus PC-9 aircraft in the forward air control role from 2000 until 2003; this role is now filled by the Forward Air Control Development Unit. A detachment of four F/A-18s from No.77 Squadron was deployed to protect the key US air base at Diego Garcia between December 2001 and February 2002 during the early phases of the invasion of Afghanistan.