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.75 Squadron, then deployed to RAAF Base Tindal, NSW, Australia, during 2021. Now in stock!

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

Release Date: August 2022

Historical Account: "Magpie" - One of the last F/A-18 A/B Classic Hornet aircraft to grace the skies over the Northern Territory will be a distinctive magpie Hornet.

F/A-18A Hornet A21-018 now sports a bold black-and-white livery, the last commemorative paint scheme that Boeing Defence Australia will apply to a Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18A/B Hornet ahead of No.75 Squadron's transition to the F-35A Lightning II next year.

The paint scheme depicts the centerpiece of No.75 Squadron's crest, the magpie.

Reflecting on what it meant to be a member of No.75 Squadron, Warrant Officer Graham Docking, the unit's warrant officer engineering, said it provided a sense of importance and feeling involved in "something bigger than yourself".

"It's about a sense of purpose and creating experiences and memories that will last a lifetime," Warrant Officer Docking said.

"When you're posted to 75 Squadron, it's not about being in just another squadron; you're a magpie."

The squadron adopted the magpie as it is a belligerent defendant of its young with the courage to attack, symbolic of the squadron's wartime activities since World War II, and it embodies the squadron's motto which is to Seek and Strike.

"The aircraft has been painted predominately black; with flecks of white on its wings and tail and a pronounced white patch on the back of its neck," Warrant Officer Docking said.

"It's bold and when you look at it; you know it is a No.75 Squadron aircraft. That reflects the pride of our personnel, and it's for everyone who has ever served at No.75 Squadron."