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The F-18 Hornet is a carrier-based 2nd generation Tactical Surface Fighter developed by McDaell Doglam and Northrock to replace the costly F-14 Tomcat, following the US Navy's Navy Air Combat Fighter [NACF] program.

History[]

The F-18 would first begin its life as the YF-17 Cobra, a contender to the YF-16 Viper. Both TSFs were part of the Lightweight Tactical Surface Fighter program, but despite the YF-16's victory and its subsequent development into the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the US Navy had concerns about the F-16's operating time, load capacity, and maintainability. McDaell Doglam eventually took over development of the YF-17, refining it into the multi-purpose F-18 Hornet which is later adopted by the US Navy.

Although the F-14 Tomcat was the main TSF of the US Navy, the decision to retire it was in part due to its poor cost-to-performance ratio; each sortie required costly maintenance to its systems, and that was before factoring in the cost of its specialized AIM-54 Phoenix. The F-18's performance was close to the F-15 Eagle for a lower operational cost per TSF and greater versatility than the F-16, making it popular for export to other countries such as Australia.

Deployment[]

The legacy F-18A/B, and later C/D with improved avionics, variants were operated by both the US Navy and various nations, with the US Navy switching to the F-18E/F Super Hornet in 1994. F-18s are still operated by Australia, Nepal, and many other nations, and a flight of F-18s are operated by an Australian experimental unit at Yukon Base in Alaska as part of Project PROMINENCE.

The [legacy] A, C, and [Super] E variants are single-seaters, while the multi-seat variant is indicated as the [legacy] B, D and [Super] F types.



F-18E/F Super Hornet[]

A redesigned Hornet developed by McDaell Doglam, the Super Hornet achieved 2.5th generation status due to various improvements to its operating time and systems.

The head module was expanded to accommodate improved sensors and avionics, its shoulder units are expanded to house large thrusters, and its hip block and lower legs are expanded to extend operating time, defensive ability, and carrying load. Once again, with efficiency similar to its equivalent, the F-15E Strike Eagle, and at a lower cost, the Super Hornet was established as the flagship machine of the US Marine Corps and US Navy, and is also exported to COSEAN, Australia, and Africa.

Northrock later sued McDaell Doglam over the production of the Super Hornet, claiming it had not given permission for production of F-18 variants. Production was eventually taken over by Boening after its merger with McDaell Doglam.

The USMC uses the single seat F-18E model while the US Navy utilizes the two-seater F-18F; notable examples include the USMC's VMF-318 Black Knives and VMF-536 Bloody Nightmare squadron as F-18E users, and the USN's VF-133 Raging Busters squadron as F-18F users.

The Super Hornets of VMF-536 Bloody Nightmare would be deployed as strike units, operating in tandem with other squadrons of the US Marine Corps'  26th TSF Wing to run herd-thinning operations in Europe in April 2000. Garuda Test Flight of COSEAN also operated Super Hornets for the duration of Project PROMINENCE and the Blue Flag exercises.

Its well-deserved reputation as a reliable unit is such that in 2004, the Imperial Navy of Japan is considering replacing its Type-77s with Super Hornets to expand its fleetborne fighting capabilities.

In The Day After, the F-18E/F is featured as one of the primary TSFs of the US Armed Forces; the rising of sea levels during Operation Babylon meant that the majority of overseas US TSFs that survived the sudden disasters were those that were already stored on carriers or in assault ships. Operated by the Black Knives and Raging Busters squadrons, twelve Super Hornets defended the stranded USS John F. Kennedy from a BETA attack on July 2nd, 2004, proving its reputation as a 2.5th generation TSF through its performance.

F-18Es of the newly-reformed Black Knives squadron, under the command of Lieutenant Lilia Kjellberg, were also present at the Defence of Seattle, fighting alongside the F-18Fs of the US Navy, the 66th Tactical Armored Battalion Hunter and the IJMDF's 1st Tactical Armor Regiment. The Black Knives would later provide unauthorized aid to the 1st Tactical Armor Regiment during the Seattle Food Plant Hijack on December 23rd, 2005, and together with the F-18Fs of US Navy units, would participate alongside US Army and Imperial Army forces during the 8th Border War on December 24th, 2005 against the French/Canadian alliance.




F-18 HMRV Smash Hornet[]

The F-18 HMRV Smash Hornet is a High-Maneuverability Research Vehicle variant of the Super Hornet. The result of a collaboration between Boening and the Australian military, the Smash Hornet is a carrier-loadable TSF that boasts enhanced detection range and communication capabilities, and can take on transoceanic operations. It is also fitted with a new armor material that reduces weight without sacrificing durability, and a more efficient jump engine. The added height of the Smash Hornet compared to the Super Hornet is due to an external sensor mast attached to the unit's head.



F-18AX Raging Hornet[]

The F-18AX Raging Hornet is an experimental 3rd generation TSF developed by COSEAN. It is a central part of the Advance Asian Next-Generation (AAX) TSF Program, which sought to create a multirole 3rd generation TSF for COSEAN member nations. In addition to being cheaper than other 3rd generation TSF models, the Raging Hornet was also designed to exceed the performance metrics of the F-15E Strike Eagle. Deployment was scheduled to begin in 2005.



F-CK-1 Ching-kuo[]

The F-CK-1 Ching-kuo is a 2nd generation TSF developed by Taiwan, based on the requirement of running culling operations across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan chose the F-18's base design over the F-16's for its superior operating time and versatility.

To further extend the F-CK-1's operational range, its upgrades (similar to the F-18E/F Super Hornet's) include a lightened frame and enlarged leg fuel tanks.



Trivia[]

  • The real-life designation of the baseline Hornet and Super Hornet is F/A-18 instead of F-18, the "A" denoting its secondary ground-attack role in aerial-based warfare. Only the F/A-18 has this in its official designation, as other dual-role strike aircraft, such as the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-35 Lightning II, only use the letter F. This is because the initial program called for the development of two separate aircraft based on the same airframe, the F-18 and the A-18. When it was realised both capabilities could be combined into a single model, the decision was made to combine them into the F/A-18. However, actual F-18 variants of the Hornet, without the "A" designation, do exist, although the same cannot be said of the Super Hornet.
  • Most of the background on the TSF Super Hornet is actually taken from the background of the real-life Hornet. For example, the real-life US Marines only use the older F/A-18 Hornet, not the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, as they plan to eventually adopt the F-35B Lightning II.
  • The real life F-CK-1 Ching-kuo is unrelated to the F/A-18, but to the F-16 and YF-17 as the designer of the F-CK-1 wanted to build a fighter that has similar fighting capability to them. This came as a result of the 1982 US-China Joint Communiqué which limited Western Arms Sales to Taiwan which prevented the F-16 and other models of fighters from being exported to Taiwan at the time but did not limit US technology transfers to the ROC. General Dynamics, the company behind the F-16, was heavily involved in the development of the F-CK-1's airframe, hence its lineage to the F-16.
  • Both aircraft F-CK-1 and F/A-18 have almost oval air intakes.
  • In the non-canonical Euro Front fanbook, titled Mogthrasir Zwei, F-18E/Fs were seen with fully-operable AIM-54 Phoenix Missile Systems, replacing their Mount Pylons on the TSF's back hardpoints.

Image Gallery[]

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