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McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet

1983 ALLIED FORCE COLD WAR GULF WAR MODERN AIRCRAFT

History of McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet

The CF-18 / CF-188 Hornet is the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) equivalent of the US McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, a 4th generation single-seat carrier-based fighter. Like other countries, Canada chose to adopt the Navy Hornet as a land-based fighter, with 138 modern aircraft deployed between 1982 and 1988. The aircraft officially entered service with the U.S. Navy in 1983 and has been a staple in the air power of several Western nations ever since.

After the merger of the two former competitors in 1997, the McDonnell Douglas name now belongs to a subsidiary under the Boeing brand label.

Up until this point in Canadian history, the Royal Canadian Air Force relied on a mix of aging and emerging U.S.-designed fighter jets to meet NORAD, NATO, and local defense obligations. This has led to a standardized approach that seeks an "all-in-one" solution to meet all these required roles. The Government of Canada's subsequent defence program became the aptly named New Fighter Fighter (NFA) program, the main requirement of which was the selection of existing fighter jets by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

This led to the usual suspects being questioned (F-14, F-15, Mirage F1, etc...) until only the General Dynamics F-16 "Fighting Falcon" and the McDonnell Douglas F/A -18" Bumblebee" still exists. The planes originally arose out of the USAF's attempt to secure a new light fighter design, and the service eventually selected the F-16 for mass production (rather than the competing Northrop YF-17 Cobra, the US Navy completed the F/A-18 large wasp).

Hornet was selected by the U.S. Navy.

This made the F/A-18 the winner of the NFA program in 1980 because of its inherent qualities - including its accessible procurement label. Unlike the F-16, it is a twin-engine design that aids survivability and can carry a wide range of air-to-air and air-to-ground combat payloads (including mixed payloads) when operating in cold weather and ground environments. The AGP-65 radar suite is a powerful system for tracking and engaging targets above and below the aircraft in variable terrain.

The Canadian government continues to order the aircraft in two main forms - a single-seat fighter with strike capability and a two-seat fighter (retaining full operational capability) for training its RAF pilots. RCAF adopted 98 of the former and 40 of the latter, and adopted the official RCAF designation "CF-188".

Due to its carrier origins - despite the Canadians using it for land-based missions - the CF-18 retains its folding wings and arresting hooks, which still fit nicely into the tight/short-field combat mentality . All models have a false canopy under the nose to deceive the enemy - if only for a second - the exact position/angle of attack of the Canadian fighter in close combat work. What effect this had on actual air-to-air combat is a matter of debate, but it was still adopted by some others, including the US Marine Corps.

Another additional feature of the RACF is the night vision light mounted on the port side of the nose. In all other respects, the CF-18 is essentially identical to the aircraft in U.S. inventory and elsewhere.

The first CF-18s were two prototypes delivered to CFB Cold Lake's 410th Squadron (training) in October 1982. The first RCAF combat operations took place during the Gulf War in 1991, with 26 models participating.

The aircraft was then deployed as part of a United Nations operation in the former Yugoslavia, increasing the number of coalition forces. The CF-18 conducted security patrols during the 2010 Olympics and was most recently deployed over Libya in 2011 as part of a UN-imposed no-fly zone over the oil-rich African country.

Due to its origins in the 1980s, the CF-18 had to be modernized during its service life to survive as an aircraft for the foreseeable future. In addition, technological advancements adopted by key UN players have forced the Canadians to remain compatible with other NATO forces. Finally, the CF-18s (like their American Hornet counterparts) received the APG-73 radar set to replace their original APG-65 series, which opened the way for the transport and launch of the advanced AIM-120 medium-range aircraft to air. Anti-air missile series.

Navigation, avionics, digital processing and battlefield situational awareness have all been better upgraded. Boeing made improvements and delivered the first modernized CF-18 to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 2007, with the last aircraft completed in 2010.

Canadians plan to phase out their current CF-18 fleet in the 2020s due to fleet age and operational/unexpected attrition (of the 138 CF-18s initially received, only about 103 remain). Its eventual replacement is still up in the air -- the flagship is Lockheed's fifth-generation "F-35 Lightning II" fighter (to be adopted as "CF-35A"), although Lockheed faces mounting delays and The issue of rising costs has nicely pushed Canadians in a completely different direction, even though Canada is an active participant in the F-35 development program.

If the F-35 enterprise is not producing the desired fruit for Canadians, RCAF can be content to buy 4th and 5th generation fighter jets - American or European origin.