Newsday (New York) March 22, 2003
Hornet: The Navy Super Fighter
The next generation of teh Hornet, the F/A-18E Super Hornet, is the Navy's newest, most advanced strike fighter. Capable of both air-to-air combat and air-to-ground attack missions, teh $57-million Super Hornet is bigger and lighter and can fly greater distances and carry heavier payloads that its predecessor.
Weapon capabilities
The Super Hornet can carry every weapon in teh Navy's inventory. Some sample payloads:
Aim-9L Sidewinder missile
AGM-62 Walleye
MK-83 1,000-lb low-drag bomb
AGM-65 Maverick
LAU-61 A/A Rocket pod
AGM-109 Harpoon
GPS guided JSOW/JDAM
Drop tank
B57 tactical bomb
GBU10/12/16
AGM-88A Harm anti-radar missile
MK-83 general-purpose bomb
AN/ASQ-173 Laser spot camera pod
GBU-10E/B Paveway II MK-84 laser-guided bomb
Three MK-82 500-lb. low-drag bombs
MK-82 Snake Eye general-purpose bomb
MK-84 3,000-lb. low-drag bomb
MK-20 Rockeye anti-tank cluster bomb
LAU-61 B/A Rocket pod
AGM-62 Walleye
MK-83 1,000-lb. low-drag bomb
AGM-65 Maverick
AIM-9L Sidewinder missile
Air-to-air combat/air-to-ground attack
Designed to self-defense rather than dogfighting, the Super Hornet can carry a mix of weapons suitable for both air combat and ground attack.
Air-to-ground structural attack
When outfitted with satellite-and laser-guided bombs, the Super Hornet is capable of making precision low-level bombing runs against buildigns and military installations.
Air-to-ground artillery attack
The Super Hornet's maneuverability allows the pilot to swoop in and quickly slow down to drop bombs on enemy tanks, anti-aircraft batteries and light artillery.
Attack scenarios
The multipurpose Super Hornet has a number of fighting and bombing capabilities. Sample combat situations:
Engaging enemy aircraft
Armed to take on enemy aircraft dispatched to intercept its bombing run
Dropping heavy payloads
Loaded for high-attitude bombing missions or low-level precision attacks.
Attacking command centers
Equipped to drop conventional and "smart" bombs on enemy ground defenses
SOURCES: U.S. Navy, GlobalSecurity.org, Federation of American Scientist, The Great Book of Modern Airplanes, Jane's All the World's Aircraft.
GRAPHIC: AP Photo - An F/A-18 Hornet aircraft pilot before taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier Wednesday. Los Angeles Times Chart / Newsday - Hornet: The Navy Super Fighter (see text)
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