Boeing F/A-18 Hornet Wallpapers

Boeing F/A-18 Hornet Aircraft; photo wallpapers; Megawallpapers.org: The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F/A-18 Hornet is a modern all-weather carrier-capable strike fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. Designed in the 1970s, it is in service with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, as well as the air forces of several other nations. It has been the aerial demonstration aircraft for the Blue Angels since it was selected to replace the A-4 Skyhawk in 1986. Its primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), interdiction, close air support and reconnaissance. [br]Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier [br]asset, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload [br]compared to its contemporaries. A version exported to Finland and Switzerland without ground attack capabilities is called the F-18 Hornet [br].The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a distinct, evolutionary upgrade to the F/A-18 designed to serve a complementary role with Hornets in the U.S. Navy.  The F/A-18 acquired as a result of the U.S. Navy's Naval [br]Fighter-Attack, Experimental (VFAX) program to procure a multirole [br]aircraft to replace the F-4 Phantom II, A-4 Skyhawk, and A-7 Corsair II, and complement the F-14 Tomcat. Vice Admiral Kent Lee, then head of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), was the lead advocate for the VFAX against strong opposition from many Navy officers, including Vice Admiral William D. Houser, deputy chief of naval operations for air warfare - the highest ranking naval aviator. [br]In August 1973, congress mandated that the Navy pursue a lower-cost [br]alternative to the F-14. Grumman proposed a stripped F-14 designated [br]the F-14X, while McDonnell Douglas proposed a navalized F-15, but both were nearly as expensive as the F-14. That summer, Secretary of Defense Schlesinger ordered the Navy to evaluate the competitors in the Air Force's Light Weight Fighter (LWF) program, the General Dynamics YF-16 and Northrop YF-17, [br]though the competition specified a day fighter with no strike [br]capability. In May 1974, the House Armed Services Committee redirected [br]$34 million from the VFAX to a new program, the Navy Air Combat Fighter [br](NACF), intended to make maximum use of the technology developed for [br]the LWF program. [br]Though the YF-16 won the LWF competition, the Navy was skeptical [br]that an aircraft with one engine and narrow landing gear could be [br]easily or economically adapted to carrier service, and refused to adopt [br]an F-16 derivative. The Navy fought for and won permission to develop [br]an aircraft based on the YF-17. Since the LWF did not share the design [br]requirements of the VFAX, the Navy asked McDonnell Douglas [br]and Northrop to design a new aircraft around the configuration and [br]design principles of the YF-17. The new aircraft, designated the F-18, [br]shared not a single essential dimension or primary structure with the [br]YF-17. Secretary of the Navy W. Graham Claytor announced on 1 March [br]1977 that the name of the aircraft would be "Hornet".

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Boeing F/A-18 Hornet Wallpapers @ Mega Wallpapers (08 Edition)
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