18F Super Hornet Wallpapers

18F Super Hornet Military aircraft - photo wallpapers (Megawallpapers.org): The Boeing F/A-18E/F/G Super Hornet is a fighter and attack aircraft in service with the United States Navy. The Super Hornet is essentially an all-new aircraft, with similar appearance to and some systems carried over from the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The fighter is colloquially referred to as the "Super Bug" and sometimes the "Rhino" (for its prodigious nose). The Super Hornet was ordered from McDonnell Douglas in 1992, first flew in November 1995, made its first carrier landing in 1997 and entered service in 2002. Current versions include the F/A-18E single-seater and F/A-18F two-seater. These are replacing the older F/A-18 models in the Navy's inventory, as well as the F-14 Tomcats. The Super Hornet maintained the "F/A-18" designation for political reasons only (to procure the development of an essentially new combat aircraft at a time when Congress was unwilling to sponsor new military systems); if the plane had been designated in proper sequence, its designation would have been "F-24A." (the "F-24" designation seems politically undesirable for some reason, it was also recommended for the operational version of the X-35, which was adopted as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter). The early 1990s brought a number of problems for US naval aviation. The A-12 Avenger II program, intended to replace the obsolete A-6 Intruders and A-7 Corsair IIs, had run into serious problems and was cancelled. The Gulf War revealed that the Navy's strike capability lagged that of the Air Force in certain respects. With no clean-sheet program likely to produce results before about 2020, updating an existing design became an attractive approach. One such proposal was the "Super Hornet" (or, originally, "Hornet II"), originally put forward in the 1980s to improve early F/A-18 models. Compared with its predecessor, the Super Hornet has a 25 % larger wing that allows the aircraft to return to an aircraft carrier with a larger load of unspent munitions. This had become important with the greater use of more expensive, precision-guided weapons and a growing consciousness about avoiding "collateral damage." The fuselage was stretched to carry more fuel and room for future avionics upgrades. An engine with 35 % more power, the General Electric F414, was developed to power this larger, heavier aircraft. The aircraft can carry five 440-US-gallon (1700-liter) external fuel tanks for long-distance ferry flights or four tanks plus a Aerial Refueling Store (ARS), or "buddy store," which permits the Super Hornet to refuel other aircraft. Other differences include angular intakes for the engines, a smaller radar cross section (RCS), two extra wing hardpoints for payload, and other aerodynamic changes. By the end of all this, the Super Hornet shared little with earlier F/A-18's aft of the forward fuselage. Upgraded avionics being introduced in the Super Hornet include the APG-79 AESA radar, the ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting FLIR), and the ALE-50 Towed Decoy System. [br]An electronic attack version of the F/A-18F, the EA-18G Growler, will replace the Navy's and Marine Corps' EA-6B Prowler and the already-retired Air Force EF-111 Ravens. An -18F fitted with some electronic-warfare systems flew in late 2003. Two test EA-18Gs aircraft are in assembly as of late 2005, and are expected to fly in late 2006. The Navy intends to place orders for the first four production Growlers in November 2005. [br]Specifications [br]- Primary Function: Multi-role attack and fighter aircraft (E, F), electronic warfare aircraft (G) [br]- Prime: Boeing Integrated Defense Systems [br]- Major subcontractor: Northrop Grumman (center section, Electronic Attack hardware on G model) [br]- Unit Cost: (F/A-18E) $57 million (2003US$) (F/A-18F) $59 million (2003US$) (EA-18G) $66 million (2003US$) [br]- Propulsion: 2 x F414-GE-400 turbofan engines [br]- Thrust: 22,000 lbf (98 kN) installed static thrust per engine at sea-level [br]- Length: 60ft 1.25in (18.31 m) [br]- Height: 16 ft (4.88 m) [br]- Maximum takeoff gross weight: 66,000 lb (29,900 kg) [br]- Max Internal Fuel: 14,000 lb [br]- Empty Weight: 30,564 lb [br]- Basic Weight: 31,500 lb [br]- Fighter Configuration: 47,000 lb [br]- Wing Area: 500.00 sq ft (46.45 sq m) [br]- Wingspan: 44ft 8.5in (13.62 m) (including tip-mounted AAMs) [br]- Ceiling: 50,000+ ft (15,000 m) [br]- Speed: More than 1,190 mph (1915 km/h) or Mach 1.80 at high altitude [br]- Combat Radius: 681 miles (1095 km) on hi-hi-hi interdiction mission with 4x1000 lb bombs, 2 AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs, and 2 drop tanks, or 173 miles (278 km) on 135-minute maritime air superiority mission with 6 AAMs and 3 drop tanks [br]Crew: [br]- E models: one [br]- F and G models: two [br]Radar: [br]- Initial aircraft: Raytheon APG-73 [br]- Block II upgrade, 2005: Raytheon APG-79 AESA [br]- Armament (all except G): One M61A1/A2 Vulcan 20 mm cannon [br]- External payload: 2 wing-tip LAU-127 launchers, 6 removable under wing mounted hard points (4 with increased carriage capability), 2 multi-mode fuselage stations (air-to-air weapons or FLIR/ASQ-228 ATFLIR), 1 centerline fuselage removable hardpoint. [br]- Weapons employment (all except G) AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, AIM-120 AMRAAM, AGM-84 Harpoon, AGM-88 HARM, AGM-45 Shrike, AGM-84E SLAM, SLAM-ER, AGM-62 Walleye, AGM-65 Maverick missiles; AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon, Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM); B57 or B61 Nuclear Freefall bombs, Paveway LGBs, Mk 80 series general-purpose bombs, Mk-20 Rockeye II and CBU-series cluster bombs, BLU-series napalm bombs, LAU-sereis multiple launchers for 70mm Hydra 70 air-to-surface unguided rockets. [br]- First Flight: December 1995.

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