From the YF-17 Cobra to the F/A-18 Hornet, Super Hornet, Block III Rhino and EA-18G Growler, this is the complete story of one of the most versatile aircraft families ever to operate from an American aircraft carrier. The Hornet was never the fastest fighter in the fleet, and it never had the longest range. But when the Navy needed an aircraft to do something, there was usually a way to make a Hornet do it. In this special feature-length PilotPhotog compilation, we trace nearly five decades of F/A-18 development, technology and operations — from the original Lightweight Fighter competition through the creation of the Super Hornet and into the increasingly dangerous skies over the Red Sea.
Tag: naval aviation
-
A-6 Intruder: the ground attack legend
When bad weather grounded every sleek fighter on the carrier deck, the United States Navy turned to one ugly, subsonic bomb truck: the Grumman A-6 Intruder.
It carried a heavier payload than the F-4 Phantom, flew blind through pitch-black storms over Vietnam using the revolutionary DIANE radar system, and laid the foundation for the EA-6B Prowler. Yet, right after proving its unmatched precision-strike capability in Desert Storm, the Navy retired the Intruder—leaving carrier air wings without a true long-range, heavy-payload successor after the stealth A-12 Avenger II was canceled.
In this deep dive, we break down how the “Iron Tadpole” became the ultimate all-weather bomber, its terrifying cold-war nuclear strike mission, and the defense budget spreadsheet decisions that ultimately grounded it forever.