The McDonnel Douglas F/A-18 Hornet first entered service as a carrier fighter for the U.S. Marine Corps in 1983 and the Navy in 1984.
These jets were the first fighters in history to be able to seamlessly transition between air-to-air and air-to-ground operations mid-flight with just the flip of a switch. Thanks to that, they helped usher in the end of dedicated air-to-ground, or attack, aircraft, as we know them, and earned that tricky “F/A” prefix which stands for “Fighter/Attack.”
Today, all of the Navy’s Hornets have been retired; the Marine Corps is still clinging to a few until that will ultimately be replaced by new Marine Corps F-35s. Yet, even though these jets have largely aged out from the American military, they are still operated by several other countries, including Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain and Switzerland – and a handful are still flown by NASA.
The easiest way to spot an original Hornet is to look at its intakes. If they’re round, you’ve got yourself an OG Hornet, “OG” meaning “original gangster” – that’s not a military acronym…
Then, in 2001, the F/A-18 Super Hornet entered service for the Navy, but despite carrying the same designation and looking very similar to the original, the Super Hornet was practically an entirely new fighter.
(The Super Hornet took pains to borrow its name and aesthetic from the Navy’s existing jets, at least in part, to make Congress think of buying these aircraft as something of an upgrade, rather than a whole new expensive program.)
The Super Hornet is a much bigger and heavier aircraft than the original Hornet: it’s about four feet longer; four feet wider; and has about 100 more square feet of wing area.
These increases result in a new jet that is larger and weighs about 40% more than its predecessor. However, the difference in size isn’t easy to spot unless you’ve got a Hornet nearby to compare it to.
So, just like with the Hornet, the easy way to spot a Super Hornet is by looking at its intakes as Super Hornet intakes are squared off, rather than round like the Hornet’s.
But what about the Super Hornet’s even younger sister, the EA-18G Growler?
Related: Airpower en masse: America’s new approach to warfare
These jets have effectively the same Super Hornet airframe heavily modified for electronic attack operations, so they look extremely similar.
The Growler, however, had the 20mm cannon, found in the Hornets and Super Hornets, removed from its nose in favor of electronic warfare gear, so you’ll see a small bulge instead of a hole for the cannon to fire through. It also has ALQ-218 receivers mounted on its wingtips where you’ll usually see Super Hornets carrying AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
But the easiest way to spot a Growler will soon be a thing of the past.
For years, Growlers carried the AN/ALQ-99 jammer pod that had a propellor sticking out of the front that is spun by air flowing over it to produce electricity. But the new AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Mid-Band Jammer moved that turbine generator to the inside of the pod.
Nevertheless, the Growler is still distinct compared to the rest of the F/A-18 family.
Feature Image: After an early morning round of flight operations, an F/A-18 “Hornet” awaits the next round of combat flight operations aboard USS John C. Stennis during Operation Enduring Freedom, December 2001. (U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Jayme Pastoric)
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