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Military pilots do not easily heap praise on one another's aircraft, but when the object of their attention is the McDonnell F-18 Hornet, they really do talk in superlatives. Whether displaying its awesome manoeuvrability and firepower in the air-to-air combat role, or delivering a hefty warload with unerring accuracy in the ground-attack role, this aircraft has few, if any, equals.
Capable of both ground-attack and day/night all-weather air-to-air missions, the Hornet has earned a justifiable reputation as the most sought-after cockpit in the singleseat business. During the months before the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf War, Hornets flew round-the-clock Combat Air Patrols to provide top cover for Allied fleets. They played a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Iraqi aircraft probing their defences before turning away, but when the war started it was a different game, and in deadly earnest.
US Navy and Marine Corps F-18s were among the first Allied aircraft to cross the Iraqi border and they remained in the thick of the fighting throughout the air campaign. In addition to flying escort and sweep missions in support of strike aircraft to and from targets deep within Iraq, Hornets also flew bombing and defence suppression missions and participated in raids on Baghdad. They flew more than 10,000 sorties and 25,000 flight hours during Operation Desert Storm, and shot down two Iraqi MiG 21s to add to the proud McDonnell boast that every enemy fighter shot down in combat was downed by one of their aircraft.
Set against a deep blue sky receding into the pink heat haze of the desert, a pair of Canadian Armed Forces CF-18s head for the danger zone on a Combat Air Patrol mission. The aircraft are ready for action with a full warload of AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, in addition to their 20mm M61 cannon.
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