Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet

The Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornet is a twin-engine, multi-role fighter aircraft manufactured in the United States.

Zoom

Most of the Finnish Air Force's Hornet fleet is divided between Lapland Air Command (Fighter Wing 11) and Karelia Air Command (Fighter Wing 31), forming the backbone of the air force's combat capability. They carry the military designation HN.

The wide range of modern weapons the aircraft can carry, in conjunction with its sensor and data link systems, enables combat beyond and within visual range in all weather and light conditions. In service with the Finnish Air Force are 62 Hornets, including 55 single-seat F/A-18Cs and seven two-seat F/A-18Ds.

The F/A-18C and F/A-18D variants of the Hornet entered series production in 1987. They were the second version of the aircraft developed as a carrier-based all-weather fighter for the United States Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Finland selected the Hornet in 1992 to replace its aging Saab Draken and MiGMikoyan-Gurewitsch-21bis interceptors. The aircraft entered Finnish service between 1995 and 2000.

The Finnish F/A-18 fleet underwent an extensive mid-life upgrade program. The first phase, designated MLU 1, aimed to maintain and improve the aircraft's air-to-air capabilities and was completed between 2001 and 2010. Among other improvements, the aircraft were equipped with a helmet-mounted sighting system for improved close-in combat capability and the new AIM-9X version of the infrared-guided Sidewinder missile. A new combined friend-or-foe interrogator/transponder for easier identification in combat operations was also incorporated.

The most significant addition by MLU 2, which was installed from 2004 to 2016, was the air-to-ground mission capability and associated procurement of short-, medium-, and long-range bombs and standoff missiles. MLU 2 also introduced an improved version of the original radar-guided Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM); upgraded communications and navigation systems; and equipped the aircraft with the Link 16 datalink for combined operations. Link 16 enables cooperation between different air defense platforms and command levels, as well as the distribution of information to support network-centric operations.

Technical data: