Based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, the Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-

engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft. The larger and more advanced F/A-18E single-seat and
F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet.

The Super Hornet can carry both air-to-surface weapons and air-to-air missiles thanks to its internal 20
mm M61 rotary cannon. Extra fuel can be conveyed in up to five outer gas tanks and the airplane can be
arranged as an airborne big hauler by adding an outside aerial refueling framework.

The Super Hornet first flew in 1995, and McDonnell Douglas designed and initially manufactured it. Full-
rate production began in September 1997, following the merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing the
previous month, and low-rate production began in the early part of 1997. The Grumman F-14 Tomcat,
which was retired in 2006, was replaced in 1999 by the Super Hornet, which entered fleet service with
the United States Navy; Alongside the original Hornet, the Super Hornet has served. The Imperial
Australian Aviation based armed forces (RAAF), which has worked the F/A-18A as its principal contender
starting around 1984, requested the F/A-18F in 2007 to supplant its maturing General Elements F-111C
armada. In December 2010, the RAAF Super Hornets entered service.

The Super Hornet is based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet and was developed from the VFA-
143 "Pukin Dogs" F-14B and F/A-18E in 2005. It is a redesign of the F/A-18 Hornet. Improvements and
changes 1.3.1 Advanced Super Hornet 2 Design 2.1 Overview 2.2 Airframe changes 2.3 Radar signature
reduction measures 2.4 Avionics 3 Operational history 3.1 United States Navy 3.2 Royal Australian Air
Force 3.3 Kuwait Air Force The Northrop YF-17 "Cobra" competed in the United States Air Force's
Lightweight Fighter (LWF) program to produce a smaller and simpler fighter to complement the larger
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle.[5] The wing and tail configuration originates from a Northrop prototype
aircraft, the P-530, which began as a rework of the lightweight Northrop F-5E with a larger wing, twin
tail fins, and a distinctive leading edge root extension, or LER The Navy directed that the YF-17 be
redesigned into the larger F/A-18 Hornet in order to meet a requirement for a multi-role fighter to
complement the larger and more expensive Grumman F-14 Tomcat serving in roles such as fleet defense
interceptor and air superiority.[6] The YF-17 lost the competition to the YF-16. The Hornet proved to be
efficient, but its combat radius was limited. In the 1980s, McDonnell Douglas introduced the Hornet
2000, a larger version of the original design. The Hornet 2000 concept was an advanced F/A-18 with a
longer fuselage, a larger wing, and more powerful engines that could carry more fuel.[6][7] The end of
the Cold War brought about significant budget reductions and reorganization in the military. U.S. Naval
Aviation encountered a number of issues concurrently. In 1991, the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II
program was terminated due to serious issues; It was designed to take the place of the out-of-date
Grumman A-6 Intruder.[8] The Navy thought that updating a design that was already in use would be
better than starting from scratch. McDonnell Douglas proposed the "Super Hornet" (originally known as
"Hornet II") as an alternative to the A-12. The "Super Hornet" was an improvement of the successful
previous models of the F/A-18[7], and it was intended to be used as an alternative to the A-6 Intruder.
At the time, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat was the primary air superiority fighter and fleet defense
interceptor for the Navy. However, the next-generation Hornet design proved to be more appealing
than Grumman's Quick Strike upgrade to the F-14 Tomcat, which was regarded as an insufficient
technological leap over the existing F-14s[9]. The decision to replace the Tomcat with an all-Hornet
Carrier Air Wing was controversial, as then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney referred to the F-14 as
technology from the 1960s. In 1989, he drastically reduced the amount of F-14D procurement, and in
1991, he ended production entirely in favor of the updated F/A-18E/F.[10][11] In 1992, the Navy
canceled the Navy Advanced Tactical Fighter (NATF), which would have been a navalized variant of the
Air Force's Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.[6] As a cheaper alternative to NATF, Grumman proposed
substantial improvements to the F-14 beyond Quick Strike, but Congress rejected them as being too
expensive and reaffirmed its commitment to the less expensive F/A-18E/F.[13] Testing and production
of the Super Hornet began in 1993.[9]