"Obsolete weapons do not deter."
- British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
The F/A-18 Hornet is the true multi-role aircraft. It can vault from a carrier deck, bomb a target and stay to dogfight even the best enemy aircraft without missing a beat. It's the Navy's first modern-era jet intended for double duty against air- and ground-based adversaries. Armed to the hilt with Sparrow and Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, an internal cannon, and laser-guided bombs, this modern warbird was an outstanding performer in Operation Desert Storm. Strapped into a digital cockpit described as a cross between Star Wars and a video game, pilots of the F/A-18 Hornet take on the ultimate avaition job: blasting this single-seat, high-performance jet off the deck of a carrier, dropping bombs, and firing air-to-ground ordnance. Offering unmatched agility, the Hornet is the choice aircraft of the US Navy's elite Blue Angels aerobatic team.
This 1/72 scale item shows a highly detailed and accurately formed Super Hornet in the colorful markings of VFA-105. It looks simply stunning in its black, green and yellow markings, along with the unit’s emblem of a “skeletal gunslinger”. All the relevant markings such as the “AC” tail code have been accurately incorporated into this masterpiece of miniature aircraft design. Collectors will have to be very quick on the draw to get their hands on this excellent model F/A-18E! Now in stock!
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 7.5 inches
Length: 9 inches
Release Date: February 2008
Historical Account: "Gunslingers" - The carrier-based fighter/attack aircraft, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, entered U.S. Navy service in 1999. It’s a very different aircraft to its predecessor the F/A-18 Hornet, being larger and more advanced. All the Navy’s F-14 Tomcat squadrons have now converted to the Super Hornet, with operational versions being the F/A-18E single-seater or F/A-18F two-seater. One squadron that flies the former is VFA-105 “Gunslingers”, which is based at NAS Oceana in Virginia. In fact it was the first East Coast squadron to transition to the Super Hornet, this taking place in July 2006. The “Gunslingers” also has the distinction of being the first operational Navy strike fighter squadron to be commanded by a female, when Commander Sara Joyner took command in March 2007. |
