McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
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The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an American fighter jet used by several countries around the world (including the United States, Canada, and Australia), initially manufactured by McDonnell Douglas, with Boeing later making an upgraded version called the Super Hornet. The F/A-18 Hornet first appeared in kaiju movies in the 1998 American GODZILLA. Both the standard F/A-18 and the upgraded F/A-18E Super Hornet have appeared in other films since then, where they have often been utilized by the United States against both aerial and ground-based opponents.
History
GODZILLA (1998)
A trio of F/A-18A Hornets, among the U.S. military's most powerful aerial vehicles, were dispatched to destroy Godzilla's nest in Madison Square Garden. Within six minutes, the entire building was completely annihilated, and all of the Baby Godzillas were killed in the explosion. However, the adult Godzilla emerged from underneath the city streets shortly afterward. Having secretly survived an earlier submarine attack, Godzilla looked down in anger and sorrow at its dead offspring. Enraged, Godzilla chased Niko Tatopoulos and his allies across New York City, and was led to the Brooklyn Bridge, where the F/A-18 Hornets were again summoned to destroy the monster as it was trapped in the suspension cables of the bridge. Two missiles from each craft were fired directly at Godzilla, striking him in the side. Staggering in pain, Godzilla tried to grab one of the Hornets with his jaws as it flew past, but it was too fast for him to reach. With Godzilla still standing, the aircraft made a second pass, firing six more missiles, all of which successfully hit their target. Finally, Godzilla collapsed onto the street, dying from its injuries. The Hornets, successful in their mission to rid New York City of the threat posed by Godzilla, returned to their base while the monster finally succumbed to its wounds and died, surrounded by countless onlookers.
Godzilla: The Series
The F/A-18 is also a recurring military vehicle in Godzilla: The Series. Alongside the AH-64 Apache, the HMMWV and the M1A2 Abrams the Hornet fought several monsters over the course of the series.
Cloverfield
Squadrons of F/A-18s were among the equipment deployed by the military to combat Clover when he attacked New York City; the F/A-18s engaged the creature repeatedly throughout the night, though their weapons appeared to have little effect on him. As the military prepared to initiate the Hammerdown Protocol, the F/A-18s withdrew from the area, and were last seen flying over Central Park to get out of range of the impending blasts.
Monsterverse
Godzilla
F/A-18E Super Hornets of the US Navy were among the aircraft present aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga, taking part in the battle against the MUTOs in San Francisco alongside detachments of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs. Significant numbers of the aircraft were disabled by the MUTOs' electromagnetic pulses, falling to the ground and into San Francisco Bay.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
F/A-18E Super Hornets from the U.S. Navy's Blue Diamonds squadron took part in the aerial battle against Rodan. Additional Hornets were tasked with escorting and guarding the USS Argo, and attempted to assist the F-35 Lightning IIs of Gold Squadron in defending the Argo from Rodan, only for several to be shot down in the process, alongside the entirety of Gold Squadron. F/A-18E Super Hornets of the Blue Diamonds were later used to help Monarch locate Godzilla's subterranean lair, and additional F/A-18s of the US Navy took part in the final battle between the Titans in Boston.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Following Godzilla's attack on the Apex Cybernetics facility at Pensacola, Florida, the American military was mobilized to search for him, including a number of Hornets of VFA-147, the Argonauts.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
F/A-18 Hornets and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs of the US Navy were sent to track Godzilla as he moved through the Spanish city of Cádiz.
Capabilities
Flight
The F/A-18 Hornet has a maximum flight speed of Mach 1.7.
Cannons
The F/A-18 Hornet is armed with a single M61A1 (Hornet) & M61A2 (Super Hornet) 20mm Vulcan cannon.
Hardpoints
The Hornet has 9 hardpoints for assorted missiles, bombs and electronic warfare equipment, while the Super Hornet has 11 hardpoints.
Range
Both variants have a combat range of 511 miles.
Comics
Gamera vs. Barugon: Comic Version
As the battle between Barugon and the JSDF on the Miura Peninsula raged on, the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) was on patrol near Japan. The Kitty Hawk launched several F/A-18E Super Hornets from VFA-27, the Royal Maces, to intercept an object approaching the carrier at high speed. As the fighter jets searched for the object, it made its presence known; a year after Gamera had defeated the Gyaos in Tokyo, another one had emerged, and attempted to shoot down two of the Hornets using its Supersonic Scalpel, though the planes were able to avoid destruction. Gyaos was persistent, and continued the chase, firing another beam at one of the jets ahead of it; however, before Gyaos could kill the pilot it was targeting, Gamera emerged from the ocean below and flew straight at the Gyaos, killing it by tearing its wing off and giving the Hornets a chance to escape.
Upon hearing word that the naval base at Yokosuka had been destroyed by Barugon's Rainbow Death Ray, which had inundated the base with a tsunami wave, the Kitty Hawk's captain gave the order for a strike force to be launched to assist the JSDF in fighting the monster, with the carrier's complement of Hornets leading the charge, following Gamera at a close distance. However, as the jets approached, a severe ice storm generated by Barugon's Chilling Liquid made conditions too dangerous for the aircraft to engage, and so they withdrew from the battle, diverting to Naval Air Facility Atsugi.
Gallery
An F/A-18 Hornet, as seen in the Godzilla: The Series episode New Family: Part 1
Trivia
- The F/A-18 Hornet is among the only conventional military vehicles to have successfully defeated a kaiju, although their successful use against Godzilla required multiple confirmed missile strikes from three F-18s to finally kill him while he was entangled in suspension cables. Other conventional aircraft that have successfully brought down a giant monster include the Curtiss F8C Helldiver biplane and UH-1H Iroquois helicopter, which killed King Kong in the 1933 and 1976 versions of King Kong, respectively, the Lockheed T-33A Shooting Stars that buried Godzilla under an avalanche after firing missiles at a glacier on Kamiko Island in Godzilla Raids Again, and the Kyushu J7W Shinden, which blew off Godzilla's head in Godzilla Minus One.
References
This is a list of references for McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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