McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet

Updated: October 2026 – A gray jet thunders through an Alpine valley with its afterburner lit, two canted vertical stabilizers flash in the sun, and under the cockpit sit two round air intakes: that is the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, today mostly called the “Legacy Hornet.” In Switzerland, Finland and Spain it has been part of everyday air defense for decades – but its farewell has been set in motion everywhere. Here you learn how to recognize the Hornet, how to tell it from the Super Hornet and where in Europe you can still get it in front of your lens.

What is the F/A-18 Hornet?

The F/A-18 is a twin-engine multirole combat aircraft, originally developed for operations from aircraft carriers. The designation reveals the dual role: F for Fighter, A for Attack on ground targets. At first, two separate versions were even planned for this, which then merged into a single type.

Typical of its naval origin are the sturdy landing gear, the arresting hook at the tail and the wings, which can be folded up for parking. The Hornet is powered by two General Electric F404 engines; in the F404-GE-402 version each engine delivers around 79 kilonewtons of thrust with afterburner. At high altitude it manages around Mach 1.8. A 20-millimeter cannon sits in the nose, and there are nine external stations: two on the wingtips, four under the wings and three under the fuselage.

There are four basic versions. The F/A-18A and F/A-18C are single-seaters, the F/A-18B and F/A-18D the two-seaters. The C and D models are the modernized generation built from the end of the 1980s, with new electronics. Together, around 1,480 aircraft of versions A to D were built by the end of production.

From lightweight fighter to carrier aircraft

The Hornet’s roots lie with Northrop. Its YF-17 design lost out to the later F-16 in the US Air Force competition in the 1970s. The US Navy, however, was looking for a new combat aircraft at the same time and took up the YF-17. Because Northrop had little experience with carrier aircraft, McDonnell Douglas took the lead, with Northrop staying on board as an important partner. For the Navy the design was thoroughly reworked: sturdier landing gear, arresting hook, larger wings and more fuel.

The first flight took place on November 18, 1978. The Marine Corps squadron VMFA-314 put the Hornet into service as the first unit in January 1983, and the first Navy squadrons followed in July 1984. There it gradually replaced older types such as the F-4 Phantom II and the A-7 Corsair II. From 1986 to the end of 2020 the Blue Angels aerobatic team also flew the Legacy Hornet, before switching to the Super Hornet.

After McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing in 1997, the program came under the Boeing umbrella. You can read more about the original manufacturer on the page about McDonnell Douglas.

The US Navy ended operations of its last Legacy Hornets in October 2019. The US Marine Corps continues to fly the C and D models as of October 2026, but wants to replace them completely with the F-35 by around 2030.

Hornet or Super Hornet?

The most important question for every spotter. Both share the basic shape with the canted vertical stabilizers and long wing roots. The Super Hornet, however, is not an update but a much larger, largely redesigned aircraft that only first flew in 1995.

Feature	F/A-18A–D (Legacy Hornet)	F/A-18E/F (Super Hornet)
ICAO type designator	F18H	F18S
First flight	1978	1995
Air intakes	round, D-shaped	square, box-shaped
Wing root (LERX)	narrow, slender	clearly wider
Pylons per wing	2, straight	3, tilted slightly outward
External stations	9	11
Engines	2 × GE F404	2 × GE F414
Length	around 17.1 m	18.31 m
European operators	Switzerland, Finland, Spain	none

The fastest help is a look at the air intakes. Round means Hornet, square means Super Hornet or Growler. This works from the front, from an angle in front and in profile – so from almost any photo position.

The second feature comes from the underside of the wing: the Hornet has only two pylons per side, hanging straight down. The Super Hornet has three, splayed slightly outward. And since no European country flies the Super Hornet, an F/A-18 in Switzerland, Finland or Spain is practically always a Legacy Hornet – exceptions are US Navy visitors at exercises or airshows.

How to recognize the variants

Once the Hornet is confirmed, it comes down to single-seat or two-seat and the operator. A little quick-ID tool helps here.

Between A and C or B and D there are hardly any clear external features. Rely on the serial and the operator here: Switzerland and Finland fly only C and D, Spain mainly modernized A and B models.

The Hornet in Switzerland

At the end of the 1980s the Federal Council chose the F/A-18 to replace the Mirage fighters, and parliament gave the green light in 1992. 26 F/A-18Cs and 8 F/A-18Ds were bought, delivered between 1996 and 1999. Most of the aircraft were final-assembled in Emmen. Four aircraft were lost in accidents. At first the Swiss Hornets were pure air defenders; capabilities against ground targets only came later through retrofits.

The Hornets fly with squadrons 11, 17 and 18 (Fliegerstaffeln). Squadron 11, the “Tigers,” is based at Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland, and squadrons 17 and 18 at Payerne in western Switzerland. Until 2005, Dübendorf was also a Hornet base. How the squadrons will continue in the course of the type change is in flux – check current information before a visit.

The successor is the F-35A. The purchase contract was signed in September 2022, originally for 36 aircraft. Because of increased costs, the number was recently reviewed; for how many aircraft will arrive in the end, it is best to read current reports. Until the F-35A takes over, the Hornet remains the backbone of Swiss air defense.

For spotters, Switzerland is a special case: the jets fly low through Alpine valleys, and events like the live-fire demonstration at the Axalp put you directly above the aircraft. What legally applies when photographing is covered in the article on the legal situation of plane spotting in Switzerland. The Swiss aerobatic team, by the way, does not fly the Hornet but the F-5 – more on that at the Patrouille Suisse and the Northrop F-5 Tiger II. You can also experience Swiss military aviation history at the Swiss Air Force and Air Defense Museum in Dübendorf.

The Hornet in Finland

In 1992 Finland ordered 64 Hornets: 57 single-seat F-18Cs and 7 two-seat F-18Ds. The two-seaters came from St. Louis, while the single-seaters were assembled in Finland. Deliveries ran between 1995 and 2000. The Hornet replaced the MiG-21 and the Saab Draken at the time. With the MLU 2 modernization program, the Finnish jets additionally received capabilities against ground targets from 2012 to 2016.

Today the Hornets fly with two wings: the Lapland Air Wing with squadron 11 at Rovaniemi and the Karelia Air Wing with squadron 31 at Kuopio-Rissala. Rovaniemi is also a civil airport – more on the page about Rovaniemi Airport. The Finnish serials start with HN, followed by a three-digit number.

The farewell is already under way: in April 2024 the first Finnish Hornet was retired. Finland has ordered 64 F-35As as the successor. The first aircraft initially serve in the USA for pilot training. Deliveries run from 2026 to 2030, and by the end of the decade the F-35A is to replace the Hornet completely. If you still want to experience a Finnish Hornet, you should not wait too long.

The Hornet in Spain

Spain is the largest Hornet user in Europe. The Air Force ordered 60 EF-18As and 12 EF-18Bs, delivered from 1985 to 1990. This replaced older combat aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom. From 1995, 24 used F/A-18As from US Navy stocks were added. In the Air Force the aircraft are called C.15 (single-seat) and CE.15 (two-seat); modernized examples run as EF-18M or C.15M.

Three wings fly the type:

Wing	Base	Note
Ala 12	Torrejón near Madrid	Squadrons 121 and 122
Ala 15	Zaragoza	Squadrons 151, 152 and 153
Ala 46	Gando, Gran Canaria	ex-US Navy F/A-18A, Squadron 462

The Gando base shares its runway with the civil Gran Canaria Airport. A popular place right at the runway is described on the page for the spot Ojos de Garza.

Spanish serials are easy to read: the first number stands for the wing, the second for the aircraft. An aircraft with 46-xx on the nose therefore belongs to Ala 46 in the Canary Islands.

Here, too, the successor has been ordered. With the Halcón I program, Ala 46 on Gran Canaria will receive a total of 20 new Eurofighters from 2026, replacing the Hornets there. Halcón II follows with 25 more Eurofighters, replacing further EF-18s on the mainland. Before you set off, a look at the article Spotting in Spain: the rules is worthwhile.

Other users worldwide

Outside Europe the Legacy Hornet is also on the retreat:

• Canada: The Royal Canadian Air Force operates the Hornet as the CF-18 (officially CF-188). Its aircraft carry a painted false canopy on the underside. Canada also took over used Hornets from Australia and wants to replace the fleet with the F-35.
• Australia: The Royal Australian Air Force retired its Hornets at the end of 2021.
• Kuwait: Kuwait flew C and D models from the early 1990s and has procured Super Hornets and Eurofighters in parallel.
• Malaysia: The Malaysian Air Force operates eight F/A-18Ds. A planned purchase of used Kuwaiti Hornets was canceled in early 2026.
• USA: Besides the Marine Corps, NASA uses Hornets as research and chase aircraft.

Where to see the Hornet in Europe

Your best chance is at the home bases in Switzerland, Finland and Spain. On top of that come occasions when the Hornet travels to you:

• Exercises and exchange programs: At multinational maneuvers, Hornets also land at airfields in other countries.
• Airshows: Swiss, Finnish and Spanish Hornets are welcome participants at air days. Which aircraft come is often only settled shortly beforehand.
• Special occasions: Farewell flights before retirement often produce special liveries. How such paint schemes come about on military jets is explained in the article NATO Tiger Meet and military special liveries.

Military flights are often missing from tracking services or only appear patchily. How to follow them anyway is covered in the guide Tracking military aircraft online; you can research serials and inventories through the Scramble military database, for example. The rules at the fence are explained in the article Photographing military airfields: the rules.

Photo tips for the Hornet

Fighter jets are fast and loud, and at military airfields the distance is often large. These points still get you to meaningful pictures.

You calculate when the light is right at your location with the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot. You can find general tips for air days in the guide Photographing airshows.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Besides the Super Hornet there are other jets that look similar at first glance. The F-15 Eagle also has two vertical stabilizers, but they stand upright, plus square intakes far out on the sides of the fuselage. The F-35 has only one engine and a smooth, angular stealth shape. The Eurofighter and the Saab Gripen drop out immediately with a delta wing, canards and only one vertical stabilizer. Further distinctions are explained in the article Recognizing fighter jets in Europe.

Capture the Hornet in Planetrack

Right now, as the Hornet says goodbye in Europe, every sighting is a piece of spotter history. In Planetrack you post it with photo, aircraft type, serial, operator, airport and spot, and afterward have it permanently in your hangar. On the wish list you note types you are still missing – such as the Super Hornet or the successor F-35. In the community you show your pictures, collect likes and comments, and exchange ideas in the chat with other military spotters.

Conclusion

The Legacy Hornet is a classic of naval aviation that has had a second career as an air defender in Europe. A look at the round air intakes reliably separates it from the Super Hornet, and the serial tells you the country. In Switzerland, Finland and Spain the replacement by the F-35A and Eurofighter is under way – the coming years are your chance to still experience the Hornet in everyday operations.