Page 52 - Australian Defence Magazine March-April 2022

52 AIRPOWER
MARCH-APRIL 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
AUSTRALIA’S CLASSIC HORNET - A RETROSPECTIVE
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
WHILE ADM’s usual focus is on current and future platforms and services, it is worth looking more closely at the Hor- net and what it delivered to the ADF over more than three decades – a period of time which saw it deployed overseas under three different operations.
The Hornet was the RAAF’s first ‘electric jet’, ushering in an age of digital platforms and enabling the journey to- wards the ‘connected’ battlefield of tomorrow. It was also the first truly multi-role jet fighter in the Air Force’s his- tory, being equally adept at air to air and air to ground missions – something its predecessor, the Australian-built Mirage IIIO could only do with major compromise in one role or the other. Furthermore, the aircraft provided a step-
change in capability from the Mirage, one which required a new mindset and set the RAAF on a journey that has thus far culminated in the 5th generation F-35A Lightning II.
From a reliability standpoint and despite its complexity, the Hornet set new standards when compared with earlier jet fighters. In the 36 years of sustained flying only four were lost in RAAF service – none of them to proven me- chanical malfunction.
HORNETS FOR AUSTRALIA
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18A/B Hornet was selected to replace the ageing Mirage IIIO as Austra- lia’s next combat jet under the RAAF’s Tactical Fighter Pro-