Changes

==Service==

==Service==

[[Image:F-18_takeoff.jpg‎|thumb|200px|right|An F/A-18 launches in afterburner.]]

[[Image:F-18_takeoff.jpg‎|thumb|200px|right|An F/A-18 launches in afterburner.]]

The first F/A-18 Hornet went into service with the [[Marine Corps]] in 1983 and with the Navy the same year. In 1986, the [[Blue Angels]] replaced the [[A-4 Skyhawk]] with the F-18. F-18s first saw service in the [[Gulf War]], being mostly used as ground attack aircraft.  On one such mission, however, two Hornet pilots from the USS ''Saratoga'' shot down two [[MiG-21]]s, scoring the first (and so far, only) air-to-air victories for the jet.  After downing the Migs, the two pilots completed their attack mission, dropping their bombs on an Iraqi airfield.<ref>[http://www.mdc.com/defense-space/military/fa18/fa18_milestones.htm F/A-18 Hornet Milestones]</ref>

The first F/A-18 Hornet went into service with the [[Marine Corps]] in 1983 and with the Navy the same year. In 1986, the [[Blue Angels]] replaced the [[A-4 Skyhawk]] with the F-18. The Hornet saw its first combat on its first carrier deployment, in 1986.  Hornets flying from the USS ''Coral Sea'' provided fighter cover for ships and planes off the coast of [[Libya]], and during Operation El Dorado Canyon, F/A-18s supported the US Navy strikes by attacking Libyan radars.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_358.shtml Libyan Wars, 1980-1989]</ref>

 

Hornets saw extensive use in the [[Gulf War]], being mostly used as ground attack aircraft.  On one such mission, however, two Hornet pilots from the USS ''Saratoga'' shot down two [[MiG-21]]s, scoring the first (and so far, only) air-to-air victories for the jet.  After downing the Migs, the two pilots completed their attack mission, dropping their bombs on an Iraqi airfield.<ref>[http://www.mdc.com/defense-space/military/fa18/fa18_milestones.htm F/A-18 Hornet Milestones]</ref>

On the early morning of January 17,1991, another Hornet from the ''Saratoga'' became the first Allied loss of the war when it was shot down while attacking an airfield.  The pilot, Lt. Commander Michael Speicher, went down with his plane, the first fatality of the Gulf War.<ref>''Desert Storm: Air War'', by Robert F. Dorr, Motorbooks International, 1991</ref>  The cause was initially thought to have been anti-aircraft fire, but more recent sources suggest that the plane was downed by an Iraqi [[MiG-25]], which would make this the only air-to-air victory of the Iraqi air force during the war and the first time since the [[Vietnam War]] that America had lost an airplane in aerial combat.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E6DF1739F937A25751C1A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 A U.S. Team Seeks War Pilot’s Body]</ref><ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/01/14/gulf.war.pilot.01/ Missing U.S. Pilot Dead, Iraq Insists]</ref>

On the early morning of January 17,1991, another Hornet from the ''Saratoga'' became the first Allied loss of the war when it was shot down while attacking an airfield.  The pilot, Lt. Commander Michael Speicher, went down with his plane, the first fatality of the Gulf War.<ref>''Desert Storm: Air War'', by Robert F. Dorr, Motorbooks International, 1991</ref>  The cause was initially thought to have been anti-aircraft fire, but more recent sources suggest that the plane was downed by an Iraqi [[MiG-25]], which would make this the only air-to-air victory of the Iraqi air force during the war and the first time since the [[Vietnam War]] that America had lost an airplane in aerial combat.<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E6DF1739F937A25751C1A963958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 A U.S. Team Seeks War Pilot’s Body]</ref><ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/01/14/gulf.war.pilot.01/ Missing U.S. Pilot Dead, Iraq Insists]</ref>

F-18s were also used in [[Kosovo]] in the 1990s and in [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]].  Early in the Iraqi campaign, one Hornet was lost in a [[friendly fire]] incident involving a [[MIM-104 Patriot|Patriot missile]] battery.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20030422/ai_n14548094 Friendly fire toll raises concerns about Patriot]</ref>  Two others, both Super Hornets, were lost in a mid-air collision over the Persian Gulf in January 2008.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/07/world/main3683082.shtml 2 Navy Fighter Jets Crash in Persian Gulf]</ref>

F/A-18s also saw service over the former republic of [[Yugoslavia]] in the 1990s and in [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]].  Early in the Iraqi campaign, one Hornet was lost in a [[friendly fire]] incident involving a [[MIM-104 Patriot|Patriot missile]] battery.<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20030422/ai_n14548094 Friendly fire toll raises concerns about Patriot]</ref>  Two others, both Super Hornets, were lost in a mid-air collision over the [[Persian Gulf]] in January 2008.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/07/world/main3683082.shtml 2 Navy Fighter Jets Crash in Persian Gulf]</ref>

Currently, F/A-18 Hornets are operating in 37 tactical squadrons and from 10 aircraft carriers.

Currently, F/A-18 Hornets are operating in 37 tactical squadrons and from 10 aircraft carriers.