Classic Hornet In Australian Service

[@raafdocumentaries]

Corrections: In terms of losses, at 10:07 the narration should be "...the RAAF's F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet fleet..." with 2 "A" and 2 "B" airframes lost. From @davidwhite69 - 4:31 technicality. it was actually 75 SQN to operate the first "new" system, well before 1991. During Exercise Cope Thunder 90 in The Philippines, 75 SQN CO Wing Commander Ross Fox visited US Naval Station Subic Bay. When he returned to Clark Air Base the AIM-9 CATM on station one was missing. On station four was a brand new AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk FLIR pod. The CO had done a back door deal to "borrow" the pod for the duration of the exercise, with the AIM-9 CATM put down as a security deposit. The mission computer software we were running at the time was 89C, which had only limited operation of the pods capability, full capability wasnt gained until software load 90A, but the sqn learned valuable data with the experience. The pod was returned the day after the exercise finished. Also on that exercise was the first time the "top hat and cane" was applied to A21-29.

[@davidewhite69]

4:31 technicality. it was actually 75 SQN to operate the first "new" system, well before 1991. During Exercise Cope Thunder 90 in The Philippines, 75 SQN CO Wing Commander Ross Fox visited US Naval Station Subic Bay. When he returned to Clark Air Base the AIM-9 CATM on station one was missing. On station four was a brand new AN/AAS-38 Nite Hawk FLIR pod. The CO had done a back door deal to "borrow" the pod for the duration of the exercise, with the AIM-9 CATM put down as a security deposit. The mission computer software we were running at the time was 89C, which had only limited operation of the pods capability, full capability wasnt gained until software load 90A, but the sqn learned valuable data with the experience. The pod was returned the day after the exercise finished. Also on that exercise was the first time the "top hat and cane" was applied to A21-29.

[@raafdocumentaries]

Thanks David - I'll put that in our pinned corrections comment.

[@jonginder5494]

Every time I see a mirage IIIO in Aussie colours my heart skips a beat.

[@LeonAust]

Yep .......lost my Mirage IIIO virginity at the 1983 Schofield's airshow an incredible site always a touch faster, smoother and lower than the Hornet.

[@stuka101]

lawn dart

[@peterkirgan2921]

I flew one A3_17

[@beano9343]

0:35 Eff yeah the Hornet, what a beast.

[@EddyOtway]

I was an AirTc cadet in the 80’s and we got to visit Avalon where they were being put together and sit in the cockpit of one, which had nothing but a wooden seat in it. Was a good experience though👍🏻

[@allgood6760]

Thanks from across the ditch 👍✈️🇳🇿

[@peterkirgan2921]

I flew the Mirage in the 1980s as well as the Sabre probably the best jets of old time ! Well before the F18 Williamtown base was my home!!!❤❤❤

[@jiaskinner7784]

@@peterkirgan2921 thankyou for your service 🇦🇺☝️I just stopped today to see the moment monument at Tenterfield and pay my respect to the two f-111 pilots who lost there lives , chances are you would have known them or definitely know of them , thankyou for your service,my partner and I will be placing some fresh flowers there this weekend ,lest we forget 🇦🇺☮️🙏

[@fraggle1340]

Williamtown, I was standing on the Hardstand ate Darwin Airbase when the first 2 Hornets arrived. They did a fly over the runway from the landward side before they did a circuit and landed. I've still got the photo's I took on the day.

[@Jordy120]

I really like these short documentaries (I do like the long ones too). Cheers.

[@canuckled]

Forgot to mention several Australian F/A 18s are serving in the RCAF as replacement aircraft

[@mikemontgomery2654]

As a Canadian and just to be fair, this is about Australia’s time with their Hornets. I think you understand why they would want to fondly remember that, on their terms too.

[@doogleticker5183]

They bought a load of parts…not just airframes. It’s Trudeau’s government’s pet (Bombardier) that had a spat with Boeing (thus Trump). Slowed F-35 procurement and has left the RCAF with SFA…

[@patrickmclaughlin61]

Canada has/had the option to be rid of trudeau. Jail would be a reasonable option.

[@ronlucock3702]

The original Northrop YF-17 was a much more petite version till McDonnell Douglas beefed it up for carrier operations as the F/A-18.

[@danpatterson8009]

Worth mentioning that the F/A-18 program was a collaboration between Northrop and McDonnell Douglas in response to a US Navy requirement. It was based on the YF-17, a Northrop product that had lost out to the YF-16 for a US Air Force contract.

[@Idahoguy10157]

The navy made the better choice going with McDonnell-Douglas. Maybe the YF-16 could have been adapted to carrier use. Maybe… however the F/A-18 was a sure thing.

[@danpatterson8009]

​@@Idahoguy10157 There is something to be said for having a second engine to make it back to the carrier if one engine fails.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@danpatterson8009 …. I don’t think naval aviators had any serious interest in adopting a navalized YF-16.

[@danpatterson8009]

@@Idahoguy10157 The YF-17 wouldn't have done them much good either without extensive mods. Still, a larger platform with two engines to work from.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@danpatterson8009 …. That’s where McDonnell-Douglas comes in. IIRC Northrop had 40% of the F/A-18 work teaming with MD

[@rastarn]

Excellent summary!

[@The.Drunk-Koala]

They did well. But I do miss the F1-11 flying over our house like the late 90s

[@JIMDEZWAV]

OUTSTANDING ....

[@thelandofnod123]

Good to see Super Hornets sneaking in trying to masquerade as proper Hornets.

[@herptek]

Quite a different plane inside, but it wears a convincing mask.

[@thelandofnod123]

@@herptek Almost completely different, even if you ignore that it is 25% larger, the two only share around 8% component wise.

[@shashediri544]

Great documentary

[@bondisteve3617]

Very good. Thanks.

[@sheepiscool]

Love it!

[@PotatoGod6969]

god i love the hornet

[@Torofamily-pk6np]

1st viewer. Amazing...Great aircraft and good documentary

[@donkeystains7739]

Great video 👍

[@beano9343]

Fast facts but it was brilliant.

[@MysteriousMarsupial]

'War is good for business' - Anon

[@NeonGenesisPlatinum]

This is an EXCELLENT video. You don't normally get this many facts without ridiculous techno music. Thank you very much for no gay music and a great video. Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi. Can't believe I just found this channel today. AND BLOODY OATH I SUBSCRIBED. ❤

[@Mrbuckaroonie..]

I saw a simulation the other day of classic hornets against SU35'a and then they did it with Super Hornets. The Super Hornets won the legacy Hornets all got wiped out. Just didn't have the radar range to stay alive. It seems now the aircraft with the best radar and longest range weapons wins.

[@LeonAust]

Stealth and 5th gen attributes win now.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

​@@LeonAustpilot training goes a long way

[@AlexRantos]

Didn’t they upgrade the software to the superhornet around 2010?

[@LeonAust]

The F-35A replaced these Hornets. Super hornets and Growlers replaced the F-111c and D models.

[@thelandofnod123]

@@LeonAust You mean G not D.

[@LeonAust]

Yes my mis, they were ex FB-111A and removed the nuclear capability and became F-111G ...well spotted@@thelandofnod123

[@MichaelPenney-b1k]

It's A Juliette!!!

[@thelandofnod123]

You misspoke when you mentioned airframe losses. There were 2 singles and 2 duals lost, not 4 duals.

[@raafdocumentaries]

The text reads "The RAAF's F/A-18B Classic Hornet fleet has achieved the distinction of being the safest jet fighter in RAAF service with just four airframes lost in over 405,000 flying hours."

[@thelandofnod123]

@@raafdocumentaries Except we didn’t loose 4 B models. 2 A and 2 B.

[@raafdocumentaries]

@@thelandofnod123 Ah OK, that's then a typo from when we did the research - the original text did read "...RAAF's F/A-18A/B Classic Hornet fleet..." our mistake. Thanks for pointing it out.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Like all a/c hornets would have cost govt far more in flying hours cost than purchase price any ideas on this

[@JohnSmith-jj2yd]

What is your source for Australia evaluating Eurofighter Typhoon (then EF2000) as an F/A-18A/B replacement prior to the HUG and later signing up to the JSF program? And what MiG-29 threat "urged" the RAAF to consider this? Malaysia? A treaty-bound allied nation with all of sixteen of them?

[@dosgamer74]

Indonesia was being forced to look seriously at the MiG-29 in the late 1990s, due to political issues around obtaining additional F-16 Vipers as well as spare parts for their existing fleet from the USA.

[@JohnSmith-jj2yd]

@@dosgamer74 @dosgamer74 By the time sanctions were applied to Indonesia in 1999 the HUG program was already formalised. (and regardless, Indonesia initially ordered Su-30 in 1996 which were cancelled in 1997 following the Asian Financial Crisis, so US sanctions weren't an issue at that stage regarding further F-16 procurement by TNI-AU)

[@dosgamer74]

@@JohnSmith-jj2yd I understand Indonesia cancelled it's order for additional F-16 airframes in 1997, in response to the US congress giving them a spray. That cancellation had nothing to do with sanctions or money, AFAIK. Makes sense they cancelled their initial Flanker order though, given it's cost relative to MiG-29 or F-16. I still believe they did give the MiG-29 a serious look after the F-16 cancellation, given how these two aircraft compare overall. I would cite my sources here, but I suspect YT will simply delete my comment again - *sigh*

[@super_slav91]

Hornet was derived from the f5 was it not?

[@LeonAust]

Yes sort of

[@thelandofnod123]

Sadly no mention of 2OCU. 😢

[@raafdocumentaries]

sorry about that - there's probably a lot we missed in such a short video. We should do a separate video about 2OCU (from the WWII 2OTU to the 2OCU today) as the unit was involved with so many aircraft.

[@raafdocumentaries]

raafdocumentary.com/no-2-operational-conversion-unit/

[@thelandofnod123]

@@raafdocumentaries Good overview, needs some updating now though.

[@raafdocumentaries]

@@thelandofnod123 If you would like to point out what needs updating, I'll make the adjustments.

[@thelandofnod123]

@@raafdocumentaries Yeah no worries. The text stops with the Unit operating Hornets. They had moved onto Lightning IIs a few years ago as well as moving into new facilities further down the airfield. The change in platforms is probably one of the biggest changes to the training regime in the Unit’s recent history as there are no dual Lightning IIs, so your first flight in one is also your first solo in one. Obviously there is ALOT of Sim time before hand though.

[@KenanTurkiye]

Turk high-tech! The smart nation. I have a folder about it (folder 5 in the playlist).

[@mrkanish9182]

The generals of the Australian airforce wanted the F 15 eagle .The Australian government rejected the Eagle to appease Indonesia and Malaysian concerns .

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Fake news ?

[@Daryl465]

Where the f/a 18 a's now ?

[@thelandofnod123]

The best of the bunch went to Canada, some ended up with a private company in the US looking to win an Aggressor unit contract. Apparently both parties love them. UPDATE. RAVN (formally Air USA) failed to win their contract and the deal for the remaining aircraft has lapsed. The RAVN website also no longer mentions them, although a thumbnail of a Hornet is still there. The best airframes went to the Canada along with additional spares and support equipment. The date of the remaining aircraft is not known at the moment. Quite a number have been stripped for spares and others remain stored for disposal in poor condition. Passing these to Ukraine will be more of a burden than anything, along with the recently disposed of Taipan. As the fleet became aged more issues arose, as Canada has the best of them, including spares and GSE, the remaining would be a maintenance burden not to mention further diversifying a fleet in terms of equipment, training and logistics, particularly such an old fleet of airframes. When in service the support required to keep the platform airworthy and operational was huge and had evolved over decades to suit the emerging needs.

[@4ndroidG]

They were in line to be given to Ukraine, but in the end, it was rejected. These old airframes need expensive maintenance that someone has to pay for. If not, they will probably be scrapped or left in some boneyard.

[@MichaelPenney-b1k]

Snappy Tom 1st

[@dezza718]

Why did it take so many years to get the hornets?

[@jferrie1]

Are the f35 a flop ? F18 definitely wasn't

[@thelandofnod123]

No the Lightning II is not a flop.

[@MichaelPenney-b1k]

I Don't Believe Land On Moon Is Possible Ok ADF!!!

[@zaynevanday142]

And these are the airframes that Ukraine refused 😂😂😂

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

Because they are stuffed!

[@aussie870]

A great deal of the components of the Legacy Hornets reached their recommended replacement times. In many of the airframes, they would require so much money to get them flight worthy again that it would frankly be cheaper to simply buy more F-16's from the US that Ukrainian pilots are already trained on. Australia isn't going to pay for said overhauls given that we sent them to be scrapped to specifically avoid paying these costs.

[@soundknight]

You forgot it’s a plane of compromises, average range and speed ie not really good at anything. We couldn’t but we should have had f15 and raptors given our geography logistics issues

[@thelandofnod123]

All platforms are compromises. Australia needed something it could afford in the numbers it needed. The Hornet and the Falcon were judged to be those candidates. The Raptor was literally not in the picture and the Eagle was too expensive to buy and operate in the numbers required. Hornet was chosen and was an extremely capable aircraft, contrary to your statement it was very good at most things and only got better.

[@Techo1329]

Multi-role was the key requirement and the F/A-18 was the best multi-role option by a country mile.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@thelandofnod123…. The F-15A/B was only about air superiority. The American Congress refused to let the F-22 be exported.

[@seannordeen5019]

The first true multi-role F-15 was the E model and it was a later 1980's program so it came too late for this purchase. And, as others mentioned, the F-15 was expensive which was why the USAF developed the F-16 to get the numbers it needed. The F-22 wasn't available until the 1990's (just after the Cold War ended which is why so few were purchased) and the US Congress didn't allow it to be exported.

[@thelandofnod123]

@@Idahoguy10157 Air superiority was a key feature of the RAAF requirements as a replacement for the Mirage III. The F-111 was still fairly new to RAAF service and was to continue to fill the air to ground role. The F-15 was excluded because of political and logistic concerns. As the ATF program was wrapping up just when the last of the Hornet deliveries were being made, as I said, the Raptor was not even in the picture to be pitched because it didn’t exist, nor did the thought of it when proposals were first requested. A later decision to not export it had no bearing on the selection of the platform to replace the Mirage III.

[@robertluiswilliams7189]

M

[@justinhollis5579]

A21-113... I still hate that aircraft and it's fckn TEF Hinge Modification

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Iraq WMD didnt exist should we have been there ?

[@GoodLookingGentlemen]

"Its a flying trash" - Ukrainian Minister -

[@LeonAust]

Still better than anything they have now and there in our ex used bin.

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

@@LeonAust Not even good for spares. The Canadians checked..

[@LeonAust]

What would you know wally.

[@stephenpage-murray7226]

@@LeonAust Ex RAAF and supplier to the ADF for nearly three decades.

[@LeonAust]

So our 2nd hand shitty F/A-18A & B Hornets are the same as the Canadas hornets both were land based hornets unlike the USN versions, Get it! no corrosion problems or fatigued. Both have been upgraded to F/A-18C level. Although the Aussies now are flying 24 F/A-18F Super hornets soon to block 3, 12 EA-18G Growlers for support, and 71 x stealth 5th gen F-35A Lightning II

[@andreikravchenko8250]

Korean KF21 would be a good successor to FA18

[@BatMan-oe2gh]

Australia already has 75 F-35s as the replacements.

[@The.Drunk-Koala]

​@@BatMan-oe2ghWRONG. We do not have that many atm.

[@BatMan-oe2gh]

@@The.Drunk-Koala We have 72 here now.

[@DavidPowis-m2u]

We have 63 f35s from a total of 72