The story of how the Super Hornet and Growler came into existence is the focus of this new book. The F/A-18E/F has its roots in the late-1980s Hornet 2000 study, which itself evaluated ways to enhance the range, payload, and bring-back capability of the existing F/A-18 Hornet. Through a series of trade-offs imposed by largely limited defense funds, what emerged was a versatile, affordable strike fighter aircraft that has served the Navy well since its fleet introduction in 2002. The Growler has a similar history. Itself an offshoot of the Super Hornet program, the EA-18G brought many of the Super Hornet's attributes - speed, maneuverability, self-defense capability, and advanced systems - into the electronic attack community and is now posed to assume all such missions from the venerable EA-6B Prowler within the next few years. The book draws on interviews with many of the key players in the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G program and on many press reports of the day to tell the story of how these aircraft were designed, developed, and deployed. Moreover, the book provides insights into the problems faced by these key individuals as well as the management methods they used to produce aircraft that have consistently been delivered at or ahead of schedule, under cost, and under weight.

The fascinating true story of the controversial development and deployment of the supersonic fighter jet that changed aerial warfare forever The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet was born in 1978, a state-of-the-art supersonic fighter and attack aircraft with a top speed of Mach 1.8, more than one thousand miles per hour. It was versatile, fast, and reliable, and no war machine in the air could match it. The marines adopted it first, followed by the navy, impressed by its incomparable ability to engage in close aerial combat while at the same time efficiently delivering explosive payloads to designated enemy targets. It became the aircraft of choice for the US Navy’s famous Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron in 1986 and served ably in combat from its first mission—America’s launched air strike against Libya that same year—through 1991’s Operation Desert Storm and well beyond. Yet the Hornet has always been shrouded in controversy, and while still in its planning stages, it sparked an unprecedented political battle that nearly doomed the miraculous machine before it could take flight. Orr Kelly, the acclaimed military author who has notably chronicled the remarkable histories of the US Navy SEALs and other branches of America’s Special Forces, tells the fascinating true story of the F/A-18 Hornet—how it came to be, how it almost wasn’t, and how it forever altered the way our nation’s wars are fought.

A fresh, unique insider’s view of what it’s like to be a woman aviator in today’s US Navy—from pedicures to parachutes, friendship to firefights. Caroline Johnson was an unlikely aviation candidate. A tall blonde debutante from Colorado, she could have just as easily gone into fashion or filmmaking, and yet she went on to become an F/A-18 Super Hornet Weapons System Officer. She was one of the first women to fly a combat mission over Iraq since 2011, and one of the first women to drop bombs on ISIS. Jet Girl tells the remarkable story of the women fighting at the forefront in a military system that allows them to reach the highest peaks, and yet is in many respects still a fraternity. Johnson offers an insider’s view on the fascinating, thrilling, dangerous and, at times, glamorous world of being a naval aviator. This is a coming-of age story about a young college-aged woman who draws strength from a tight knit group of friends, called the Jet Girls, and struggles with all the ordinary problems of life: love, work, catty housewives, father figures, make-up, wardrobe, not to mention being put into harm’s way daily with terrorist groups such as ISIS and world powers such as Russia and Iran. Some of the most memorable parts of the book are about real life in training, in the air and in combat—how do you deal with having to pee in a cockpit the size of a bumper car going 600 miles an hour? Not just a memoir, this book also aims to change the conversation and to inspire and attract the next generation of men and women who are tempted to explore a life of adventure and service.

The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is probably the world's most advanced air superiority fighter/attack aircraft and is often seen thrilling air-show crowds around the world. It is currently in service with the US Navy, the US Marine Corps, the Spanish, Australian, Swiss and Canadian air forces. This title provides a detailed guide to modelling the Hornet in 1/48th and 1/32nd scales, covering a variety of colour schemes. The step-by-step modelling projects include a 'Gunslingers' F/A-18C USN Hornet from Operation DESERT FOX, an F/A-18D Hornet from the Royal Malaysian Air Force, a Navy 'Black Aces' F/A-18F Super Hornet and an F/A-18A 'Top Gun'-school Hornet.

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How can the Air Force and the other services profit from the experience of these two programs? Although the F/A-18E/F is an upgrade of an existing airframe and the F/A-22 is a new platform, the authors believe their divergent histories have lessons to teach acquisition decisionmakers. The authors present a history of the two programs and conclude that decisionmakers can reduce risk and improve acquisition by taking several steps, including setting realistic schedule and cost estimates and establishing a stable and experienced development team.