F/A-18 Super Hornet
ICAO F18SThe US Navy's current carrier fighter, and the electronic attack Growler built on it. Live Super Hornet positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No F/A-18 Super Hornet is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Boeing
- Role
- Carrier-based multirole fighter
- Class
- L2J — Landplane, 2 jet engines
- Crew
- 1, or 2 in the F and G
- First flight
- 29 November 1995
- In service
- 2001
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the F/A-18 Super Hornet
The Super Hornet is a bigger, heavier redesign of the original Hornet rather than an update of it — about a quarter larger, with a longer range and far more carrying capacity. It is what flies from American carrier decks today, alongside a growing number of F-35Cs.
The EA-18G Growler shares this designator and is the more interesting aircraft to watch. It is a Super Hornet converted to electronic attack, carrying jamming pods instead of some weapons, and it is the only carrier-capable aircraft in the West doing that job.
Sightings here are occasional. Naval fighters have no reason to transmit over a range or at sea, so what appears is mostly transits, ferry flights and manufacturer test aircraft out of St Louis.
Callsign prefixes
- NAVY
- Generic US Navy block
- BOXER
- A recurring Super Hornet callsign
- ROMAN
- Frequently seen on Growler flights
How to recognise it
- —Rectangular engine intakes — the original Hornet's are rounded, and this is the quickest way to separate them.
- —Large leading-edge extensions running forward to the cockpit, and outward-canted twin fins.
- —Growlers carry pods on the wingtips where a fighter would have missile rails.
Common questions
+ What is the difference between the Hornet and Super Hornet?
They are different aircraft that look similar. The Super Hornet is around 25 per cent larger, with rectangular rather than rounded intakes, more fuel, more pylons and a different wing. It replaced the Hornet in US Navy service.
+ What does the EA-18G Growler do?
Electronic attack. It jams enemy radar and communications and can attack emitters directly, protecting the rest of a strike package. It shares the Super Hornet airframe and this ADS-B designator.
+ Why do so few appear on the map?
Carrier aircraft operate at sea and over ranges, where transponders are off and there are no ground receivers anyway. Transits and test flights are what you see here.