As we all know, the F/A-18 Hornet started out as the YF-17 Cobra during the LightWeight Fighter Competition which pit the YF-17 Cobra against the YF-16. The YF-17 lost the competition to the F-16 for the USAF but the US Navy picked up the YF-17 instead of the F-16 for its needs. The YF-17 then eventually evolved into the F/A-18 Hornet (which although based on, is pretty different from the YF-17). Now, at the beginning the YF-17 was a design produced by Northrup but how did it eventually become that McDonald Douglas became the prime contractor for the F/A-18? I know that they later collaberated on it and that MD was responsible for the naval version and Northrup for the land version, but how did this all happen?
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Originally posted by The_Burning_Kid View PostAs we all know, the F/A-18 Hornet started out as the YF-17 Cobra during the LightWeight Fighter Competition which pit the YF-17 Cobra against the YF-16. The YF-17 lost the competition to the F-16 for the USAF but the US Navy picked up the YF-17 instead of the F-16 for its needs. The YF-17 then eventually evolved into the F/A-18 Hornet (which although based on, is pretty different from the YF-17). Now, at the beginning the YF-17 was a design produced by Northrup but how did it eventually become that McDonald Douglas became the prime contractor for the F/A-18? I know that they later collaberated on it and that MD was responsible for the naval version and Northrup for the land version, but how did this all happen?
:)Self-control is the chief element in self-respect, and self-respect is the chief element in courage.
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To complete that answer, we (McDonnell) low bid Northrop on essentially all the foreign sales of the aircraft, selling the navalized variant on the premise of lower initial cost and higher reliability due to the robustness of a fully navalized aircraft. This incurred a weight/fuel penalty but that's basically what happened making McDonnell the prime contractor on ALL F/A-18's. Northrop understandably wasn't pleased about the deal.
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RE: F/A-18 Hornet Contractor
Originally posted by The_Burning_Kidhow did it eventually become that McDonald Douglas became the prime contractor for the F/A-18? I know that they later collaberated on it and that MD was responsible for the naval version and Northrup for the land version, but how did this all happen?
At first the YF-17 was to be made into two variants, one a fighter and the other an attack aircraft. Advances in technologies allowed the two variants to be combined.
Originally posted by jgetti View PostTo complete that answer, we (McDonnell) low bid Northrop on essentially all the foreign sales of the aircraft, selling the navalized variant on the premise of lower initial cost and higher reliability due to the robustness of a fully navalized aircraft. This incurred a weight/fuel penalty but that's basically what happened making McDonnell the prime contractor on ALL F/A-18's. Northrop understandably wasn't pleased about the deal.
Besides, most customers agreed the landbased version of the F/A-18 was a "hotter" fighter but, the carrier version of the F/A-18 was more than sufficient.
Adrian
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Boeing F/A - 18A/C Hornet
Entered service 1983
Crew 1 men
Dimensions and weight
Length 17.07 m
Wing span 11.43 m
Height 4.66 m
Weight (empty) 10.81 t
Weight (maximum take off) 21.88 t
Engines and performance
Engines 2 x General Electric F404-GE-402 turbofans
Traction (with afterburning) 2 x 78.73 kN
Maximum speed 1 915 km/h
Combat radius 740 - 1 065 km
More can read:
http://military-today.com/aircraft/b..._ac_hornet.htm
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