The U.S. Air Force passed over the YF-17 prototype to select the F-16 fighter jet. But the U.S. Navy made it the F/A-18 Hornet.

The air-defense loadout, the name for which was made official in Navy documentation, consists of four AIM-9X and five AIM-120 air-to-air missiles.

Summary and Key Points: The F-14 Tomcat and F/A-18 Super Hornet are iconic U.S. Navy aircraft ... reaching speeds up to Mach 2.34. However, it had reliability issues and a tendency to enter ...

And while they may not be stealth aircraft, the U.S. Navy’s older F/A-18 ... the Super Hornet can pack a punch. The F/A-18E/F can lug nearly 17,800 pounds of weapons, including AIM-120 Advanced ...