This $70-million, Mach 1.8 capable SAAB JAS-39 fighter jet managed to safely land on the Finnish country road in Hosio, as part of a military exercise called “Baana 2015” between the Swedish and the Finnish air forces at the Rovaniemi Air Base. For those who don’t know, the Saab JAS-39 Gripen was designed during the Cold War, and meant to be a quick response weapon in case of Soviet invasion, so it needed to take off from snow-covered 800 meters (2,600 ft) long airstrips. Continue reading for a video of an F-18 Hornet taking off from a Finnish road.
The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (F/A designation for Fighter/Attack). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter’s YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The F/A-18 has a top speed of Mach 1.8 (1,034 knots, 1,190 mph or 1,915 km/h at 40,000 ft or 12,190 m). It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground, supplemented by the 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon.
