An aircraft carrier is essentially a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. They have evolved from converted cruisers to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighter planes, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft. Sometimes, these aircraft have to make night landings, and these videos will show you exactly how crazy the process is. Continue reading for two more videos of the F/18 Hornet making night landings on a carrier.
The F/A-18 Hornet has a top speed of Mach 1.8, and 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. Powered by two General Electric F404 turbofan engines, it has excellent aerodynamic characteristics, primarily attributed to its leading edge extensions (LEX). The fighter’s primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), air interdiction, close air support and aerial reconnaissance. .
