Super Hornets Now Flying With Nine Air-To-Air Missiles To Counter Houthi Drones
Thanks to a recent upgrade, five AIM-120s, four AIM-9Xs and an ATFLIR pod offer considerable ‘magazine depth’ for tackling Houthi drones.
BY
THOMAS NEWDICK
|
PUBLISHED MAY 7, 2024 7:56 PM EDT
After a crash program to outfit them with additional missile capacity to shoot down Houthi drones, U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets are now flying patrols armed with a load-out of nine air-to-air missiles, which includes four AIM-9X Sidewinders.
TWZ was first to break the news that the Navy had certified its F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, as well as EA-18G Growlers, to carry AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles on their outer underwing stations and we saw the first evidence of them doing so not long after.
Now, new photos published by the Navy showing F/A-18E Super Hornets from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 83, the “Rampagers,” and from VFA-105, the “Gunslingers,” launching from the flight deck of the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (aka IKE). The jets in question carry a live armament of five AIM-120 AMRAAMs and four AIM-9X Sidewinders air-to-air missiles, as well as an AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared (ATFLIR) targeting pod and a centerline 480-gallon fuel tank. They were photographed during flight operations in the Red Sea on April 19-20.
https://www.twz.com/air/super-hornets-now-flying-with-nine-air-to-air-missiles-to-counter-houthi-drones
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