U.S. Navy Officially Adopts ‘Murder Hornet’ Moniker for F/A-18E/F Equipped with Nine Air-to-Air Missiles
Published on: January 8, 2025
Rin Sakurai Rin Sakurai
Super Hornets, which have been armed with five AIM-120s and four AIM-9Xs since April 2024, were recently referred to as “Murder Hornets” in a year-in-review factsheet published by the U.S. Navy.
In a recently published year-in-review factsheet, titled “Delivering Warfighting Advantage,” the U.S. Navy mentioned under the ‘Aviation’ column that the Super Hornet’s heavy air-to-air loadout with nine air-to-air missiles (AAM) is now referred to as the ‘Murder Hornet’ configuration. The heavy AAM load was first employed in combat in 2024 to counter drone attacks on maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
Super Hornets, which have been armed with five AIM-120s and four AIM-9Xs since April 2024, were recently referred to as “Murder Hornets” in a year-in-review factsheet published by the U.S. Navy.
Also related to this, the document includes the mention of the first naval air-to-air engagement of a hostile Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Other major accomplishments included in the document are the first combat employment of the AGM-88E AARGM (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile) and the unveiling of the AIM-174B long-range air-to-air missile.
The Navy already confirmed last summer the first instance of AARGM use in combat, performed during a joint and coalition effort that struck 60 Houthi targets across 16 sites in Yemen. In that occasion, on Feb. 24, 2024, an EA-18G Growler assigned to the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 “Zappers”, deployed aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, struck a Houthi Mi-24 Hind attack helicopter on the ground with an AGM-88E.
https://theaviationist.com/2025/01/08/fa-18ef-murder-hornet-nine-missiles/
