![]() Also, the underside of the CF-18 features a painted "false canopy". Some CF-18s have the light temporarily removed, but the window is always in place. This spotlight is mounted in the gun loading door on the port side of the aircraft. F-18 is the 0.6- megacandela night identification light. ![]() The most visible difference between a CF-18 and a U.S. Many features that made the F/A-18 suitable for naval carrier operations were retained by the Canadian Forces, such as the robust landing gear, the arrestor hook, and wing folding mechanisms. A total of 138 CF-18s, consisting of 98 single-seat and 40 dual-seat models, were delivered. The original CF-18 as delivered is largely identical to the F/A-18A and B models. CF-18 design changes The underside of the aircraft, with a false canopy painted on its underside. The CF-18 was procured from 1982 to 1988, at a total capital cost of $4 billion in 1982 dollars. Navy two engines for reliability (considered essential for conducting Arctic sovereignty and over-the-water patrols), an excellent radar set, while being considerably more affordable than the F-14 and the F-15. Reasons for the selection listed by the Canadian Forces were many of its requested features were included for the U.S. Outside official military documents, the aircraft are referred to as CF-18 Hornets. The F/A-18 Hornet was then dubbed the CF-188. The order included 98 single-seat variants and 40 dual-seat variants, for a total of 138 purchased, plus 20 options (which were not exercised). In 1980, the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet was declared the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft competition. Negotiations ended before a deal was reached as it was revealed that Canadian involvement was crucial in the smuggling of American embassy personnel out of the new Islamic Republic. The Canadians offered to purchase them at a steeply discounted price. In the aftermath of the revolution, the United States cut off all military supplies to Iran, which meant that the Iranians' new fleet of F-14s would potentially be rendered unflyable due to a lack of spares. The F-14 almost entered Canadian service through the backdoor due to the Iranian Revolution. The first preproduction McDonnell Douglas YF-18A Hornet built for the U.S. While Northrop offered the best industrial offset package, it would only "pay off" if other F-18L orders were forthcoming, something the Department of National Defence (DND) was not willing to bet on. Northrop, the primary contractor for the F-18L version, had not built the aircraft by the time of the NFA program, waiting on successful contracts before doing so. The F-18L combined the systems and twin-engine layout of the F-18 that Air Command favored with a lighter land-based equipment setup that significantly improved performance. The F-14, F-15, and the Tornado were rejected due to their high purchase price, while Dassault dropped out of the competition. The government stressed that the winner of the competition be a proven off-the-shelf design and provide substantial industrial benefits as part of the order.īy 1978, the New Fighter Aircraft competitors were short-listed to just three aircraft types: the F-16 and the two F-18 offerings. Candidates included the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Panavia Tornado, Dassault Mirage F1 (later replaced by the Mirage 2000), plus the products of the American Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F/A-18 Hornet, and a de-navalized version of the Hornet, the F-18L. Subsequently, the government proceeded with the New Fighter Aircraft (NFA) competition, with a purchase budget of around C$2.4 billion to purchase 130–150 of the winner of the competition. ![]() In 1977, the Canadian government identified the need to replace the NATO-assigned CF-104 Starfighter, the NORAD-assigned CF-101 Voodoo and the CF-116 Freedom Fighter (although the decision was later made to keep the CF-116). Main article: New Fighter Aircraft program CF-18s were also part of the Canadian contribution to the military intervention against ISIL, Operation Impact.ĭevelopment New Fighter Aircraft program CF-18s have supported North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) air sovereignty patrols and participated in combat during the Gulf War in 1991, the Kosovo War in the late 1990s, and as part of the Canadian contribution to the international Libyan no-fly zone in 2011. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New Fighter Aircraft Project competition and awarded a production order deliveries of the CF-18 to the Canadian Armed Forces began in 1982. The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft.
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