hi guys i need some info on the f-18 cap mission payload, i have looked for it on the net but come up empty. i am hoping that they carrie at least 4 aim 120amraam and aim 9x sidewinder on the outer wings because thats what i have plenty of. if anybody got any info or pics it would greatly help thanks rob[:D][:D]
Certain weapons load outs are more or less standard, but almost anything is possible. Load her out the way you want to take her to the dance. If you are happy, that what’s important.
Darwin, O.F. [alien]
Try doing a search on the web for Federation of American Scientist. They have EVERY thing on wepons on that site. Sorry I dont have the acctual add.
Rob,
My first question would be what type of CAP mission are we talking about representing? You have MIGCAP obviously, and you have SUCAP for Surface CAP, where the Hornet is looking for surface ships. From the missile loads you included in your post, I assume you want MIGCAP or an air-to-air CAP load out. If you can get a hold of the Osprey book Hornet Units in OIF, there are some good pictures of some MIGCAP loads. The standard conventional loads are sometimes very airwing specific. Each Battlegroup Admiral or Airwing Commander will fight his airwing using tactics, techniques, and procedures that work for him. A typical MIGCAP load would be AIM-9Ms on the wingtips (remember, AIM-9X is being introduced throughout the fleet now too), dual AIM-120 launch rail on one of the outboards, 3 x external tanks (both inboards and the centerline) , and a single AIM-7M on the other outboard. On the fuselage, you would have an AIM-120 on the right and the NIGHTHAWK FLIR on the left. They will still carry the FLIR as an intelligence gathering tool. This would be a “typical” load. I have seen “goofy gas” which is an external tank on the centerline and one of the inboard pylons with one pylon completely empty and the same mix of air-to-air weapons on the outboards as I mentioned above. The dual AIM-120 rails have been moved to one of the inboards in cases like this with an outboard wing pylon empty.
Again, the Honet units in OIF Part One book will show some of these loads. You will notice each carrier may have done this a little differently so just a craniums up for the carrier airwing you are representing may have a specific load configuration for the MIGCAP missions.
For SUCAP, the Hornet will still carry an air-to-air load of AIM-9 / AIM-120s, but will also have a GBU-12 on one outboard and an AGM-65 Maverick on the other outboard. Maverick is usually an “outboard pylon” weapon so the air-to-ground weapons would be on the outboards. You could also have 2 x GBU-12 on the left with the AGM-65 on the right outboard as a possible SUCAP configuration. Goofy gas would be the possible external tank configuration. I have not seen a jet loaded for SUCAP and carrying a dual AIM-120 missile adapter on the inboard pylon. That is not to say it could not be done mind you…I have never seen it though. Weight and drag must be considered when dealing with the Hornet’s fuel consumption vs. on-station time. The NIGHTHAWK FLIR would be standard for this load configuration and the external tank would be hung on the opposite side inboard wing pylon because it would interfere with the search pattern of the NIGHTHAWK FLIR. ATFLIR is also being introduced into the fleet which is real nice but would neccessitate the same FLIR/wing pylon configuration for a better look from the pod cranium. You would not hang a big peice of metal in front of the pod.
Hope all of this helps in some way.
thanks sluggo357. thats what i was looking for its going to be in the migcap for air to air. i see your at vig. beach anything change down that way i was thier around thier in 92 and 93 i was never so happy to get the heck out of thier.[:D][:D]
Rob,
Glad to be staying here in VA Beach for a while… Its either here or the desert!
Here’s the site for FAS:
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/f-18.htm
Also check the Navy website (link at bottom of above) and search through their photo gallery.
This happens to be my favorite Air-to-Air configuration… I don’t think that they ever used it beyond this test flight, but it shows that an F-18 can have some rather large teeth!
Some day I hope to build a model of this aircraft, just because an airplane carrying 10 missiles looks cool. [8D]
It just calls out…“Let’s rock”!