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#REDIRECT ] |
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The '''F-18 Hornet''' is the ] variant of the ] ] multi-role attack and ]. It lacks certain ], target acquisition and weapon control features, limiting its capability to engage surface targets. The variant is also used by the ]. |
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The decision to purchase the aircraft (64 in total, with 7 two-seat '''F-18D''' models and 57 single-seated '''F-18C''' models) was made in ], soon after the ] ]. The original plan was to buy about 40 western fighters and about 20 Soviet fighters due to political reasons, but the collapse of the ] removed the political reason to also buy Soviet aircraft. The plan changed to 60 single-seat + 7 dual seat fighters of the same type, and the F-18 won the contest. Due to the F-18's high price, the number of fighters to be purchased was decreased by three, to 57+7. |
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{{R from short name}} |
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A key goal in the ] of that era was to take no action that might be interpreted by the Soviets as a security threat; a weapons purchase of this magnitude certainly applied. Buying only ]-compatible, ] fighter jets were not possible for ] before the U.S.S.R.'s collapse. |
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The primary reason for the lack of ground attack features in the aircraft is the semantic meaning of the word "attack". For example, Finland has ''Defence Forces'', not an ] — even the possibility of Finland ever attacking its neighbors is denied on all levels. This made the policy decision to purchase ''attack aircraft'' impossible in the nineties aftermath of ], leading to factory reconfiguration of the F/A-18 to the F-18 variant. A similar rationale also led the Swiss Air Force to purchase 34 F-18s in ]. |
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It is widely believed that the removed features can be reinstalled with comparative ease if a regional conflict or a similar need so dictates. |
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In 7th December ] the Finnish Air Force announced that it will reinstall the missing features in order to enable ground attack capability for the Hornets. |
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The F-18 Hornet is the second ] fighter in the Finnish Air Force, following the ] purchase of the ]. |
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== External links == |
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