Flight Highschool 1/27: Curse of the Perfect Sister

When the F/A-18 Hornet was introduced to replace the aging F-14 Tomcat, it had some serious shoes to fill. The F-14 was a purpose built mach 2 interceptor and fleet defense jet. It also was the only aircraft to ever field the unique AIM-54 Phoenix, a long range missile designed to shoot down Soviet bombers. Its maximum range is still unmatched by anything in the current U.S. air-to-air inventory.

Meanwhile, the F/A-18 designed to replace it was slower, could not carry the AIM-54, and was decidedly less good looking. Many still lament the loss in long range fleet defense capability after we retired the F-14. Despite the Hornet performing admirably, being easier to maintain, and having matured into a world class carrier launched multi-role platform as the Super Hornet, it is still overshadowed by the F-14 it replaced.