{"product_id":"hobby-master-f-18-ha3553","title":"Hobby Master HA3553 1:72 US Navy F\/A-18A+ Hornet 162841, VFC-12 \"Fighting Omars\"","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eLast One In Stock!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F\/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-weather\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003enight fighter and attack aircraft. The F\/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the first production\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eflight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F\/A-18As and in September 1987 production\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eswitched to the F\/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat aircraft while B and D are tandem-\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eseats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases with the capability of in\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eflight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVFC-12 “Fighting Omars” is a USN Reserve fighter squadron that acts as adversaries for the\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUSN and USMC. In 1994 VFC-12 received the F\/A-18A\/B Hornet with the F\/A18As being\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eupgraded to the F\/A-18A+ in 2004. The upgrade consisted of improved mission avionics\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecompatible with the F\/A-18C variants. F\/A-18A+ aircraft are able to carry AIM-120 missiles,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eJDAMs and JSOWs while F\/A-18As aren’t. In 2006 VFC-12 transitioned to the F\/A-18C only to\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003etransition back to the F\/A-18A+ in 2012. That year saw the usual adversary blue paint replaced\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr soft=\"\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewith the SU-35 Flanker Prototype 2 Arctic Splinter Camouflage.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hobby Master","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43784172273891,"sku":"HA3553","price":199.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0632\/5000\/6243\/products\/hobby-master-ha3553-172-us-navy-fa-18a-hornet-162841-vfc-12-fighting-omars-594537.jpg?v=1738273048","url":"https:\/\/www.mtsaviationmodels.com\/de\/products\/hobby-master-f-18-ha3553","provider":"MTS Aviation Models","version":"1.0","type":"link"}