*Hobby Master HA3553 1:72 US Navy F/A-18A+ Hornet 162841, VFC-12 "Fighting Omars"

The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a supersonic twin engine all-weather
night fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18s first flew in November 1978 and the first production
flight on April 12, 1980. The first 380 aircraft were F/A-18As and in September 1987 production
switched to the F/A-18C. Variants A and C are single-seat aircraft while B and D are tandem-
seats. The Hornet can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases with the capability of in
flight refueling. A total of 1,480 A-D variants were built.


VFC-12 “Fighting Omars” is a USN Reserve fighter squadron that acts as adversaries for the
USN and USMC. In 1994 VFC-12 received the F/A-18A/B Hornet with the F/A18As being
upgraded to the F/A-18A+ in 2004. The upgrade consisted of improved mission avionics
compatible with the F/A-18C variants. F/A-18A+ aircraft are able to carry AIM-120 missiles,
JDAMs and JSOWs while F/A-18As aren’t. In 2006 VFC-12 transitioned to the F/A-18C only to
transition back to the F/A-18A+ in 2012. That year saw the usual adversary blue paint replaced
with the SU-35 Flanker Prototype 2 Arctic Splinter Camouflage.