Scudrunners

...but not the current one. Check out this program about our eventual F-18 purchase from back in 1978:

They should have bought those Cobras.

David MacRay wrote: ↑

Fri May 07, 2021 2:38 am

They should have bought those Cobras.

Interesting how they called them that, I wonder if the Hornet name hadn’t been applied to the design yet. The F-17 from which the F-18 was derived was unofficially called the Cobra, maybe it was in the running at one point as a smaller, cheaper alternative and some wires got crossed in the reporting.

I like the interview with the Grumman guy where he basically says the Tomcat is the wrong plane for you but we’ll sell you as many as you want.

Wanting steak on a hot dog budget.

Sounds very familiar over the years...
SeaKing replacement, F35’s, etc...

A little blurb from a couple years later about the winner of the contract and its perceived teething troubles: