ulvdemon Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 I am sure this is bound to be a considered a silly question, but I figured I would ask those here who are more knowledgeable. Just watched Top Gun Maverick (again) and on stations 2 and 10, can the F-18E/F carry two AMRAAMS each on a dual rail system? Or is this just artistic license for the movie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 Well, according to the Modern Super Hornet Guide, the Boeing F/A-18E, F, and EA-18 Exposed by Reid Air Publications (Jake Melampy), pg. 138, the Super Hornet is only cleared for a single AIM-120C on stations 2 and 10. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulvdemon Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 That's what I figured when I looked it up in the book also. Then again, I figured the below was just artistic license for the movie. It is pretty cool though! Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CShanne Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 The Boeing website show the the duel rail system on 3 and 11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulvdemon Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 Cool, so I guess it's possible to do this in a model then if I choose too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Hegedus Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 31 minutes ago, CShanne said: The Boeing website show the the duel rail system on 3 and 11. I doubt that. Station 11 is the right wingtip. 3/9 would be more likely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Hegedus Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 3 minutes ago, ulvdemon said: Cool, so I guess it's possible to do this in a model then if I choose too. Not like the movie still shows - it looks like the missiles are just glued to the sides of the pylons (which aren't even the right pylons for stations 2/10); dual carriage requires a LAU-115 with a pair of LAU-127 rails bolted to the sides, so the missiles would be 1. on launch rails, and 2. mounted below the pylon proper as the LAU-115 attached to the pylon bomb rack. If you're gonna do it, at least do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulvdemon Posted March 17, 2023 Author Share Posted March 17, 2023 Oh I will. I figured it's a movie, there was some artistic license taken in regards to what is shown. As for looks though, it is kind of cool... as long as it's on the rails! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 According to the reference I listed above, AIM-120's are only cleared for use on Station 2, 5, 7, and 10 on both the F/A-18E and F/A-18F. Single carriage only and do require LAU-127's. Only AIM-9's and TACTS pods are cleared for wingtip carriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CShanne Posted March 17, 2023 Share Posted March 17, 2023 Maybe my counting is off, but anyway, there is a photo :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 1 hour ago, CShanne said: Maybe my counting is off, but anyway, there is a photo :-) I think I'm seeing the image you're looking at and to me, that looks more like a illustration than a photo. I may be wrong though. I have the Detail and Scale book on the Super Hornet as well and there's only one shot of a Super Hornet with multiple AIM-120's and it's a test bird at Pax River. I don't know why it couldn't handle multiple AIM-120's though. I think the legacy Hornets could so why wouldn't these as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 You need to check if Maverick's plane is cleared to carry this load. He is a test pilot after all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Hegedus Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 16 hours ago, Juggernut said: According to the reference I listed above, AIM-120's are only cleared for use on Station 2, 5, 7, and 10 on both the F/A-18E and F/A-18F. Single carriage only and do require LAU-127's. Only AIM-9's and TACTS pods are cleared for wingtip carriage. At the time of publication, that was true. Jake's book is 12 years old at this point, though. Dual carriage on certain stations may be authorized now (I don't know for certain, it's not my field of concern any longer so I haven't really kept up with what the SH is and is not authorized to use in the fleet.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggernut Posted March 18, 2023 Share Posted March 18, 2023 39 minutes ago, Joe Hegedus said: At the time of publication, that was true. Jake's book is 12 years old at this point, though. Dual carriage on certain stations may be authorized now (I don't know for certain, it's not my field of concern any longer so I haven't really kept up with what the SH is and is not authorized to use in the fleet.) I have the 2nd edition that was published in 2020. If he didn't update the content then that may be the case. I don't have a working knowledge of the F/A-18E/F other than what it says in the references I have. I did look at several photos both in Jake's book and online and like I said earlier, I only found one that showed double-carriage of AIM-120's and that was a test bird out of Pax River. You may be entirely correct that it's now authorized. I saw an Australian site where it shows the possible loadouts for the F/A-18E and they list dual carriage of AIM-120's on several wing stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulvdemon Posted March 20, 2023 Author Share Posted March 20, 2023 Thanks everyone for the info. Of course, this is the issue when basing a possible build off of something from a movie vs. real world. Then again, nothing wrong with building it just because it looks cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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