𝗙/𝗔-𝟭𝟴 «𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘁»

Captain Nicolas «Vincent» Rossier, F/A-18 pilot from Fighter Squadron 17, is also the Swiss Air Force's Hornet Display pilot for the seasons 2017-2019. The native of Fribourg already has 2´000 flying hours to his credit, of which 1´600 are on jet aircraft, including 1´000 on the F/A-18 Hornet. The image shows a solo performance flight over the Axalp.
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The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft (hence the F/A designation). Designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) and Northrop (now part of Northrop Grumman), the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations including Switzerland.
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The Swiss Air Force purchased 26 C models and eight D models. Aircraft were delivered from January 1996 to December 1999. Three D models and one C model had been lost in crashes as of 2016. On 14 October 2015, a F/A-18D crashed in France during training with two Swiss Air Force Northrop F-5s in the Swiss/French training area EURAC25; the pilot ejected safely.
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In late 2007, Switzerland requested to be included in the F/A-18C/D Upgrade 25 Program, to extend the useful life of its F/A-18C/Ds. The program includes significant upgrades to the avionics and mission computer, 12 ATFLIR surveillance and targeting pods, and 44 sets of AN/ALR-67v3 ECM equipment. In October 2008, the Swiss Hornet fleet reached the 50,000 flight hour milestone.
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Text-Source: wikipedia / vtg.admin.ch