The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an American carrier-capable multirole jet. In the late 1970s, Australia began searching for a replacement for its aging Dassault Mirage III fighters, which had been in service with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) since 1964. In 1979, the Department of Defense launched a program considering several options, including the American F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, and F/A-18 Hornet, as well as the European Tornado ADV and the French Mirage 2000. Following comparative testing and performance analysis, the F-16 and the F/A-18 emerged as the top contenders. In October 1981, the Australian government selected the F/A-18A Hornet. Local production was established in Australia with the participation of Government Aircraft Factories (GAF) and the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). The aircraft entered service with the RAAF’s 3rd and 75th Squadrons, which are based at the Williamtown and Tindal Air Force Bases, respectively.

The Australian F/A-18A was introduced in Update 2.49 "Tusk Force", and is located in the British Aviation Research Tree. Thanks to a wide range of armaments and new IR-guided bombs, the aircraft possesses truly versatile capabilities in both air combat and ground attack. Compared to other fighters, the F/A-18 boasts outstanding maneuverability, partly due to its ability to "disable limits". However, the aircraft has several shortcomings, including a limited arsenal of countermeasures, poor performance compared to other fourth-generation fighters, and a lack of modern guided weapons.