The F/A-18C Hornet is an American multirole fighter jet that was adapted for the Finnish Air Force. After the Cold War ended, the country decided to replace its aging MiG-21s and J35 Drakens. In 1992, it issued a competition. The competition included the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the Mirage 2000-5, the JAS 39A Gripen, the MiG-29, and the F/A-18C/D Hornet. The F-18C won the contract, as the United States offered a favorable price and extensive modernization capabilities.

Between 1995 and 2000, Finland received 57 single-seat F-18C aircraft and seven two-seat F-18D aircraft. Initially, these aircraft were only armed with air-to-air missiles. From 2006 to 2016, however, the entire fleet underwent modernization in two phases under the Mid-Life Update (MLU) program. The first phase, MLU 1, involved integrating a helmet-mounted sighting system, new air-to-air missiles, and upgraded avionics. At the same time, the designation changed to F/A-18. The second phase, MLU 2, gave the aircraft the capability to use high-precision air-to-ground weapons, including JDAM bombs. All 64 Finnish Hornets (57 single-seat F/A-18Cs and seven two-seat F/A-18Ds) were upgraded to the MLU 2 standard. The work was completed in 2016.

The Finnish F/A-18C MLU 2 was introduced in Update 2.47 "Leviathans" and is located in the Swedish aviation research tree. This variant retained all the features of a fighter but gained the ability to use various calibers of JDAM satellite-guided bombs. A huge number of countermeasures (up to 1,280) can also be mounted on the pylons. One of the aircraft's shortcomings is its lack of more advanced air-to-ground guided weapons.