FINNISH HORNET TO STAR AT RADOM
The organisers of the Radom Air Show officially announced details of the first international flying participant for this year’s show. On August 26th-27th visitors will be treated to a stunning display of noise, power and agility from an F/A-18C Hornet provided by the Finnish Air Force.
This will be the first full demonstration of the Hornet in Poland in over 14 years. In 2009, the tragic Belarusian Su-27 crash in Radom did not allow the Spanish Hornet to perform and since then there has been no Hornet solo display anywhere in Poland. the last time a hornet was scheduled to display in Radom
Finnish hornet shooting flares at the Sanicole Airshow 2021
The American Boeing (formerly McDonnell-Douglas) F-18 Hornet Multirole fighter and attack aircraft are the main fighter type of the Finnish Air Force. The aircraft was designed in the 1980s originally for the U.S. Navy. In 1992 the Hornet was chosen to replace the Swedish Saab 35 Drakens and Soviet MiG 21 bis fighters of the Finnish Air Force. The Hornet won the bidding contest against Swedish, French and American competitors. The Finnish Patria Ltd. has constructed most of the F-18 Hornets used in Finland.
The fleet of the Finnish Air Force consists nowadays of 62 Hornets, 55 single-seat C-variants and seven two-seat D-variants. The aircraft are to be replaced by 64 F-35A. The first F-35s will arrive at Rovaniemi in 2026 and all 64, including those to be based further south in Finland, will be in operational by 2030.
