In most respects the F/A-18 meets or exceed specifications and demonstrates impressive air combat capability. The Hornet's overall fighter and strike capabilities are clearly superior to the A-7. Unlike the A-7, the F/A-18 does not require a separate fighter escort; it escorts itself. It's been claimed that, as a striker, a Hornet with drop tanks can carry the same bombload as an A-7 Corsair without tanks. This is not entirely true, considering that the A-7 can load up multiple ejector racks (MERs) and triple ejector racks (TERs) with impressive bombloads. The F/A-18 cannot. Partly for this reason, the Hornet flexes less muscle in terms of brute bomb tonnage delivery capability than the A-6 attack plane.
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During air-to-air combat exercises, the Hornet outstood the A-4, F-4 and F-14. In air-to-air engagements against the Tomcat, the F/A-18 outmaneuvered into a rear aspect firing position in short order. The Hornet has proven, however, to be less manueverable than the Gripen or the F-16. Also, in terms of sorting and dealing with BVR missile and aircraft threats, the F/A-18 is considerably less capable than the F-14. This is due primarily to the long-range restrictions and limited processor power of the Hornet's radar suite.
