McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet in the context of "Carrier-based aircraft"

The speed of sound is the distance travelled per unit of time by a sound wave as it propagates through an elastic medium. More simply, the speed of sound is how fast vibrations travel. At 20 °C (68 °F), the speed of sound in air is about 343 m/s (1,125 ft/s; 1,235 km/h; 767 mph; 667 kn), or 1 km in 2.92 s or one mile in 4.69 s. It depends strongly on temperature as well as the medium through which a sound wave is propagating.

At 0 °C (32 °F), the speed of sound in dry air (sea level 14.7 psi) is about 331 m/s (1,086 ft/s; 1,192 km/h; 740 mph; 643 kn).

Incendiary weapons, incendiary devices, incendiary munitions, or incendiary bombs are weapons designed to start fires. They may destroy structures or sensitive equipment using fire, and sometimes operate as anti-personnel weaponry. Incendiaries utilize materials such as napalm, thermite, magnesium powder, chlorine trifluoride, or white phosphorus. Though colloquially often called "bombs", they are not explosives but in fact operate to slow the process of chemical reactions and use ignition rather than detonation to start or maintain the reaction. Napalm, for example, is petroleum especially thickened with certain chemicals into a gel to slow, but not stop, combustion, releasing energy over a longer time than an explosive device. In the case of napalm, the gel adheres to surfaces and resists suppression.

The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are a series of American supersonic twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft derived from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The Super Hornet is in service with the armed forces of the United States, Australia, and Kuwait. The F/A-18E single-seat and F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced versions of the F/A-18C and D Hornet, respectively.

A strike fighter capable of air-to-air and air-to-ground/surface missions, the Super Hornet has an internal 20 mm M61A2 rotary cannon and can carry air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, and a variety of other weapons. Additional fuel can be carried in up to five external fuel tanks and the aircraft can be configured as an airborne tanker by adding an external air-to-air refueling system. Designed and initially produced by McDonnell Douglas, the Super Hornet first flew in 1995. Low-rate production began in early 1997, reaching full-rate production in September 1997, after the merger of McDonnell Douglas and Boeing the previous month. An electronic warfare variant, the EA-18G Growler, was also developed. Although officially named "Super Hornet", it is commonly referred to as "Rhino" within the United States Navy.

McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produced well-known commercial and military aircraft, such as the DC-10 and the MD-80 airliners, the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter, and the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighter.

The corporation's headquarters were at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, near St. Louis, Missouri.

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both air superiority and strike missions, it also has electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. Lockheed Martin is the prime F-35 contractor with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems. The aircraft has three main variants: the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) F-35A, the short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) F-35B, and the carrier variant (CV) catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) F-35C.

The aircraft descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, which in 2001 beat the Boeing X-32 to win the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program intended to replace the F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, and the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II "jump jet", among others. Its development is primarily funded by the United States, with additional funding from program partner countries from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and close U.S. allies, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and formerly Turkey. Several other countries have also ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft.

Takeoff or take-off is the phase of flight during which an aerial vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For space vehicles that launch vertically, this is known as liftoff.

For fixed-wing aircraft that take off horizontally (conventional takeoff), this usually involves an accelerating ground run (known as the roll) on a runway to build up speed so the wings can generate enough lift. For aerostats (balloons and airships), helicopters, tiltrotors (e.g. the V-22 Osprey) and thrust-vectoring STOVL fixed-wing aircraft (e.g. the Harrier jump jet and F-35B), a helipad/STOLport is sufficient and no runway is needed.