So You Want To Fly With The Marines? Want to fly with the Marines but not sure what type of assets they have? Below are some pictures and descriptions of the different airframes you can fly as a Marine Corps Aviator.

F/A-18D Hornet Primary function: Attack and destroy surface targets, day or night, under all weather conditions; conduct multi-sensor imagery reconnaissance; provide supporting arms coordination; and intercept and destroy enemy aircraft under all weather conditions. Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas Propulsion: Two General Electric F404-GE-400 afterburning, low bypass turbofan engines Thrust: 16,000 pounds per engine Length: 56 feet (17.06 meters) Wing span: 37.5 feet (11.43 meters) Cruise speed: High subsonic to supersonic Ferry range: Over 2,000 nautical miles (2300 miles) Combat radius: Fighter mission: 400 nautical miles (460 miles) Attack mission: 575 nautical miles (661.25 miles) Armament: Nine external wing stations, comprising two wingtip stations for AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; two outboard wing stations for an assortment of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons, including AIM-7 Sparrows, AIM-9 Sidewinders, AMRAAMs, AGM-84 Harpoons and AGM-65 Maverick missiles; two inboard wing stations for external fuel tanks or air-to-ground stations; two nacelle fuselage stations for Sparrows or AN/AAS-38 Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) pods; and a center station for fuel tank or air-to-ground weapons such as GBU-10 and -12 laser guided bombs, Mk 80 series general purpose bombs, and CBU-59 cluster bombs. A M61 20mm six-barrel gun is mounted in the nose and has a McDonnell Douglas director gunsight. Crew: 2 Introduction date: October 1989 Unit Replacement Cost: $28,000,000

AV-8B Harrier II Primary function: Attack and destroy surface targets under day and night visual conditions. Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas Propulsion: One Rolls Royce F402-RR-408 turbofan engine Thrust: F402-44-408: 23,400 pounds Length: 46.3 feet (14.11 meters) Wing span: 30.3 feet (9.24 meters) Armament: MK-82 series 500lbs bombs, MK-83 series 1000lbs bombs, GBU-12 500lbs laser guided bombs, GBU-16 1000lbs laser guided bombs, AGM-65F IR Maverick missiles, AGM-65E Laser Maverick missiles, CBU-99 cluster munitions, AIM-9M sidewinders, Lightening II targeting POD to deliver GBU-12 and GBU-16 bombs with pinpoint accuracy. Crew: 1 Introduction date: 12 January 1985, AV-8BII(Plus) introduced in June 1993 Unit Replacement Cost: $23,700,000

EA-6B Prowler Primary function: Airborne Command and Control (C2W) support to Fleet Marine Forces to include electronic attack (EA), tactical electronic support (ES), electronic protection (EP) and high speed anti-radiation missile (HARM). Manufacturer: Grumman Aircraft Corporation Power plant: Two Pratt & Whitney J52-P408 turbofan engines Thrust: 11,200 pounds (4,767 kilograms) per engine Length: 59 feet (17.98 meters) Height: 15 feet (4.57 meters) Wing span: 53 feet (16.15 meters) Speed: Maximum .99 mach; cruise .72 mach Ceiling: 40,000 feet (12,186 meters) Maximum takeoff weight: 61,500 pounds (27,921 kilograms) Range: Unrefueled in combat configuration: 850 nautical miles (977.5 miles) Refueled: unlimited (crew fatigue factor - approximately 8 hours) Armament: ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS); High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) Sensors: ALQ-99 On-board System (OBS) Crew: 4 Introduction date: ICAP configuration, 1977; current ICAP II configuration, 1984 Unit Replacement Cost: $52,000,000

KC-130 Hercules Primary function: In-flight refueling; tactical transport Manufacturer: Lockheed Power plant: Four Allison T56-A-16 engines Power: 4,910 shaft horsepower per engine Length: 97 feet, 9 inches (22.16 meters) Height: 38 feet, 4 inches (11.68 meters) Wing span: 132 feet, 7 inches (40.39 meters) Maximum takeoff weight: 175,000 pounds (79,450 kilograms) Ceiling: 30,000 feet (9,140 meters) Speed: 315 knots (362.25 miles per hour) Total fuel capacity: KC-130T and KC-130: 13,280 gallons (50,331 liters)/86,320 pounds (32,715 liters) KC-130F: 10,183 gallons (38,594 liters)/ 66,190 pounds (25,086 liters) Range: Tanker mission: 1000 nautical mile (1150 mile) radius with 45,000 pounds of fuel (20,430 kilograms) (KC-130R/T) Cargo mission: 2875 nautical miles (3306.25 miles) with 38,258 pounds (17,369 kilograms) of cargo (KC-130R/T) or 92 combat troops or 64 paratroopers or 74 litters Landing distance: Less than 2,600 feet Crew: 2 pilots, 1 navigator/systems operator, 1 flight engineer, 1 first mechanic, 1 loadmaster (total of 6) Introduction date: KC-130F: 1962 KC-130R: 1976 KC-130T: 1983 Unit Replacement Cost: $37,000,000

MV-22 Osprey Primary function: Amphibious assault transport of troops, equipment and supplies from assault ships and land bases. Manufacturer: Bell Boeing Dimensions: Length 57' 4" Width 84' 7" Height 22' 1" Takeoff Weights: Vertical Takeoff/Landing (VTOL): 47,500 lb Short Takeoff/Landing (STOL): 55,000 lb Self Deploy STO: 60,500 lb Range: 200nm Pre-Assault Raid with 18 troops Land Assault with 24 troops 50 nm (x2) Amphibious Assault 500 nm Long Range SOF Missions (USAF/CV-22) 2100 nm Self Deploy (with one refueling) 50 nm External Lift Operations with 10,000 lb load Cruise Airspeed: 240 kts (MV-22) 230 kts (CV-22) Aerial Refueling Capable Shipboard Compatible Unit Replacement Cost: $40,100,000

AH-1W Super Cobra Primary function: Attack helicopter Manufacturer: Bell Helicopter Textron Power plant: Two General Electric T700-GE-401 engines Thrust: Full: 2082 shaft horsepower for 30 minutes (transmission limited), Continuous: 1775 shaft horsepower Length: 58 feet (17.67 meters) Height: 13.7 feet (4.17 meters) Rotor Diameter: 48 feet (14.62 meters) Speed: 147 knots (169.05 miles per hour) in basic combat attack configuration Maximum takeoff weight: 14,750 pounds (6,696.50 kilograms) Range: 256 nautical miles (294.4 miles) in basic combat attack configuration Ceiling: 18,700 feet (5703.5 meters) in basic combat attack configuration (limited to 10,000 feet (3050 kilometers) by oxygen requirements) Crew: 2 officers Armament: One 20MM turreted cannon with 750 rounds; four external wing stations that can fire 2.75"/5.0" rockets and a wide variety of precision guided missiles, to include TOW/Hellfire (point target/anti-armor), Sidewinder (anti-air) Sidearm (anti-radar). Introduction date: 1986 Unit Replacement Cost: $10,700,000

CH-53E Super Stallion Primary function: Transportation of heavy equipment and supplies during the ship-to-shore movement of an amphibious assault and during subsequent operations ashore. Manufacturer: Sikorsky Aircraft Power plant: Three General Electric T64-GE-416 turboshaft engines producing 4380 shaft horsepower each. Length: 99 feet 5 inches (30.3 meters) Height: 28 feet 4 inch (8.64 meters) Rotor diameter: 79 feet (24.07 meters) Speed: 172.5 miles per hour (150 knots) Maximum takeoff weight: Internal load: 69,750 pounds (31,666 kilograms) External load: 73,500 pounds (33,369 kilograms) Range: without refueling: 621 miles (540 nautical miles) with aerial refueling: indefinite Armament: Two XM-218 .50 caliber machineguns. Crew: 3 Introduction date: June 1981 Unit Replacement Cost: $26,100,000

CH-46E Sea Knight Primary function: Medium lift assault helicopter Manufacturer: Boeing Vertol Company Power plant: (2) GE-T58-16 engines Thrust: Burst: 1870 shaft horsepower (SHP) Continuous: 1770 SHP Length: 84 feet, 4 inches (25.69 meters) Width: 51 feet (15.54 meters) Height: 16 feet, 8 inches (5.08 meters) Maximum takeoff weight: 24,300 pounds (11,032 kilograms) Range: 132 nautical miles (151.8 miles) for an assault mission Speed: 145 knots (166.75 miles per hour) Ceiling: 10,000 feet (+) Crew: Normal: 4 - pilot, copilot, crew chief, and 1st mechanic Combat: 5 - pilot, copilot, crew chief, and 2 aerial gunners Payload: Combat: maximum of 14 troops with aerial gunners Medical evacuation: 15 litters and 2 attendants Cargo: maximum of 4,000 pound (2270 kilograms) external load Introduction date: January 1978 Unit Replacement Cost: To be replaced by MV-22 Osprey.

UH-1N Huey Primary function: Utility helicopter Manufacturer: Bell Helicopter Textron Power plant: Pratt and Whitney T400-CP-400 Power: Burst: 1290 shaft horsepower (transmission limited) Continuous: 1134 shaft horsepower (transmission limited) Length: 57.3 feet (17.46 meters) Height: 14.9 feet (4.54 meters) Rotor Diameter: 48 feet (14.62 meters) Speed: 121 knots (139.15 miles per hour) at sea level Ceiling: 14,200 feet (4331 meters) (limited to 10,000 feet (3050 meters) by oxygen requirements) Maximum takeoff weight: 10,500 pounds (4,767 kilograms) Range: 172 nautical miles (197.8 miles) Crew: Officer: 2 Enlisted: 2 Armament: M-240 7.62mm machine gun or the GAU-16 .50 caliber machine gun or the GAU-17 7.62mm automatic gun. All three weapons systems are crew-served, and the GAU-2B/A can also be controlled by the pilot in the fixed forward firing mode. The helicopter can also carry two 7-shot or 19-shot 2.75" rocket pods. Introduction date: 1971 Unit Replacement Cost: $4,700,000