Unrivaled Giants: Unveiling the World's Largest and Costliest Military Aircraft

7. The F-18 Super Hornet

Entered Service: 1995

Retirement Status: N/A

Cost: $66.9 Million

Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornet is a carrier-based workhorse. Upgraded from the original Hornet, it carries a spectrum of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles plus a 20 mm M61 rotary cannon.

Its built-in refueling system lets it double as an airborne tanker, and five external tanks extend its combat radius.

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F-18 Super Hornet

With more than 600 produced and a flyaway cost of $66 million, the Super Hornet remains the backbone of U.S. carrier aviation.