February 13, 2026 at 6:08 PM
USMC’s Old F/A-18 Hornets To Get Drone Swatting Laser Guided Rockets
The combat-proven APKWS II laser-guided rocket's use as a valuable low-cost air-to-air weapon continues to grow. The post USMC’s Old F/A-18 Hornets To Get Drone Swatting Laser Guided Rockets appeared first on The War...
U.S. Marine Corps legacy F/A-18C/D Hornets are in line to add air-to-air optimized versions of the 70mm Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) rocket to their arsenal. This will give the jets an important, lower-cost boost in their ability to take down drones, as well as certain cruise missiles.
APKWS II has already become a principal air-to-air counter-drone weapon for the U.S. force, which began using the rockets in this way on F-16 Vipers back in 2024, and has now extended the capability to the F-15E Strike Eagle and A-10 Warthog. The recently released 2026 Marine Corps Aviation Plan highlighted a “high-density low-cost counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS)/cruise missile capability” as a top funding priority for the service’s F/A-18C/D fleet.