McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (CF-188)

Canada picked the F/A-18 in 1980 to win its New Fighter Aircraft competition and ordered 98 single-seat CF-18As and 40 two-seat CF-18Bs, officially designated CF-188. The first two jets were handed over to 410 Squadron at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta, on 25 October 1982. The airframe is a land-based version of the A/B, with two small but famous recognition features: a 0.6-megacandela night-identification spotlight in the port gun-loading door, and a false canopy painted on the underside to confuse an opponent about which way the jet is turning.

Canadian Hornets flew from Doha, Qatar, in the 1991 Gulf War, from Aviano, Italy, during the 1999 NATO air campaign over Yugoslavia, and over Libya in 2011, alongside decades of NORAD air-defence alerts. To bridge the gap to a replacement, Canada bought 25 ex-Royal Australian Air Force Hornets — 18 to fly and 7 for spares — and a Hornet Extension Project is keeping the fleet in service into the early 2030s.

The CF-188 is being replaced by the F-35A, with 88 aircraft planned. Every year the RCAF's CF-18 Demonstration Team paints one jet in a special commemorative scheme for the air-show season.