Direct proof of use
An official Defense Visual Information Distribution Service archive caption places an F/A-18C Hornet on USS Carl Vinson for a strike against al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan on October 7, 2001, the opening day of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The Naval History and Heritage Command separately documents an F/A-18 Hornet being prepared for launch from USS John C. Stennis while the carrier and Carrier Air Wing Nine were conducting missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in February 2002. NAVAIR's F/A-18 program history describes the Hornet as playing a significant role in Operation Enduring Freedom and credits the type with more than 56,000 flight hours.
Sources: DVIDS Carl Vinson F/A-18C Strike, NHHC F/A-18 Hornet February 2002, NAVAIR F/A-18 Five Million Flight Hours
Carrier air campaign
The documented Afghanistan use was carrier-based U.S. naval aviation. The Carl Vinson caption ties a Hornet launch to the first strikes against al-Qaeda and Taliban targets, while the Stennis image shows continued Hornet launch activity for OEF missions early in 2002.
The available official sources identify U.S. carrier air wings and F/A-18 aircraft supporting OEF, but they do not provide a complete sortie-by-sortie record for every Hornet squadron in Afghanistan. The source-backed role is strike and air support for U.S.-led operations against al-Qaeda and Taliban targets.
Sources: DVIDS Carl Vinson F/A-18C Strike, NHHC F/A-18 Hornet February 2002, NAVAIR F/A-18 Five Million Flight Hours
Role in the conflict
In the 2001 War in Afghanistan, the Legacy Hornet appears in the public record as a U.S. Navy and Marine Corps strike fighter used from aircraft carriers during Operation Enduring Freedom. The DVIDS record connects an F/A-18C to an opening strike against fixed al-Qaeda and Taliban target sets, while NAVAIR's broader program history places the type at large scale across the OEF air campaign.
The supported catalog side is United States, NATO, and Afghan government forces. The sources do not document Taliban or allied militant operation of the F/A-18, and they do not identify a non-U.S. Hornet operator using the aircraft in Afghanistan.
Sources: DVIDS Carl Vinson F/A-18C Strike, NAVAIR F/A-18 Five Million Flight Hours
