The US Navy Jets With the Biggest Explosive Loadouts

Since entering service in 1999, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet has been central to the U.S. Navy's strike power. Larger and more advanced than the original Hornet, it carries a heavier payload and more sophisticated avionics, making it one of the Navy's most heavily armed carrier-based fighters.

The jet has a maximum takeoff weight of about 66,000 pounds and can carry more than 17,000 pounds of ordnance. Its loadout includes air-to-air missiles, a 20mm M61 Vulcan cannon, precision-guided bombs, and anti-ship missiles. Powered by twin General Electric F414 engines, it can exceed Mach 1.5 and has a combat radius of roughly 1,200 miles.

Its electronic warfare counterpart, the EA-18G Growler, uses the same airframe but is equipped for detection and jamming while retaining defensive weapons capability.

The Super Hornet and Growler have played major roles in sustained strike and maritime operations, particularly in the Middle East and during the Global War on Terror. Still, they are only part of the Navy's broader combat fleet.

To identify the most heavily armed aircraft flown by the U.S. Navy, Tempo reviewed data from FlightGlobal's 2025 World Air Forces report and ranked aircraft by armament. Supplemental details include aircraft type, active inventory, and top speed. Trainer aircraft were excluded.

Here is a look at the most heavily armed aircraft in the U.S. Navy:

Why Are We Covering This?

Understanding the aircraft used by the U.S. Navy provides insight into joint military capabilities and defense strategies. Also knowing what the U.S. has in its arsenal further explains its military capabilities. This further gives context to the tactical flexibility and logistical reach the Navy brings in its operations. Lastly, the composition and technological level of the aircraft fleet highlight the Navy's ability of maintaining dominance and its rapid response capabilities, both of these are key factors in its strategic defense planning.

8. MV-22 Osprey

Type: Tiltrotor VTOL aircraft
Year introduced: 2007
Active aircraft: 29
Top speed: 316 mph
Armament: 7.62mm machine guns, 12.7mm machine guns

The Osprey's tiltrotor design allows for vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter, as well as cruise-speed performance like a turboprop. This configuration gives a unique reach for special operations. Built by Bell Boeing, the Osprey fills roles like infiltration, extraction, resupply and humanitarian missions for U.S. Special Operations forces. Its aerial refueling capability extends its mission range dramatically, and its cabin can fit roughly 24 combat-loaded troops. The Osprey has proven its value across Iraq, Afghanistan and other global conflicts.

7. MH-53E Pave Low

Type: Multirole transport helicopter
Year introduced: 1981
Active aircraft: 26
Top speed: 196 mph
Armament: 7.62mm M134 miniguns, 12.7mm Browning M2 heavy machine guns

The MH-53E Pave Low, introduced in 1981, is a multi-role transport helicopter with 26 active aircraft in service. It can hit a top speed of 196 mph and is heavily armed with 7.62mm M134 miniguns and 12.7mm Browning M2 heavy machine guns. This helicopter is used for long-range insertion and extraction missions.

6. P-3 Orion

Type: Multimission reconnaissance, anti-submarine aircraft
Year introduced: 1962
Active aircraft: 13
Top speed: 466 mph
Armament: Torpedoes, depth charges, Harpoon missiles, SLAM-ER missiles, Maverick missiles, naval mines, unguided rockets

The P-3 Orion is a four-engine maritime patrol and ASW aircraft introduced in the 1960s. During the Cold War it hunted submarines, tracked surface contacts, and flew long surveillance patrols.

5. S-70 Black Hawk

Type: Medium-lift multi-mission helicopter
Year introduced: 1979
Active aircraft: 452
Top speed: 183 mph
Armament: 7.62mm machine guns, Hellfire missiles, 12.7mm gatling guns, M134 gatling guns, rocket pods, 30mm chain gun

Black Hawk helicopters have been a global workhorse for not just the U.S. Armed forces. They were famously seen in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu where they performed under intense urban fire and helped evacuate casualties. This was later dramatized in the film Black Hawk Down. Widely regarded as one of the most iconic helicopters ever built, the UH-60 family serves across U.S. military branches with several thousand of these in service. Powered by twin turboshaft engines and sporting a four-bladed main rotor plus four-bladed tail rotor, the Black Hawk can exceed 180 mph, typically flies with two pilots and two crew chiefs, transports up to 11 fully equipped soldiers, and carries roughly a 9,000-pound payload.

4. P-8A Poseidon

Type: Multimission reconnaissance, anti-submarine aircraft
Year introduced: 2013
Active aircraft: 122
Top speed: 490 mph
Armament: Torpedoes, naval mines, air-to-surface missiles, anti-ship missiles, stand-off cruise missiles

The P-8A Poseidon is a maritime-patrol and ASW aircraft that entered service in 2013 to replace the P-3 Orion. These aircraft handle long-range patrol and reconnaissance.

3. EA-18G Growler

Type: Carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft
Year introduced: 2009
Active aircraft: 153
Top speed: 1,181 mph
Armament: Detection pods, high band jamming pods, low band jamming pods, AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR, SHARP, Harm missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Joint stand-off weapons

The EA-18G Growler is the Navy's carrier-based electronic-attack jet, a specialized variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet that only entered service in 2009. The Growler features dedicated detection and jamming pods to hunt, deny, and confuse enemy radars and communications, along with other defensive capabilities. These fighters fly ahead of strike packages and clear corridors for less survivable aircraft by suppressing air defenses and intercepting signals.

2. F-35C Lightning II

Type: Multirole fifth generation strike fighter aircraft
Year introduced: 2016
Active aircraft: 41
Top speed: 1,199 mph
Armament: 25mm GAU-12/U cannon in external pod, Sidewinder missiles, Paveway guided bombs, Rockeye II bombs, Brimstone missiles, Stormshadow missiles, drop bombs

The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th-generation multirole stealth fighter developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman for all U.S. armed forces as well as allies. It entered service in the 2010s to replace older fighter jets with improved sensors and stealth. Note that there are three distinct variants (A/B/C) of the F-35 that share a common core (one with VTOL capabilities), making the F-35 the most widely used stealth jet in history.

1. F/A-18 Super Hornet

Type: Carrier-based strike fighter aircraft
Year introduced: 1999
Active aircraft: 416
Top speed: 1,187 mph
Armament: 20mm M61A1 Vulcan automatic cannon, Sidewinder missiles, AMRAAM missiles, Harpoon missiles, HARM missiles, Maverick missiles, joint direct att munitions, Rockeye II bombs, general purpose bombs

Introduced in 1999, the F/A-18 Super Hornet is the U.S. Navy's larger, more capable carrier strike fighter, with hundreds in service today. It comes standard with a 20mm M61A1 Vulcan cannon and can equip a wide range of weapons including Sidewinders, AMRAAMs, Harpoons, HARMs, Mavericks, JDAMs and other precision munitions. Its bigger airframe from the original Hornet allows for this increased payload as well as improved fuel capacity to give it superior range and endurance than its predecessor.