With a total of 11 weapons stations, the Super Hornet gives warfighters extraordinary payload flexibility by carrying a mixed load of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance. A typical basic loadout for a self-escort strike mission starts with an advanced infrared targeting pod, one AIM-120 AMRAAM, two AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, a 20mm cannon and an external fuel tank. This leaves six under-wing weapon stations available to carry a variety of weapons and other stores.