A1: Destroy only the the carriers initially marked in yellow ju carriers okay

A2: Just shoot the highlighted ( yellow flashing) targets It's a piece of ckake as there ar only about 8 pairs

A3: I just beat the “Hornet’s Nest” on arcade setting on the PS3. To start ignore the ground and go for the 4 yellow triangles. As you shoot them you will see other groups. Look closely at the groups. After the first group, the others will have one or two aircraft with a special red symbol above them. It looks like the biological symbol for male – a red circle with an arrow pointing down. These are the ONLY planes you MUST shoot down. There are only 6 or 7 in total. Don’t worry about the others except for target practice. Down these six or so planes and the mission changes. Now ignore the planes and look for the 8 guns on the grown. They appear as yellow bars. Use rockets on them and clear the level. IT WORKS.

A4: I was stuck on this level for ever!
Simple answer which worked for me was.
Do the level in REALISTIC mode. Let your wingman destroy the planes.
Did it on my first go.
Nearly gave the game up before this advice.