North American XF-108
| North American XF-108 Rapier | |
|---|---|
 Drawing of the XF-108 in flight |
|
| Type: | Prototype of an interceptor |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
Never happened |
| Commissioning: |
Development canceled in 1959 |
| Production time: |
Was never produced |
| Number of pieces: |
0 |
The North American XF-108 Rapier was a projected twin- engine, supersonic , long-range interceptor . The project was commissioned by the US Air Forces in 1957 and discontinued in late 1959 before a prototype was built.
The main task was the interception of Soviet long-range bombers over the Arctic before they could penetrate the North American airspace, as well as the escort of the strategic long-range bomber North American XB-70 Valkyrie (also projected by North American) .
history
The F-108A was initiated on October 6, 1955 by the US Air Force under the project title LRIX (Long-Range Interceptor, Experimental - experimental long -range interceptor ). It should be a technically simpler replacement for the Republic XF-103, which was stopped due to technical problems . On June 6, 1957, North American Aviation was commissioned to build two prototypes of a supersonic two-seat interceptor , which were given the company's internal designation NA-257. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) initially identified a need for 480 aircraft.
The final aircraft design saw a great tires tended with two General Electric - jet engines J93-GE-3AR ago, the km for a maximum speed of 3220 / h at a service ceiling m of 18,300, and should be construed km for a range of 1,850. For the F-108A was arming of three air-to-air missiles of the type GAR-9 Falcon of Hughes Aircraft provided, which have been accommodated in a closed weapons bay.
The first mock-up was completed in January 1959 and the first flight was planned for March 1961. In mid-1959, however, doubts arose for the first time about the meaning of the program due to the changing risk situation and the high costs. The Soviet Union's extensive arsenal of ICBMs , against which the Rapier was useless, was increasingly perceived as the new central strategic threat posed by the Soviet Union .
Project termination
Although development of the XF-108 program was progressing rapidly, there were indications that the program would eventually be canceled. An unconfirmed threat from supersonic Soviet bombers, the trend towards offensive and defensive nuclear weapons in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and rising costs led to the discontinuation of the XF-108 program. Ultimately, due to financial considerations within the US Air Force, deterrence through ballistic nuclear missiles was given preference over the conventional solution of the XB-70 Valkyrie and F-108 Rapier. The project was discontinued on September 23, 1959.
North American refined the design in the 1960s in the hope that the program would be revived. Despite the extra costs and delays, the program wasn't entirely useless: the North American A-5 Vigilante carrier-based, supersonic, all-weather bomber , developed for the United States Navy , took over the structure and weapon system of the Rapier. In several ways, the Vigilante can be seen as a successful implementation of the design principles developed for the Rapier in a Mach-2 fast bomber.
Hughes Aircraft continued development of the fire control system and the GAR-9 air-to-air missile. Development work on the radar and missiles intended for the F-108 continued by the USAF and eventually used on the Lockheed YF-12 . The YF-12 received the Hughes fire control system AN / ASG-18 and the final configuration of the controls and displays in the rear cockpit of the YF-12A corresponded to the equipment and arrangement that was intended for the F-108.
Technical specifications
- Length: 27.12 m
- Height: 6.32 m
- Span: 17.50 m
- Empty weight: 23,090 kg
- Maximum take-off weight (MTOW): 46,510 kg
- Max. Speed: 3,220 km / h (Mach 3)
- Max. Range: 4,000 km
- Service ceiling: 18,300 m
- Engines: two General Electric J93-GE-3AR afterburner engines with 133.4 kN thrust each
- Armament: three GAR-9 Falcon air-to-air missiles , four 20 mm guns
- Crew: 2
See also
Web links
- Two pages about the "XF-108 Rapier" . In: xplanes.free.fr (French)
- Further information on the project . In: joebaugher.com . December 19, 1999. (English)
- Photos of the finished mock-up . In: military.cz (English)
- Federation of American Scientists: XF-108 Rapier . In: fas.org . June 29, 1999. (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dennis R. Jenkins, Thony Landis: Warbird Tech Series Volume 34, NORTH AMERICAN, XB-70 VALKYRIE. Specialty Press, North Branch, Minnesota, USA, 2002, ISBN 1-58007-056-6 , p. 12.
- ^ Lyons, Major Robert P. Jr .: The Search for an Advanced Fighter, A History from the XF-108 to the Advanced Tactical Fighter. (PDF) In: Defense Technical Information Center. April 3, 1986, accessed December 24, 2018 .
- ↑ Patrick Hoeveler: Blunt sword. In: Flight Revue . December 4, 2014, accessed December 24, 2018 .
- ↑ Goodspeed 2000, p. 77.
- ↑ Sean O'Connor: AIM-47: Hughes GAR-9 / AIM-47 Falcon . In: Directory of US Military Rockets and Missiles . 2004. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ↑ Dennis R. Jenkins, Tony R. Landis: F-108 Rapier The Elusive Mach 3 Interceptor. Airpower (Granada Hills, California: Sentry Books) 34 (9), September 2004, ISSN 1067-1048 , p. 20.