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Lockheed CL-1200 (Lancer) / (X-27)

1970 COLD WAR X-PLANE

History

During the mid-Cold War, several major defense players in the aerospace industry began working on developing a light supersonic fighter primarily for the export market, driven by a focus on performance and low maintenance costs. While the clear winner is ultimately the Northrop F-5 Tiger/Freedom Fighter (detailed elsewhere on this site), designs from Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas and France's Dassault are also worth considering.

For Lockheed, their private project proposal is based on an evolution of the earlier F-104 "Starfighter" platform they debuted in 1958.

The plane became the short-lived CL-1200 "Lancer," a sleek supersonic jet that retained some design cues from the classic starfighter. Key changes include a longer span shoulder-mounted main wing (increasing surface area by more than 50%) and a larger tail surface for improved control and stability. The fuselage was lengthened to accommodate more fuel reserves, increasing the range compared to the F-104. The single-seat cockpit remained behind the pointed cone, with air intakes on either side of the fuselage for the intake of the single-axial turbojet.

The stern consists of a vertical plane and two lower horizontal elements. Compared to the F-104's "T-shaped" fin layout, the CL-1200's horizontal plane is on the rear side of the fuselage. For ground operations, a tricycle landing gear, fully inherited from the F-104, will be used.

Propulsion will come from a General Electric J79-GE-19 turbojet engine, which provides more power than the original version used in the F-104. The aircraft is estimated to have a maximum speed of Mach 2.57 (1,450 mph), a range of 370 nautical miles, and a service ceiling of 60,000 feet.

Climb speed should be an impressive 60,000 feet per minute. It has a runway height of 1,450 feet and a runway height of 2,060 feeta key market attribute of the design is its ability to operate from short distances (an attribute that the high-speed F-104 lacks).

Lockheed plans to rely on existing F-104 production facilities to mass produce the aircraft for the global market - again focusing on reducing costs and sharing parts between the CL-1200 and F-104. Of course, the aircraft will attract service from existing F-104 operators as well as business-minded emerging airlines in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and South America.

In terms of armament, the CL-1200 will retain the F-104's 20mm GE M61A1 cannon as its standard frontal/fixed armament. However, it should be envisaged that this gun could easily be replaced by the 30mm DEFA cannon system for export customers already targeting French artillery.

The Lancer also plans to have nine hardpoints for carrying a variety of air-to-air (A2A) and air-to-surface (A2S) munitions, as well as wingtip and underwing mounted fuel tanks -- all larger than the F-104's memory Limited functionality.

In its final form, the CL-1200-2 has a barrel length of 57.2 feet, a wingspan of 29.1 feet, and a height of 17.1 feet. The kerb weight is 17,250 pounds and the MTOW is 32,500 pounds. The PW TF30 turbofan will provide 15,000 pounds of dry thrust and 25,000 pounds of afterburner thrust.

Lockheed is also trying to develop a two-seater trainer for its Lancer line to better train new operators on the nuances of supersonic aircraft. The second seat will take up some interior space for fuel storage and limited range, but that's negligible given the role of a trainer-oriented aircraft. A future proposed variant also carries a more powerful Pratt & Whitney TF-30-P-100 afterburner turbofan for more power and performance - this is the CL-1200-2/CL-1600.

The CL-1200-2 would compete in the 1972 U.S. Light Fighter competition, which was ultimately decided by the General Dynamics YF-16 and Northrop YF-17.

In November 1970, all this work came to nothing when the Northrop F-5 design outperformed all other designs. This basically destroys all prospects for a light supersonic interceptor proposed by Lockheed, except that the USAF is interested in purchasing the CL-1200 to test the flight envelope beyond the Mach 2.55 range.

The plane, designated the X-27, was never funded, so it died too, but only after the company completed a full-scale model (and worked on as many as three early airframes). at that time). A distinguishing feature of the revised X-27 model is its angular intake shape.

The CL-1200-2 and X-27 are also at the heart of another proposed version of the Lancer, targeting the US Navy, the CL-1400/CL-1400N. But that move also failed.