Rockwell XFV-12

History of the Rockwell XFV-12

The Rockwell XFV-12 aircraft was designed to meet the requirements of the United States Navy (USN) for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) supersonic fighter. The XFV-12, while a promising concept, was tested in extremely limited environments and proved a failure in the early 1980s. The XFV-12 was later discontinued by the US Navy due to rising development costs and was officially cancelled in 1981.

The program ended with just one prototype being produced, with a second under construction.

From the looks of it, the XFV-12 is undoubtedly a futuristic fighter. To speed up development and control costs, the nose section of the multirole fighter based on the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was used with the air intakes of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. Character Warrior. Surprisingly, this resulted in a paired design whose parts form a coherent whole.

One of the most unique design elements is the wing plan, which features a pronounced rear main aircraft assembly with forward-moving canards. The large wing area is fully utilized for the "supercharged" concept, where thrust can be provided through various ports on the wing and canard front wing.

Power is provided by a Pratt & Whitney F401-PW-400 afterburner turbofan engine. Developers estimated that the unit could provide sufficient direct lift to the aircraft, but the complex inner workings of the large pipes eliminated much of the thrust, resulting in lower-than-expected performance.

Proposed weapons include an internal Gatling-style 20mm cannon for close range work, and a combination of air-to-air missiles - primarily the AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-9 Intermediate-Range Missiles. Sidewinder short-range missile.

Due to the nature of internal VTOL work, the weapon mounts themselves are limited to a few locations, none of which can be placed under the wings - so all missiles are mounted under the fuselage. Limits XFV's tactical value to -12 despite its unique VTOL capability.

The U.S. Navy cancelled the XFV-12 due to program complexity and cost overrun losses. Britain's Hawke Sidley remains VTOL's sky champ and was even bought by the US Marine Corps (USMC) in a rare move to take over foreign frontline aircraft from the US service.

Although the Harrier is a powerful attack platform with some combat power, it is still a subsonic design. The VTOL cape is expected to be adopted by the upcoming Lockheed F-35 "Lightning II" VTOL variant, which is still in development.

This product represents a stealthy form of fifth-generation fighter jet with advanced inherent punching capabilities.

The fuselage of the XFV-12 may one day be a well-preserved museum exhibit.

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