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General Dynamics F-111K (Aardvark)

1968 COLD WAR

General Dynamics F-111K (Aardvark) History

After the repeal of the BAC TSR. 2 Tactical Attack Aircraft (described in detail elsewhere on this page) by the British government in 1965, the Royal Air Force (RAF) had to look for a more budget conscious product. This eventually led to service for General Dynamics' F-111 Aardvark "Swing-Wing" tactical attack/reconnaissance platform. This powerful system was introduced by the US Air Force in 1967 and 563 prototypes were produced.

It was only exported to ally Australia, and at one point flew under the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flag (these were Australia-centric "F-111C" variants).

The swept-wing capability of these aircraft allows a single fuselage to maintain desired lift and drag masses during different phases of flight through a "variable" wing layout.

That all changed when economic factors came into play, leading the British government to terminate the F-111K program on January 16, 1968 - while the final assembly of the first aircraft was well underway. ASR.

The 343 requirement was in turn suspended indefinitely, obsolete pirates were added to the RAF inventory, and the Avro Vulcan strategic bomber was placed in a long-range disabled role for the foreseeable future.

The scheme cost around ?280m at the time, with very little investment.

By design, the K model is intended to carry over many of the F-111's design qualities. This includes two crew members - a pilot and a weapons systems operator - sitting side by side in the cockpit. The overall length of the aircraft reached 73 feet, with a wingspan of 63 feet and a swept wingspan of 34 feet. Height is 17 feet. Power comes from 2 Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-100 afterburning turbofan engines, thrust unknown.

Performance indicates a top speed of Mach 2.5.

Installed systems shall include Rockwell AN/APQ-130 Attack Radar, Sperry AN/APQ-128 J-Band Terrain Tracking Radar, and Marconi AN/APN-189 Doppler Navigation Radar Suite. There are a total of 9 mounts under the aircraft and under the wings - 4 on each wing (of a total of 8), and a weapon bay mount on the belly.

General Dynamics F-111K (Aardvark) Specification

BASICS

Year:

1968

Status:

Cancelled

Crew:

MANUFACTURING

[ 0 Units ] :

General Dynamics - USA

ROLES

- Ground Attack

DIMENSIONS

Length:

73. 82 ft (22. 5 m)

Width/Span:

62. 99 ft (19. 2 m)

Height:

17. 13 ft (5. 22 m)

WEIGHTS

Empty Weight:

47,399 lb (21,500 kg)

MTOW:

101,413 lb (46,000 kg)

(Diff: +54,013lb)

POWER

2 x Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-100 afterburning turbofan engines.

PERFORMANCE

Maximum Speed:

1,920 mph (3,090 kph; 1,668 kts)

Service Ceiling:

65,617 feet (20,000 m; 12. 43 miles)

Maximum Range:

3,728 miles (6,000 km; 3,240 nm)

Rate-of-Climb:

26,000 ft/min (7,925 m/min)

ARMAMENT

Nine hardpoints are planned, four under each wing element and a bomb bay under the fuselage to accommodate a variety of weapon options including conventionally thrown bombs, laser-guided bombs, air-to-surface missiles and tank.

VARIANTS

F-111K - Base project name; at the time of project termination, final assembly of the first unit was nearing completion; two other incomplete airframes were used as spare parts.