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Why do you say it was hopeless? Supposedly the lift jet solution wasn't exactly popular, probably due to the heat concerns, but I don't see why it couldn't work. The rest of the design looked promising, at least from the outside. McDonnell Douglas may not have been in their prime anymore but Northrop was on the team and certainly had a good understanding of low RCS design.I'd have to go with the theory that Boeing was selected as the "low risk" STOVL method as it essientally functioned the same as the Harrier did. Of course the Harrier was much lighter and less capable. In retrospect it might seem that they were trying to achieve too much with that method.
Why do you say it was hopeless? Supposedly the lift jet solution wasn't exactly popular, probably due to the heat concerns, but I don't see why it couldn't work. The rest of the design looked promising, at least from the outside. McDonnell Douglas may not have been in their prime anymore but Northrop was on the team and certainly had a good understanding of low RCS design.
I'd have to go with the theory that Boeing was selected as the "low risk" STOVL method as it essientally functioned the same as the Harrier did. Of course the Harrier was much lighter and less capable. In retrospect it might seem that they were trying to achieve too much with that method.
