YET ANOTHER VARIANT of the ubiquitous GD F-111 is under consideration in Washington by the Department of Defence—this time as a long-range intercepter to replace the ageing F-102 and F-106s of Air Defence Command.
The development is being considered in competition with Lockheed's Mach 3 F-12 project, on which small-scale spending is continuing through the next financial year.
Prospects for the long-range F-111 intercepter depend in part upon the
feasibility of the AWACS (airbornewarning and control system) aircraft for
which Boeing and Douglas are now making contract definition studies based
upon the 707 and DC-8 airliners respectively.
The AWACS system is necessary to provide detection and control at
ranges far beyond those of ground-based radars. The AWACS concept is heavily
dependent upon the development of airborne radars which are sufficiently
discriminatory to direct and track lowflying aircraft against the background of
ground return. Development of these "overland" radars is in hand, with five
different types due to be evaluated incompetition this year.
So a decision on a USAF F-111 intercepter (the problematical F-111B
intended for the USN is, of course, primarily an intercepter version) remains
a fairly distant possibility. If indeed it is adopted, it will be a great feather in
the cap of GD, which will then be providing variants of the same basic aircraft
for the USAF's three major combat commands—Strategic, Tactical and Air
Defence.
Convair / General Dynamics Advanced Tactical Fighter (1965)