f 108 rapier

F 108 Rapier - It's 1955, and Armageddon is about to begin: the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line detects Soviet bombers headed for the North Pole. The bombers were expected to take courses that would eventually lead them to targets within the continental borders of the United States. Each was carrying a thermonuclear payload of enough destructive power to turn a major city into radioactive ash. The United States' first line of defense – the fighter-interceptors of the US Air Force's Air Defense Command (ADC) – were on alert and scrambled. It was imperative that these aircraft be detected, intercepted, and destroyed by enemy bombers before they could reach American territory—before they could release their deadly payloads. To get there in time, the ADC's fighter-interceptors must be very fast, but speed is not the only solution - they must be able to locate, position and engage their targets without delay. Weapons don't miss; they are

This scenario may sound strange in today's political climate, but it was very real in 1955. May Day flyovers of the Kremlin in 1954 and 1955 confirmed that the Soviet Union had three types of advanced bombers with intercontinental range: jet-powered Tupelov Tu-16 Badgers and Myasishchev Mia-4 Bison, plus turbo-prop-powered Tu -20 beers. More ominously, contemporary intelligence data strongly suggested that the Soviet Union was working hard on a delta-wing supersonic bomber. American leaders were particularly concerned because in 1955 the ADC had no operational aircraft with supersonic performance. And its most important supersonic interceptor project—the Convair F-102A—was not only two years behind schedule, but had a maximum speed of Mach 1.22 (700 mph at 53,000 feet), too long to counter the Soviet It was too slow. Threat

F 108 Rapier

In October 1955, the US launched the most technologically ambitious fighter-interceptor program of the 1945–60 era. This led the Air Force to issue General Operating Requirements (GOR). The project, named GOR 114, LRIX (Long-Range Interceptor, Experimental), called for two spaced, all-weather interceptors with a sustained speed of Mach 3 (1,977 mph), an operational range of over 75 km/h. 000 feet and a suitable range for movement around the interception point for about an hour.

Remembering The Xb 70

The unmanned X-10 was a proof-of-concept test vehicle that would advance the design of the XF-104. (us Air Force)

After the GOR was issued, the Air Force did not follow traditional methods of contractor selection for LRIX. A simple process of evaluating competing proposals on a project of this complexity from more than one aircraft manufacturer was determined to be too time consuming and would unacceptably prolong the development period on a new aircraft. In a letter agreement dated June 6, 1957, the Air Force named North American Aviation as the prime airframe contractor and also selected six other companies as subcontractors to develop key systems and components of the LRIX. : Hughes Aircraft, fire-control systems and missile weapons; Kanwar Aircraft, Wing Assembly; Marquardt Aircraft, Air Induction Control System; Hamilton Standard, Air Conditioning and Pressurization; international telephone and telegraph, mission and traffic control systems; and an electronic feature, the antenna system.

The North American design proposal for the LRIX airframe was listed as company model NA-257 and later received the Air Force designation XF-108A. The basic aerodynamic concept for the LRIX was derived from North America's 1953 unmanned X-10 test vehicle. The X-10 was originally built as a proof-of-concept testbed for the delta-canard configuration used in the company's ramjet-powered XB-64 (later XSM-56 Navaho) intercontinental cruise missile. Even more important is the XF-108's systemic and aerodynamic relationship to its North American sister project, the XB-70A Mach 3 bomber.

As a secondary mission, the F-108 served as an escort for the B-70, as it was the only fighter capable of countering the new bomber. The two aircraft would be developed side-by-side, sharing structural features and subsystems, and using General Electric X-279E (J93-3AR) turbojets, each producing 30,000 pounds of thrust at full afterburner. are supposed to. Both have a state-of-the-art emergency evacuation system that gives the crew the ability to maintain a pressurized, self-contained capsule for ejection anywhere between zero and 80,000 feet. All three North American programs—the XSM-56, XF-108A, and XB-70A—were designed for an "all-supersonic flight pattern", meaning cruise, weapon delivery, and return (except for the XSM-56 ) stage missions had subsonic cruise, a supersonic dash on target, and operated at supersonic speed in contrast to the earlier "split mission pattern" with a subsonic return.

A Quick Look At The F 108 Rapier, The Mach 3 Interceptor Capable To Shoot Down Three Bombers In Five Minutes Of Combat That Never Was

The XF-108's armament includes the massive AIM-47 missile. Twelve and a half feet long, the missile has a range of over 100 miles and cruises at Mach 6. (us Air Force)

Although the XF-108A was to share the XB-70A's general delta planform, surviving drawings and artist's impressions indicate that some details of the aerodynamic configuration were changed during the design study phase. Reference materials do not provide a clear chronology, but the XF-108A's basic appearance was similar to the bomber's layout: a shoulder-mounted delta wing with canards in front of the wing and a 60-degree leading edge with a root. Two-tip sweep. Instead of the variable-drop wingtips found on the XB-70A, the XF-108A's initial design had fixed trailing-edge finlets at 60 percent of the span.

The XF-108A was the largest US fighter design built up to that time (for example, weighing twice as much as the contemporary McDonnell F4H/F-4 developed for the Navy and Marine Corps). Its general dimensions and characteristics are a length of 82 ft 2 in, a wingspan of 57 ft 5 in, an area of ​​1,865 square feet, and a maximum takeoff weight of 102,533 pounds. The aircraft's two General Electric J93-GE3-AR engines are mounted in sloping fuselage bays under the wings, which extend from the forward edges to the tail, and are fed air through large, boxy, ramp-type variable inlets. Is. Available references do not provide precise information on the structures and materials used for the XF-108A, but they are undoubtedly the same titanium skinning and framing and PH15-7Mo stainless steel honeycomb panels developed for the XB-structure. went. 70A. Manufacturer's estimated performance for the XF-108A is a maximum speed of 1,980 mph (Mach 3), a service ceiling of 80,100 feet, and a combat radius of 1,020 miles fully loaded.

Like the XB-70A, the XF-108A was to have an actual flying fuel tank that could hold 7,100 gallons of fuel, which was 42 percent of its takeoff weight. Hughes was developing the Mach 6 GAR-9 Falcon missile (later the AIM-47A) specifically for the LRIX project. The new radar and infrared-guided missile has a range of more than 100 miles and is equipped with a low-yield nuclear warhead. To go with the GAR-9, Hughes is also developing the advanced AN/ASG-18 radar and fire-control system, which will enable the XF-108A to lock onto targets and launch its nuclear missiles from standoff distances .

Beaver Corporation 1/144 Us Air Force Xf 108 Rapier 3d Printer Kit Belk144007 Molded Color

The typical mission profile expected of the aircraft was impressive: 1,150 miles of cruise at Mach 2 and a three-minute fight at Mach 3; or 400 miles of cruise at Mach 3 and a 10-minute fight at Mach 3; Or supersonic cruise to a specified area (distance not specified) with a limit of one hour to intercept any target achieved at Mach 3. Capable of locating, acquiring and engaging targets with guided, nuclear-armed warheads at range, the new interceptor would almost certainly destroy any enemy bomber attempting to enter US airspace from the North Pole .

We. The Air Force expects the F-108A to make its first flight in early 1961 and begin entering operational service in early 1963. During production, which is expected to last until the 1960s, the 108 will replace the Air Force's current ADC fleet of at least 480 F-102As, F-101Bs, and F-106As. The XF-108's final aerodynamic configuration is not entirely clear, but mock-up photos show canards removed, finlets replaced by ventral wings, wing leading edges cranked into a sweep of about 45 degrees with 60 percent span and the wingtips are continuously dropped. A mockup inspection completed by Air Force officials in January 1959 indicated that very few changes were necessary, and in May 1959 the aircraft was officially named the Rapier.

A rapier-like dagger, a fighter-like dagger, never progressed beyond this full-scale mockup before the project was canceled in September 1959. (us Air Force)

But just three months later the sky fell. Despite their potential, the XF-108A and XB-70A became the subject of technical and ideological debate within the Air Force (and the defense system as a whole) over an entirely new type. Weapon-Intercontinental ballistic missile.

American Supersonic Fighter Escort F 108a \

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