General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Dynamics_F-111_Aardvark
The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark was an American supersonic, medium-range
interdictor and tactical attack aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic
nuclear bomber, aerial reconnaissance, and electronic-warfare aircraft in its
various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered
service in 1967 with the United States Air Force. The Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) also ordered the type and began operating F-111Cs in 1973.
The F-111 pioneered several technologies for production aircraft, including
variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated
terrain-following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design influenced
later variable-sweep wing aircraft, and some of its advanced features have since
become commonplace. The F-111 suffered a variety of problems during initial
development. Several of its intended roles, such as an aircraft carrier-based
naval interceptor with the F-111B, failed to materialize.
USAF F-111 variants were retired in the 1990s, with the F-111Fs in 1996 and
EF-111s in 1998. The F-111 was replaced in USAF service by the F-15E Strike
Eagle for medium-range precision strike missions, while the supersonic bomber
role has been assumed by the B-1B Lancer. The RAAF was the last operator of the
F-111, with its aircraft serving until December 2010.
The F-111A achieved a speed of Mach 1.3 in February 1965 with an interim intake
design. Cracks in the F-111's wing attach points were first discovered in 1968
during ground fatigue testing - an F-111 crashed the following year due to this
issue. The attach structure required redesign and testing to ensure adequate
design and workmanship. Flight testing of the F-111A ran through 1973.
The F-111B was canceled by the Navy in 1968 due to weight and performance
issues, along with the need for additional fighter requirements. The F-111C
model was developed for Australia. Subsequently, the improved F-111E, F-111D,
F-111F models were developed for the US Air Force. The strategic bomber FB-111A
and the EF-111 electronic warfare versions were later developed for the USAF.
Production ended in 1976 after 563 F-111 aircraft were built.
Historical significance
The F-111 was the first production variable-geometry wing aircraft. Several
other types have followed with similar swing-wing configuration, including the
Soviet Sukhoi Su-17 "Fitter" (1965), Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 "Flogger" (1967),
Tupolev Tu-22M "Backfire" (1969), Sukhoi Su-24 "Fencer" (1970) and Tupolev
Tu-160 "Blackjack" (1981); the U.S. Rockwell B-1 Lancer bomber (1974); and the
European Panavia Tornado (1974). The Sukhoi Su-24 was very similar to the F-111.
The U.S. Navy's role intended for the F-111B was instead filled by another
variable-geometry design, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
Role
Interdictor, fighter-bomber, and strategic bomber
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
General Dynamics
First flight
21 December 1964
Introduction
18 July 1967
Retired
USAF: F-111F, 1996; EF-111A, 1998
RAAF: F-111C, 2010
Status
Retired
Primary users
United States Air Force (USAF)
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)
Number built
563
Unit cost
F-111F: US$10.3 million (flyaway cost in 1973) (equivalent to $58.1 million
today)
Variants
General Dynamics F-111C
General Dynamics F-111K
After early testing, a detachment of six aircraft were sent in March 1968 to
Southeast Asia for Combat Lancer testing in real combat conditions in Vietnam.
In little over a month, three aircraft were lost and the combat tests were
halted. It turned out that all three had been lost through a malfunction in the
horizontal stabilizer, not by enemy action. This caused a storm of criticism in
the U.S. It was not until 1971 that 474 TFW was fully operational.
September 1972 saw the F-111 back in Southeast Asia, stationed at Takhli Air
Base, Thailand. F-111As from Nellis AFB participated in the final month of
Operation Linebacker and later the Operation Linebacker II aerial offensive
against the North Vietnamese. They also supported regional aerial operations
against other communist forces such as Operation Phou Phiang III during the
Laotian Civil War in Laos. F-111 missions did not require tankers or ECM
support, and they could operate in weather that grounded most other aircraft.
One F-111 could carry the bomb load of four McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs.
The worth of the new aircraft was beginning to show; F-111s flew more than 4,000
combat missions in Vietnam with only six combat losses.
On 14 April 1986, 18 F-111s and approximately 25 Navy aircraft conducted air
strikes against Libya under Operation El Dorado Canyon. The 18 F-111s of the
48th Tactical Fighter Wing and the 20th Tactical Fighter Wing flew what turned
out to be the longest fighter combat mission in history. The round-trip flight
between RAF Lakenheath/RAF Upper Heyford, United Kingdom and Libya of 6,400
miles (10,300 km) spanned 13 hours. One F-111 was lost over Libya, probably shot
down.
F-111s participated in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm) in 1991. During
Desert Storm, F-111Fs completed 3.2 successful strike missions for every
unsuccessful one, better than any other U.S. strike aircraft used in the
operation. The group of 66 F-111Fs dropped almost 80% of the war's laser-guided
bombs, including the GBU-15 and the penetrating bunker-buster GBU-28. Eighteen
F-111Es were also deployed during the operation. The F-111s were credited with
destroying more than 1,500 Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles. Their use in the
anti-armor role was dubbed "tank plinking".
The F-111 was in service with the USAF from 1967 through 1998. The FB-111s were
operated by Strategic Air Command from 1969 before conversion to F-111G and
transferred to Air Combat Command (ACC) until their retirement in 1993. At a
ceremony marking the F-111's USAF retirement, on 27 July 1996, it was officially
named Aardvark, its long-standing unofficial name. The USAF retired the EF-111
electronic warfare variant in 1998.
Specifications (F-111F)
General characteristics
Crew: two (pilot and weapon systems officer)
Length: 73 ft 6 in (22.4 m)
Wingspan:
Spread: 63 ft (19.2 m)
Swept: 32 ft (9.75 m)
Height: 17.13 ft (5.22 m)
Wing area:
Airfoil: NACA 64-210.68 root, NACA 64-209.80 tip
Empty weight: 47,200 lb (21,400 kg)
Loaded weight: 82,800 lb (37,600 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 100,000 lb (45,300 kg)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0186
Aspect ratio: spread: 7.56, swept: 1.95
(79.6 kN) each
Thrust with afterburner: 25,100 lbf (112 kN) each
Performance
Maximum speed: Mach 2.5 (1,650 mph, 2,655 km/h) at altitude; Mach 1.2 (915 mph,
1,473 km/h) at sea level
Ferry range: 3,700 mi (3,210 nmi, 5,950 km) ; with external drop tanks
Service ceiling: 66,000 ft (20,100 m)
Rate of climb: 25,890 ft/min (131.5 m/s)
Wing loading:
Thrust/weight: 0.61
Lift-to-drag ratio: 15.8 (subsonic L/Dmax)
Armament
(seldom fitted)
attach points in weapons bay with a capacity of 31,500 lb (14,300 kg) and
provisions to carry combinations of: Missiles:
AGM-69 SRAM thermonuclear air-to-surface missile (FB-111A only)
AGM-130 stand-off bomb
Bombs:
Free-fall general-purpose bombs including Mk 82 (500 lb/227 kg), Mk 83 (1,000
lb/454 kg), Mk 84 (2,000 lb/907 kg), and Mk 117 (750 lb/340 kg)
Cluster bombs
BLU-109 (2,000 lb/907 kg) hardened penetration bomb
Paveway laser-guided bombs, including 2,000 lb (907 kg) GBU-10, 500 lb (227 kg)
GBU-12, and 4,800 lb (2,200 kg) GBU-28 penetration bomb
BLU-107 Durandal runway-cratering bomb
GBU-15 electro-optical bomb
B61 or B43 nuclear bombs
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