People who got the facts wrong on SAMs killed the idea. Missiles: 3 × Hughes GAR-9A air-to-air missiles in a rotary weapons bay Thrust with afterburner: 29,300 lbf (130.3 kN) each Powerplant: 2 × General Electric YJ93-GE-3AR afterburning turbojet Ironically, it was the same people who thought that missiles made guns obsolete that thought ICBMs made high-performance interceptors obsolete as well.ĭata from National Museum of the United States Air Force Unfortunately, they cancelled the Rapier and Valkyrie projects before they could prove themselves (or for the rapier, before it was built). Had the USAF gone along with it, updated versions would probably still be in service today. In later versions, the radar could have been adapted for AIM-7 Sparrows, giving it a deadly array of weaponry. It could have been easily adapted to use AIM-9 Sidewinders for closer-in combat. It would have been armed with three Hughes GAR-9A (AIM-47 Falcon) ultra-long range air-to-air missiles, could carry 4,000 lbs of bombs in the medium bomber role, and as standard had 4x 20mm cannon, presumably of either Colt Mk 12 or Ford M39 type.ĭue to its massive wing area and excellent thrust/weight ratio for how heavy it is, it would have been a superb dogfighter. Visibility was less than desirable, but it had a small rear-facing radar to compensate, which the pilot had a screen for. Two men kept the plane aloft and fought in it, the pilot in the front cockpit, and a radar/weapon/systems operator in the rear.
(Correct me if i'm wrong, i always get ventral/dorsal mixed up). Its wing was a cranked delta with a slight bend downwards towards the tip and one ventral fin per wing. It was 89.2 feet long, 22.1 ft tall, had a wingspan of 57.4', and a wing area 1,865 square feet. It had a combat range of 1,271 miles on a standard fuel load. 56, considering that it weighed 50,907 lbs weight empty and 102,000 lbs maximum. It would have an amazing thrust/weight ratio of. They put out 20,900 pounds of thrust each on normal operation, and 29,300 on afterburner. The Rapier was to be powered by two General Electric YJ-93 Turbojets with Reheat. Design work started in 1955 and ended in 1959. The XB-70 was a bomber, however, while the XF-108 was an interceptor. They were sort of fraternal twins in that they shared many design similarities as well as the engines. Development started at around the same time as the XB-70 Valkyrie, another NAA Project. The XF-108 Rapier was an aircraft designed by North American Aviation as a medium-long range interceptor capable of speeds of Mach 3.0 with cruising at around 2-2.5 on dry thrust (the F-15 Eagle's max speed in ideal situations was approx M 2.5!).