In the 1960s, the rapid development of air defense missile systems made traditional middle- and high-level bombing tactics instantly obsolete. Therefore, the air forces of major powers, including the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union, adjusted their thinking and intended to replace them with the bomber , which has high-sonic penetration capabilities. This will determine the core area of air-saving , from the past ten thousand meters to the ultra-low level space. The service of
SA-2 missiles has forced the air force of various countries to develop ultra-low altitude raid capabilities
But any far-reaching change often means higher requirements for technology and financial resources. The British, who once surrendered to the strengths of the United States and the Soviet Union, were unable to pass the test due to inflation, adjustments to national defense policies and tight fiscal constraints. Although once pinned his hopes on the F-111K fighter-bomber developed by American allies, it ultimately could not build the imagined global presence of the Air Force.
RB-57 reconnaissance aircraft shot down by SA-2
is the American version of the British Canberra light bomber
As early as the late 1950s, the British army felt much pressure due to the significant improvement of the Soviet-style air defense system. , especially after the SA-2 missile shot down several Canberra light bombers and U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, immediately began to replace the old 3V series bombers with new equipment. So there was an ambitious development of medium-range ballistic missile , TSR-2 bomber plan, and a CVA-01 aircraft carrier project that can effectively carry heavy attack aircraft.
Medium-range ballistic missile TSR-2 bomber and CVA-01 aircraft carrier
are both projects launched by the UK to deal with new threats
However, the country's economy has been sluggish since the end of World War II
However, the colonial system that was originally available for guarantees has quickly fallen apart, and it can only rely on continuous reduction of national defense budgets to maintain balance. Therefore, it is impossible to withstand failure and setbacks in all directions, and it is easy to get out of the way due to accountability by professional politicians.
3V series bombers have good performance
ultimately based on the design product of the 1940s and 1950s
So, the Royal Air Force, which entered the mid-1960s, failed to wait for TSR-2 to serve, but was told that they needed to continue to use the old equipment designed in the 1940s and 1950s. Moreover, due to the honor created by military competition, they repeatedly refused to consider the pirate attack aircraft that has been used on the aircraft carrier . even hopes to use a revolutionary aircraft to achieve "counterattack" and regain its continuous decline in nuclear deterrence, rapid response and global power delivery.
F111 fighter bomber originated from the TFX plan of the US Air Force and the Navy
At the same time, the US Air Force on the other side of the ocean has made some achievements in the field of ultra-low altitude penetration. They welcomed the F-105 attack aircraft and the B-58 medium bomber that meet the relevant settings, but they still hoped to have a raid weapon in between. In addition, the Navy also wanted to upgrade its long-range interception level to defend against Soviet air threats, so it agreed to join forces with the Air Force to bid for a multi-capable TFX plan. Then after a not-so-hard-strength competition, confirmed that General Dynamics 's F-111 can meet all the above expectations.
F-111 is also the first variable swept wing fighter successfully in history
In addition to the supersonic low-altitude penetration capabilities visible to the naked eye, the F-111 is also the first variable swept wing fighter successfully in history. can therefore approach the combat area at an average speed of Mach 1.2, and then kill at the target at a speed of Mach 2.5. With an extra fuel tank , it has a considerable range of 5940 kilometers. It is also equipped with a carefully designed internal bullet cabin, which can accommodate 2 340 kg bombs and 1 nuclear bomb in a single time.The four external hangers can add another 2,300 kilograms of load-bearing, and can choose from electronic countermeasures , optical reconnaissance, anti-ship weapons and other options according to actual needs.
F-111 not only has excellent super low-altitude penetration capability, but also has strong plasticity
Therefore, the US military later developed a pure light bomber version BF-111, as well as the EF-111 that dominates the electromagnetic field. More importantly, its size is not much larger than heavy air-optimal fighter jets like the F-4. can achieve rapid take-off and landing on a relatively short runway.
is not an exaggerated volume, allowing F-111 to adapt to various airport environments
In addition, F-111 has reserved considerable air combat capabilities since its development date. For example, the F-111B that bids for the Navy Interceptor project can hunt Soviet bombers with Immortal long-range air-to-air missiles. Its functional positioning is exactly the same as the F-14 that later squeezed out. Even the land-based version without this requirement can be equipped with a Rattlesnake fighting missile protection in the internal magazine. General Motors has also designed a suit for it that can use the Sparrow Medium-range missile in order to have more possibilities in the brutal competition. But from these resumes, we can see that the F-111's battlefield survivability is quite excellent, and it is by no means a "bomb truck" that is easily grasped by enemy fighters.
F-111 can independently perform a variety of tasks and is very suitable for long-distance deployment of
Because of this, the Labor government, which just cut off the TSR-2 project, plans to introduce this seemingly unlimited aircraft to the UK. According to the famous "1966 Defense White Paper", they had already aimed their budget scissors at Royal Navy at that time. Not only will it abandon the ability to launch wars independence, but it will also enclose all military operations within the framework of the NATO Group's defense mechanism. Therefore, the CVA-01 aircraft carrier +82 destroyer, which was originally planned to be in service in the 1970s, was directly abolished. The Air Force has promised that can obtain orders for up to 110 F-111 fighter bombers, replacing the Navy as a pioneer in global strike forces.
The British Ministry of Defense initially hoped to deploy half of the F-111k at overseas bases
In other words, the introduction of F-111 has dual significance for the Royal Air Force. One of the first is to adjust national defense policies and no longer wipe out the hidden dangers in most areas left by the British Empire. It only serves local defense, combat against the Soviet Union, and a small number of powers scattered in Gulf of Aden or Far East . The second is to replace the Royal Navy and become the facade of the whole world. Even if the latter can always rely on the submarine to occupy the nuclear deterrence field, it will no longer be able to carry out a large number of conventional deployments as in the past. During the introduction, the supplemented Air Force squadron will shoulder the heavy responsibility of the front line, and achieve intercontinental linkage from airports established in Germany, Gibraltar, , Malta, , Cyprus, , Oman, and , Singapore, . is equivalent to using a more secret method to maintain the lifeline of the empire protected by ship in the past.
The F-111 versions of the United Kingdom and Australia are both based on the A-type development of the US Air Force
On the other hand, the Australian Air Force , which was once interested in the TSR-2 project, has chosen to transfer to the F-111 branch earlier than the mother country. General Company immediately developed the F-111C model that meets the needs of Oceania with the land-based A as the master. While retaining most of the combat functions, long-range aerial reconnaissance missions can also be performed. This made the undecided British determined to officially send the order to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.
2 F-111K prototypes being tested
1966, the British Ministry of Defense officially announced the purchase of about 50 F-111 fighter bombers. The basic performance of these aircraft will be consistent with the C-type exported to Australia. They will only be locally modified on a few systems, but they are still specially named K-type by General Motors.The RAF will allocate them into five squadrons, two of which remain on the British Isle, two are deployed on the Eastern Front, and the remaining one is used as a coaching training unit. Due to the tight time, the orders for the first 10 aircraft were quickly implemented, and the price was temporarily limited to around $5.95 million per aircraft. The following year, despite the increase in manufacturing costs to $9 million, the British settled all the remaining 40 aircraft orders. Two of the s have been assembled in the United States and have successfully entered the system testing stage.
F-111K assembly workshop located in Texas, USA
However, the fate of these 50 F-111Ks soon changed in 1968. Due to the massive depreciation of the pound price again, this kind of plan to spend huge amounts of money to purchase foreign aircraft immediately aroused doubts from many parties. Then, the Labor government directly announced the withdrawal of military forces from the entire region east of the Suez movement, meaning that the global existence of the RAF is no longer worthwhile. Finally, the early F-111 series generally had the defects of deconstruction and imperfection. Users, including the United States and Australia, have to pass years of testing before they can barely determine that they have service value. But for the British whose pockets are severely shrinking, the seemingly necessary time and capital costs are hard to tolerate. More importantly, the navy, which was previously focused on, has already "disarmed surrender" on the aircraft carrier issue. Therefore, any reason to support the Air Force's F-111K is no longer valuable.
F-111K Plan cancelled, allowing the Royal Air Force to temporarily rely on Pirates and Vulcan
1968, the British Ministry of Defense chose to abandon the F-111K introduction plan, which caught the originally anticipated Air Force off guard. In order to maintain modern low-altitude penetration capabilities, they can only bow their heads like their naval counterparts and temporarily purchase 26 pirate attack aircraft to remedy it. At the same time, some ground support missions will be transferred to Vulcan bomber . But the former is just a subsonic aircraft with a low upper limit, and the latter is just an old equipment that has always been replaced by hopes. Obviously it is impossible to reach the tactical level that the F-111 has. The cancellation of the
F-111K plan allows the Navy to secretly develop the Invincible Class aircraft carrier
On the contrary, the Royal Navy was a blessing in disguise and was allowed to secretly develop the Invincible Class light aircraft carrier and the Sea Harrier carrier-based fighter. This allowed Britain to have the ability to send troops independently in the 1982 Cavaliers War and continued the tradition of retaining aircraft carrier combat power to the present. Otherwise, even if F-111K is successfully in service, it will be difficult to maintain the waters between Asuncion Island and Falkland for a long time. As for Australia, which entered the pit early, it maintained the F-111C fleet until 2010 and has not been able to restore the navy's carrier-based aviation strength.
The British participated in the F-111K shadow on many levels
It is worth mentioning that although the F-111K project is still alive, its functional attributes are still very attractive to the Royal Air Force. In the next 10 years, they joined European cooperation projects with similar appeals, and finally formed a Fierce Wind Fighter Bomber with similar functions. It is a two-seater heavy fighter with variable sweep wing capabilities, and is divided into ground attack, air defense interception and electronic reconnaissance models according to its functions. No matter how you look at it, it looks like a persistent pursuit of past resentment...
