Confirmation of A-12 Avenger

I recently posted a thread under Government & Military Projects listing government spending on projects. It contains a great deal of info on aircraft projects and even mentions the A-12 avenger. Check out the thread and type in A-12 in the search box?

Originally posted by Black Watcher
I recently posted a thread under Government & Military Projects listing government spending on projects. It contains a great deal of info on aircraft projects and even mentions the A-12 avenger. Check out the thread and type in A-12 in the search box?

wouldnt of been wise to post a link aswell?

The A-12 has been confirmed for some time now. It was a joint project between McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics.

This is the mockup/prototype that was publically revealed in 1993, after the project had been canceled

Here are a few more pics of the prototype A-12.






And here's one of the cockpit.

Wasn't the A-12 suppose to be bought through a deal with air force in which the navy would also buy a navalized version of the Advanced Tactical Fighter.

Originally posted by danwild6
Wasn't the A-12 suppose to be bought through a deal with air force in which the navy would also buy a navalized version of the Advanced Tactical Fighter.

Yes it was! at one time The Stealth program was supposed to be a Joint Effort. The plan called for the Air Force to lead the development of an Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF). The ATF was supposed to be built in two versions: ATF to replace the F-15 Eagle, and the Naval ATF (NATF) to replace the F-14.

The Plan also Called for the Navy to lead the development of the Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA). The ATA (A-12) was going to replace the A-6 for the Navy and the F-111/FB-111 for the Air Force. Both aircraft, the ATF and ATA, were planned in the 1980's with Initial Operational Capibility for both aircraft to be reached by 2000. The idea was that the A-12 would incorperate the latest in Bombing and Low Observability (Stealth) technology.

Why did that deal fall though? It seems our Navy and Air Force would have been better off if those programs had not been canceled, as there is no adequate replacement for the F-14.

It has to do with design problems with the A-12. There were flight control issues that signifigantly slowed the program down, and eventually, led to complete cancellation.

Not only were there design problems, but the contract was grossly mismanaged, and the price per airframe ballooned to an insane figure.

Yeah put the link in and we'll comment...

[edit on 16-6-2005 by Figher Master FIN]

The A-12 was never intended to be a replacement for the F-14 anyway, it was not designed for the A2A role. It was supposed to replace the A-6 Intruder, instead the F-18 is replacing both. And the price tag got completely out of control, so the project was shelved.

Originally posted by xmotex
The A-12 was never intended to be a replacement for the F-14 anyway, it was not designed for the A2A role.

Noone ever said it was! How did you get this?

The statment I made was that at one time there were plans for a Navy version of the F-22 Raptor called the Navy ATF, that would replace the F-14. The Air Force would help the Navy get F-22 in exchange for some A-12 that would replace the F-111's.

Navy: F-14 = F-22, A-6 = A-12

Air Force: F-15 = F-22, F-111 = A-12

The chart above explains what I was trying to say!

[edit on 16-6-2005 by ghost]

See Westy's post above:

It seems our Navy and Air Force would have been better off if those programs had not been canceled, as there is no adequate replacement for the F-14.

That's what I was responding to.
But in retrospect he was probably responding to your comment about the NATF.

[edit on 6/16/05 by xmotex]

Sorry if my post was confusing but yeah I was asking about the Navy ATF.

Click here

I've got some info on a replacement for the F-111. It's actually based on the YF-23 ATF design.A-17