Key Points and Summary – The F-111B was the Navy’s carrier variant of the TFX concept, aiming to share a common airframe with the Air Force’s F-111.
-On paper it offered advanced avionics, variable-geometry wings, and long-range weapons. At sea it proved too heavy and too sluggish, undercutting the speed and maneuverability naval aviators needed for carrier ops and dogfights.
-Development troubles and shifting priorities sealed its fate, while Grumman’s F-14 Tomcat—lighter, faster, and better balanced—took the mission with the long-range radar/missile capability intact.
-Cancelled though it was, the F-111B informed the Tomcat’s design and stands as a vivid lesson in the risks of one-airframe-fits-all strategy.
F-111B vs. F-14…more
Source nationalsecurityjournal.org
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