The North American XF-108 Rapier was a proposed long-range, high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by North American Aviation intended to defend the United States from supersonic Soviet strategic bombers.

Jul 5, 2021 · The XF-108: an interceptor for the ages. The aircraft was designed by North American, the same manufacturer who brought the world the P-51 Mustang. If the XF-108 had actually flown, it would have been one of the highest performing and most advanced aircraft of …

Jul 7, 2020 · They XF-108 would have to fly fast and high—about 60,000 feet, at a minimum speed of Mach 1.7—all while having at least a 1,000 mile range. As an interceptor, the XF-108 would have to be able...

Jul 26, 2021 · Characterized by very long range and capable of delivering a nuclear payload, the Soviet bomber threat was used by the United States Air Force as justification for quite a few interceptor aircraft...

It was going to be the biggest, fastest and most heavily armed fighter in the air. The North American F-108 Rapier, designed in response to a U.S. Air Force preliminary study of Oct. 11, 1955, was going to be the heaviest fighter of its era, weighing even more than the Soviet Union’s huge Tupolev Tu-128 “Fiddler.”

1 day ago · North American Aviation’s XF-108 Rapier was designed to be the ultimate Cold War interceptor, tasked with hunting Soviet bombers at Mach 3 speeds. Armed with cutting-edge G-9 missiles and pulse ...

Apr 18, 2021 · The USAF Air Defense Command had planned to procure as many as 420 F-108 Rapiers to equip fighter-interceptor squadrons located at bases best suited to protect the US borders.

Feb 7, 2020 · North American’s highly innovative A3J (A-5/RA-5) Vigilante Navy attack and reconnaissance aircraft shared many of the XF-108’s aerodynamic and structural features, and the sophisticated Hughes ASG-18 fire-control system and its AIM-47A missiles were subsequently incorporated into Lockheed’s exotic fighter derivative of the SR-71 ...

Nov 11, 2014 · It would have a maximum speed exceeding Mach 3, a range of over 1300 miles, a rotary weapons unit and the most advanced radar system in the world. North American Aviation’s XF-108 was probably the most advanced interceptor of the Cold War that never was.

Aug 4, 2016 · Vigilante aircraft recorded combat service in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Performance specifications of the XF-108 included a maximum speed of Mach 3 and an operational range of 1,150 miles.