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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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, …

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 …

Jul 8, 2021 · In 1957, North American Aviation won a contract to develop the XF-108, a two-man interceptor capable of Mach 3 speed, a thousand-mile range and a maximum altitude of …

4 days ago · The XF-108 Rapier remains one of the most ambitious yet mysterious aircraft projects in American aviation history. Conceived during the height of the Cold War, this high …

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 …

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 …