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20 radical military aircraft that didn’t make the cut

General Dynamics F-16XL

When the Air Force began looking to replace the aging F-111 Aardvark for interdiction/deep strike missions, they opened up the Enhanced Tactical Fighter (later Dual-Role Fighter) competition in 1980. General Dynamics offered a “cranked arrow” delta wing version (top) of their existing F-16 Fighting Falcon (bottom), but McDonnell Douglas beat out the F-16XL with their two-seat F-15E Strike Eagle.

Chris Carter , ,

2 thoughts on “20 radical military aircraft that didn’t make the cut”

  • As soon as I finish my “slideshow” on Cold War-ERA TAC warplanes — which has become more of a full-length article with 1,500 words and counting — I’ll jump right on that, Colonel!

    Thanks for your service,
    Chris

  • jamiesatthebeach
    February 5, 2019 at 14:09
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    Excellent article and fascinating pictures. Would like to see a similar one for pre-ww1, ww1 and post-ww1 aircraft. Thanks, Colonel Buzzsaw, USAF-ret. Retired SADO/13B/DO for 601 AOC.

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