20 radical military aircraft that didn’t make the cut
Northrup YF-17 Cobra
Needing a plane for the jobs the larger and more expensive F-15s couldn’t do, the Air Force opened up the Lightweight Fighter competition in 1971. Northrop’s YF-17, which is based on their F-5E Tiger II design, may have lost out to General Dynamics YF-16, but a larger scale version of the Cobra turned into the F/A-18 Hornet.
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
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.