A-12 Avenger II

Infobox Aircraft
name= A-12 Avenger II


caption= An artist's concept of the A-12 Avenger aircraft
type= All-weather naval stealth bomberStevenson 2001]
manufacturer= McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics
designer=
status= Canceled
produced=
primary user= United States Navy
more users= United States Marine Corps
number built= 0; mockups only
unit cost= US$165 million

The A-12 Avenger II was an American aircraft program from McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics intended to be an all-weather, carrier-based stealth bomber replacement for the A-6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marines. The A-12 project was canceled in 1991 due to high costs.

Design and development

Artists' conceptions and mockups of the craft revealed a flying wing design in the shape of an isosceles triangle, with the cockpit situated near the apex of the triangle. The aircraft was designed to have two General Electric F412-GE-D5F2 turbofans (each producing about 13,000 lbf (58 kN) thrust and was equipped to carry up to two AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, two AGM-88 HARMs and a full complement of air-to-ground ordnance, including Mk 82 bombs or smart bombs in an internal weapons bay. The A-12 gained the nickname "Flying Dorito".

The aircraft suffered numerous problems throughout its development, especially with the materials, and when the projected cost of each aircraft ballooned to an estimated US$165 million, the project was canceled by then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney in January 1991.

The cancellation of the project resulted in years of litigation between McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics and the Department of Defense for breach of contract. The case was still on appeal in the court system as of 2007. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050302069.html]

The Navy shifted to buy the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which has replaced the A-7, A-6, and the F-14.

pecifications (A-12 Avenger II)

aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet

ref=
crew=2
length main=37 ft 10 in
length alt=11.5 m
span main=
** Unfolded: 70 ft 3 in
span alt=21.4 m)
** Folded: 36 ft 3 in (11.0 m
height main=11 ft 3 in
height alt=3.4 m
area main=1,308 ft²
area alt=122 m²
empty weight main=39,000 lb
empty weight alt=17,700 kg
loaded weight main=80,000 lb
loaded weight alt=36,300 kg
max takeoff weight main=
max takeoff weight alt=
engine (jet)= General Electric F412-GE-D5F2
type of jet= non-afterburning turbofans
number of jets= 2
thrust main= 13,000 lbf
thrust alt= 58 kN
max speed main=500 knots
max speed alt=580 mph, 930 km/h
range main=800 nm
range alt=920 mi, 1,480 km
ceiling main=40,000 ft
ceiling alt=12,200 m
climb rate main=5000 ft/min
climb rate alt=25 m/s
loading main=61 lb/ft²
loading alt=300 kg/m²
thrust/weight=0.16

ee also

aircontent
related=
similar aircraft=
* F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
* F-22 Raptor
* F-35 Lightning II
* F-117 Nighthawk
lists=
* List of attack aircraft
* List of flying wing aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States
see also=
* B-2 Spirit

References

*

External links

* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/a-12.htm A-12 Avenger II on GlobalSecurity.org]
* [http://www.habu2.net/a12/avenger2.htm A-12 Avenger II on habu2.net]