A-12 Avenger II
The
A-12 Avenger II was an
American aircraft program from
McDonnell Douglas and
General Dynamics intended to be an all-weather,
stealth attack replacement for the
A-6 Intruder in the
United States Navy and
Marines. 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 cancelled by then-
Defense Secretary Richard Cheney in January
1991.
The Navy shifted to buy the
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which has replaced the A-7, A-6, and the F-14.
Artists' conceptions and mockups of the craft revealed a
flying wing design in the shape of a
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".
{{aircraft specifications
plane or copter?=plane | jet or prop?=jet
|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= lb | engine (jet)=General Electric F412-GE-D5F2 | type of jet=non-afterburning turbofans | number of jets=2 | thrust main=13,000 lbf | 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* A-12 Avenger II
* A-12 Anigrand 1/72 Model Kit{{aircontent|sequence=
* AV-8 - YA-9 - A-10 - A-12
| similar aircraft=
* ATF
* HAPB
* MRF
* CALF
* A/F-X
* ATB
* JAST|lists=
* List of attack aircraft
* List of flying wing aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States|see also=
|
