This thread is for military aircraft projects that should have been built and entered service, but were canceled for various reasons-whether political, financial, technical developments, or a war not going as expected.
My choices:
A-6F: This was the Navy's original choice for a viable medium attack platform, until they drank the Kool-aid of the A-12 Avenger II program. Even after the A-12 was canceled, the A-6F should have been revived to preserve the Navy's deep-strike capability. The Intruder II was a brand new aircraft, with new engines, avionics, glass cockpit, new radar, FLIR, ECM, etc. Too bad Dick Cheney as SECDEF had a vendetta against the New York Congressional delegation (Grumman would've built the A-6F at its Calverton, NY plant on Long Island).....
B-1A: the original Rockwell International strategic bomber. SAC wanted 241 of these, to replace the B-52. The Russians admitted they had no real defense against the B-1A, if Viktor Belenko's biography is correct, and they told SALT negotiators "You made a mistake in canceling this one." Unfortunately, it was Mr. Peanut (AKA Jimmy Carter) who canceled it, believing that not only B-52s with ALCMs, but also the B-2, could do the job. As we know, it was this decision (among others) that made many in his own party-not to mention the GOP, wonder if Carter was "Soft on defense."
YF-12/B-71: Not just the interceptor, but Kelly Johnson had a design for a bomber version of what became the SR-71. The interceptor could have been used not just for NORAD, but also in Europe, to take out high-value Soviet aircraft such as the Tu-126 Moss AWACS. Had the bomber entered service, it was likely to have been used as a "Wild Weasel" to kill SAM sites and interceptor fields to clear the way for the B-52s in a SIOP scenario. Supposedly, it was Lockheed's push for both variants being a factor in the Edsel Mechanic (MacNamara) deciding to stop SR-71 production at 30 airframes, cancel the YF-12 and B-71, and order all the tooling, jigs, etc. destroyed.
P6M Seamaster: while its intended mission of nuclear strike would have been taken over by Polaris SSBNs, the aircraft could have easily been reroled as a Maritime Patrol and ASW aircraft. It was kicked around at Martin prior to cancellation.
My choices:
A-6F: This was the Navy's original choice for a viable medium attack platform, until they drank the Kool-aid of the A-12 Avenger II program. Even after the A-12 was canceled, the A-6F should have been revived to preserve the Navy's deep-strike capability. The Intruder II was a brand new aircraft, with new engines, avionics, glass cockpit, new radar, FLIR, ECM, etc. Too bad Dick Cheney as SECDEF had a vendetta against the New York Congressional delegation (Grumman would've built the A-6F at its Calverton, NY plant on Long Island).....
B-1A: the original Rockwell International strategic bomber. SAC wanted 241 of these, to replace the B-52. The Russians admitted they had no real defense against the B-1A, if Viktor Belenko's biography is correct, and they told SALT negotiators "You made a mistake in canceling this one." Unfortunately, it was Mr. Peanut (AKA Jimmy Carter) who canceled it, believing that not only B-52s with ALCMs, but also the B-2, could do the job. As we know, it was this decision (among others) that made many in his own party-not to mention the GOP, wonder if Carter was "Soft on defense."
YF-12/B-71: Not just the interceptor, but Kelly Johnson had a design for a bomber version of what became the SR-71. The interceptor could have been used not just for NORAD, but also in Europe, to take out high-value Soviet aircraft such as the Tu-126 Moss AWACS. Had the bomber entered service, it was likely to have been used as a "Wild Weasel" to kill SAM sites and interceptor fields to clear the way for the B-52s in a SIOP scenario. Supposedly, it was Lockheed's push for both variants being a factor in the Edsel Mechanic (MacNamara) deciding to stop SR-71 production at 30 airframes, cancel the YF-12 and B-71, and order all the tooling, jigs, etc. destroyed.
P6M Seamaster: while its intended mission of nuclear strike would have been taken over by Polaris SSBNs, the aircraft could have easily been reroled as a Maritime Patrol and ASW aircraft. It was kicked around at Martin prior to cancellation.
