The F-111 navigation/attack 'systems' were not in the same league as the TSR2. For example, the F-111 had a ground proximity warning indicator to tell the pilot he was flying towards a hill; the TSR2 was designed to have flown around the hill on its autopilot.
Despite being an inferior aircraft (or utilizing achievable technology of the time!!), the F-111 took 7 years to enter service with the USAF, and a further 6 years for the RAAF; cost 5 times the initial estimates and never achieved the full TFX performance specification.
Apologies if I'm getting into a tedious TSR2 debate. At the end of the day, the F-111 entered service; the TSR2 is a museum piece! You're correct in that much of the TSR2 technology found its way into the Harrier GR3 and Jaguar inertial nav/attack systems, so it wasn't all thrown away!
One interesting aside, the MOD liked the 'total systems' approach of Vickers TSR2 proposal which was probably it's downfall. EE's proposal was to decouple the aircraft from systems and upgrade systems as they became available. And final point, the TSR2 was actually cancelled by BAC because the government wanted BAC to bear all the R&D risk and deliver the aircraft for a fixed price!
Despite being an inferior aircraft (or utilizing achievable technology of the time!!), the F-111 took 7 years to enter service with the USAF, and a further 6 years for the RAAF; cost 5 times the initial estimates and never achieved the full TFX performance specification.
Apologies if I'm getting into a tedious TSR2 debate. At the end of the day, the F-111 entered service; the TSR2 is a museum piece! You're correct in that much of the TSR2 technology found its way into the Harrier GR3 and Jaguar inertial nav/attack systems, so it wasn't all thrown away!
One interesting aside, the MOD liked the 'total systems' approach of Vickers TSR2 proposal which was probably it's downfall. EE's proposal was to decouple the aircraft from systems and upgrade systems as they became available. And final point, the TSR2 was actually cancelled by BAC because the government wanted BAC to bear all the R&D risk and deliver the aircraft for a fixed price!
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