In the air force, bombers are still the heavy weapons of many major countries to this day. Bombers have played an irreplaceable role in various wars due to their long range, large payload capacity, and destructive strike methods. Especially during World War II, the US B-29 strategic bombers dropped two atomic bombs on two cities in Japan, which made countries around the world realize the importance of bombers. Although the future war modes and combat systems are constantly evolving, bombing opportunities may not be suitable. With the advancement of technology and the replacement of bombers, bombers will still become effective combat tools for a period of time. (For example,stealth strategic bombers. Nowadays, stealth strategic bombers are the direction of development for world powers, and in the future, they will be able to fight for decades or even longer.)Bombers are divided into tactical bombers and strategic bombers, and the distinction between these two types of bombers is based on their payload capacity. Those with a payload capacity of around five tons are called tactical bombers, which were more common during World War II. And the payload capacity of strategic bombers is over 10 tons, which was more common during the Cold War. Up to now, strategic bombers are still the ultimate weapon that many major powers want. Strategic bombers can definitely play a strategic deterrent role against enemy countries. In addition, strategic bombers are also; Trinity ";The most important component of strategic nuclear forces. At present, it truly possesses; Trinity ";The only countries with strategic nuclear strike capability are the United States and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union),which had this capability as early as the 1950s.

US B-1B strategic bomber

During the Cold War, the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in strategic bombers was quite fierce, and a large number of advanced strategic bombers were developed. For example, the US B-52 strategic bomber, B-1B strategic bomber, B-2 stealth strategic bomber, Soviet Tu-160 strategic bomber, Tu-22M strategic bomber. The most advanced strategic bomber currently available is undoubtedly the US B-2 stealth strategic bomber, which is also the only stealth strategic bomber in service in the world today. Actually, in the coldDuring the war, before the B-1 bomber, the United States also developed a supersonic strategic bomber, which was the FB-111 supersonic strategic bomber. Today we will take a closer look at this FB-111 supersonic strategic bomber.

FB-111 supersonic strategic bomber

Since the end of World War II, the relationship between the United States and its Soviet allies has evolved into a hostile one, with both sides competing in weapons and equipment for the throne of world hegemony. In order to become world hegemons, both sides have fought to the death. If a country develops advanced weapons and equipment, another country will definitely keep up. If they don't keep up, they will lose their position as the world's hegemon. The United States and the Soviet Union not only competed in nuclear weapons, but also in strategic bombers. In the 1960s, the United States was already leading the Soviet Union in strategic bombers, but the Soviet Union took a different approach and developed anti-aircraft missiles and interceptors that caused headaches for the United States. Although the B-52 strategic bomber of the United States carried a lot of ammunition at that time, its ability to penetrate defenses was not strong, and it was often intercepted by Soviet interceptors. Therefore, the United States prepared to develop a long-range strategic bomber with low altitude penetration capability, but the project was delayed for a long time and did not come out. In order to overcome this stage,the United States developed the FB-111 strategic bomber based on the F-111 fighter bomber. It was in this situation that the FB-111 strategic bomber was able to be launched. The FB-111 strategic bomber is a variable sweep wing medium range supersonic strategic bomber developed by General Dynamics based on the F-111 fighter jet. The aircraft was originally intended to replace the B-52 strategic bomber and was capable of breaking through the dense air defense network of the Soviet Union to carry out nuclear strike missions in the Soviet hinterland. At that time, although the United States had already deployed the B-58 "Thief" supersonic strategic bomber,it was the first supersonic strategic bomber of the United States and had some flaws. After only serving for more than 5 years, the United States retired the B-58 "Thief" supersonic strategic bomber. In addition,the B-52 strategic bomber is not supersonic, making it difficult to break through the Soviet air defense network. Therefore, the United States needs faster strategic bombers.After the United States proposed the project of a new strategic bomber and set indicators for it. At that time, the US Air Force believed that the aircraft must have the ability to fly at hypersonic speeds, be able to penetrate at high speeds in high altitude and at high speeds in low altitude, and carry out nuclear bombers and launch close range attack missiles against targets. Although the United States was bidding for the B-1 strategic bomber project at the time, the difficulty of the B-1 strategic bomber was very high, and the US military had to let the new strategic bomber carry the banner before the B-1 strategic bomber was launched.After the United States proposed the new strategic bomber, General Dynamics immediately developed the FB-111 strategic bomber based on the F-111 fighter bomber, which was recognized by the US Air Force. The F-111 fighter bomber was designed in the mid-1960s and was also the world's first practical variable sweep wing aircraft. In the early stages of F-111 development, two models were developed, namely the Air Force F-111A and the Navy F-111B. Eventually, the Air Force F-111A received an order, while the Navy F-111B produced five prototypes. However, development was halted if the requirements were not met during testing.

Conway B-58 "Thief" supersonic bomber

The reason why the US Air Force commissioned General Dynamics to develop it is because General Dynamics has experience in variable sweep wings. General Dynamics extended the wingspan of the F-111A fighter jet, replaced it with a more powerful engine, and replaced it with onboard equipment. This solution is completely an enlarged version of the F-111 fighter bomber, with the only difference being that the FB-111 is a strategic bomber capable of carrying more bombs. The US Air Force believed that this plan was feasible and began to have General Dynamics build a prototype. It is reported that the first FB-111 prototype made its maiden flight on July 30, 1967. During the test flight, the US military highly recognized this plan and signed an order with General Dynamics. The FB-111 strategic bomber began delivery to the United States Air Force in October 1969.The FB-111 strategic bomber is a variable sweep wing medium range supersonic strategic bomber developed by General Dynamics based on the F-111 fighter bomber. The aircraft was mainly used to replace the US B-52 strategic bomber. With the continuous improvement of the B-52 strategic bomber, it is still in service in the US Air Force, but this FB-111 strategic bomber has long disappeared. According to the data, the FB-111 fighter bomber has a length of 22.4 meters, a wingspan of 21.34 meters when fully deployed, a full sweep of 10.34 meters, and a height of 5.22 meters. Due to the fact that the aircraft was modified from a fighter bomber, there is still a certain gap in size compared to a strategic bomber.The FB-111 strategic bomber is an improvement on the basis of the F-111 fighter bomber. The aircraft adopts the fuselage of the F-111A fighter bomber and the F-111B fighter bomber, but the fuselage has been lengthened. Its structural design is basically the same as that of the F-111 fighter bomber. The FB-111 strategic bomber adopts an overall layout of two seats, twin engines, upper single wing, and inverted T-shaped tail. The wings of the aircraft are designed with variable sweep wings and cantilever mounted single wings, while the tail wing is designed with a regular cantilever swept tail wing. This design can facilitate the takeoff and landing of aircraft, making them more fuel-efficient and very fast. In addition, the body of the machine is a fully metal semi hard shell structure, and the basic structural material is aluminum alloy.

FB-111战略轰炸机一共有两个乘员，分别是飞行员和武器系统操作员，该机并且配备有弹射舱，该机的弹射舱能够将飞行员、全部仪表灯降落出来，即使掉落在水上，该弹射舱也可以在水上漂着，从而保障这两位乘员的安全。在航电上，该机装备了N-16H -1惯性导航装置、AYK-1数字计算机、APR-128跟踪雷达、APQ-114导航和攻击雷达，还有通信系统、天文罗盘等。最重要的是该机加装了电子设备，能够进行电子干扰。In terms of power, the FB-111 strategic bomber uses two Pratt&Whitney TF30-P-7 turbofan engines, with a maximum thrust of 9070 kilograms per unit. Equipped with two Pratt&Whitney TF30-P-7 turbofan engines, the FB-111 strategic bomber can reach a speed of 2.2 Mach in high altitude and fly at a speed of 2695 kilometers per hour. It can also fly at a speed of 1.1 Mach in low altitude, with a speed of 1345 kilometers per hour. That is to say, the aircraft's breakthrough capability is very strong, and its flight speed is comparable to that of Russia's Tu-22M supersonic strategic bomber.In terms of weapons, there is a bomb compartment under the fuselage of the aircraft, and bombs can also be carried under the wings. This aircraft can carry not only conventional bombs but also nuclear bombs, with a maximum payload of 17 tons. The missiles carried mainly include AGM-69A close range attack missiles and nuclear bombs weighing around 5000 kilograms. In addition, the aircraft is also equipped with electronic systems and has the ability to engage in electronic warfare, which can interfere with the enemy's radar, render it ineffective, and quickly carry out nuclear strike missions.

The FB-111 strategic bomber was only mass-produced as the FB-111A strategic bomber, with a total of 76 aircraft produced. In fact, General Dynamics upgraded and improved two models, FB-111B and FB-111H, based on the FB-111A strategic bomber at that time, to replace the B-52 fighter jet. These two models were defeated in the competition with B-1B. The FB-11H uses more advanced materials in its structure, similar to the FB-111A strategic bomber, but with an enlarged fuselage that allows the aircraft to fly further and updated electronic equipment. During testing, the aircraft did not demonstrate significant combat effectiveness and did not gain favor from the US Air Force. In addition, the US Air Force improved the soon to be retired FB-111A strategic bomber in early 1989, which could perform both strategic and conventional bombing missions. The improved model was the F-111G strategic bomber. The FB-111 strategic bomber was highly valued by the US Air Force in the early stages. Even for the transitional model of strategic bombing, the US planned to purchase more than 200 aircraft. However, the performance of the aircraft became increasingly poor during flight. With the emergence of the B-1 strategic bomber and the continuous improvement of the B-52 strategic bomber, the FB-111 strategic bomber was eventually purchased by the US Air Force with 76 aircraft. With the large-scale deployment of B-1B strategic bombers, this strategic bomber was also announced retired by the US military due to its short range and small payload capacity. From then on, there were no more FB-111 strategic bombers. Looking at the FB-111 strategic bomber, it is one of the fastest strategic bombers in the US Air Force. The aircraft was originally planned to be built in large quantities, but due to issues such as low payload capacity and short range, the opportunity arose. In addition, the aircraft had many shortcomings. Although it was fast, its air maneuverability was poor and it was easily shot down by missiles, ultimately leading to its elimination by the US Air Force. Perhaps due to the low production quantity of the FB-111 strategic bomber, it is not as well-known as the B-52 and B-1B strategic bombers and has become the most inconspicuous strategic bomber in the US Air Force. Although the aircraft has a small range and payload capacity, it was introduced to Australia. Although it is only second-hand, it increased Australia's air force strength. The FB-111 strategic bomber was originally retired, but after serving in Australia for about ten years, it was also retired. Eventually, the FB-111 strategic bomber completely exited the stage of history.

Source: Military of Strong Countries