The mainplanes were clipped deltas with sweepback found along their leading edge and the trailing edges would be straight-lined. The clipped nature of the wing tips allowed for mounting of wingtip missiles. Control surfaces would line the trailing edges of the mainplane members and the complete unit would be mid-mounted along the sides of the fuselage, each given noticeable anhedral (downward angle).
The cockpit was drawn up to seat its crew side-by-side though the heavier glazing found at the pilot's position. Because of the speeds and altitudes at play, an ejection system and pressurization figured into the mix.
To propel this oversized interceptor, a full complement of turbojet engines supplemented by rocket power would be in play: 2 x de Havilland PS.52 "Gyron" increased-pressure ratio, afterburning turbojet engines of 35,000lb thrust and no fewer than 4 x de Havilland "Spectre 5" series rocket boosters of 10,000lb thrust. The turbojets would set under the aircraft as normal with the Spectre boosters installed over them (under the tail unit) in a side-by-side arrangement. Collectively, and coupled with the streamlined form of the fuselage, the aircraft was expected to reach speeds near Mach 2.5 (at altitude), or a rather impressive 1,855 miles-per-hour.
To satisfy the actual air-to-air "interceptor" portion of the requirement, the P.187 was to make use of two advanced Air-to-Air Missiles (AAMs) of the period, "Blue Jay" Mk.4 and "Red Dean". There would be four total AAMs missiles carried by the aircraft, two of each kind (these set to cover radar-guided and InfraRed types), with a hardpoint found at each wingtip (for the Red Dean missiles) and a single hardpoint under each wing (for the Blue Jay missiles).
As drawn up, P.187 sported an estimated empty weight of 55,000lb with a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) nearing 97,000lb. Overall length reached 83.5 feet with a wingspan of 51.6 feet and a height of 21.7 feet. Additional estimates rated the aircraft to altitudes greater than 60,000 feet with an intercepting range out to 260 miles.
For the F.155T requirement, this aerial machine was not only powerful for the period but also quite large and heavy and would have made for an impressive design should it have come to fruition. However, as promising as it was, it was not furthered beyond its line drawings. Plans were had for additional engineering work to be had including wind tunnel testing but all this came to naught - mainly due to the 1957 defense review which saw a future battlefield dominated by air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles.
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