The aircraft was designated as the F6D "Missileer" and its prototype form was to carry the marker of "XF6D-1".
The 2 x Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-2 turbofan engines supplied up to 10,200 pounds thrust each for a proposed maximum speed of 545 miles per hour. The design featured a length of 16.2 meters with a wingspan of 21.3 meters and height of 5.5 meters. Loaded weight was estimated in the 50,000 lb range with a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 60,000 lb.
From the outset, the Missileer program was a reach, mainly due to the advanced technologies in play. This product combined many all-new systems in the hope of fulfilling what was essentially an all-new battlefield approach to fleet defense. Beyond the technologies at play, the project also showcased tactical issues in its very concept - once the Missileer had expended its missile load it was essentially powerless against foes having managed to escape its initial attack - even carrier-based fighters of the day still retained an onboard cannon for close-in work, a feature the F6D was to lack. The project was formally scrapped in December of 1960 though some of its components were allowed to endure.
The F6D's technologies - particularly its TF30 engines - forged on and found use in subsequent designs. When the F-111B, a proposed navalized interceptor version of the interdictor-minded F-111A "Aardvark" failed to materialize, the role of fleet defense fighter fell to the classic Grumman F-14 "Tomcat" of 1974. Over seven hundred of the swing-wing aircraft were produced, coupling powerful radar with the equally-powerful long-range AIM-54 "Phoenix" air-to-air missile.
While the Missileer program was itself eventually killed off, its contributions to other realized programs became readily apparent.
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