Two years later, the first production bomber version was turned over to the Strategic Air Command at Carswell AFB in Fort Worth, Texas.
In October 1967, the first version was delivered to the USAF Tactical Air Command at Nellis AFB, Nevada. While shorter ranged aircraft are far cheaper to maintain and use, the F-111 struck a weird medium between the tactical strike aircraft and the strategic bomber. The F-111 was flown for the first time on 21 December 1964. In that role, the F-111 was only replaced by the B-1 Lancer. The range was also greatly appreciated by Strategic Air Command, which fielded the FB-111 variant as a strategic bomber. F-111s based in the United Kingdom were used to strike Libya during Operation El Dorado in 1986. The F-111’s additional range allowed it to be strategically flexible. Comparing ferry ranges, the F-111 has over 60 percent more range than the F-15E Strike Eagle, with the Strike Eagle using external fuel tanks. Both the initial requirements for the Navy and the Air Force required that the F-111 have a massive range. The Strike Eagle could also fight enemy aircraft on its own, as it inherited the powerful air-to-air radar and integration with the latest air-to-air missiles from its parent aircraft, the regular F-15. It could use targeting pods, it had a modern glass cockpit, and it could do low-level insertion. The Pave Tack was used to great effect during Operation Desert Storm to destroy individual tanks with accurate hits from laser-guided bombs.īut the F-111’s replacement, the F-15E Strike Eagle could do all of these things too. It allowed the aircraft to self-designate targets for attack with laser-guided munitions. Explanation of aircraft features and controls, strapping in to the cockpit, roles, checklist procedures. Cockpit canopy, Bombay doors and pilot probe in place.
The F-111 also received the AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack targeting pod, a device that combined a laser designator with an IR camera. 8.7K Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from f111 hashtag. It also featured some of the most advanced avionics of the time. The F-111D was one of the first combat aircraft with a “glass cockpit,” that featured primarily screens instead of gauges to display information. In his 2006 book Testing Death, Marrett wrote that although the F-111 was grossly underpowered, and had poor cockpit visibility for a fighter, it was instrumental in perfecting the Phoenix.
#F 111 cockpit upgrade
The Air Force was pleased with its performance and continued to upgrade the F-111.