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A self-protection subsystem is designed to protect the EF-111A against radar-directed, anti-aircraft artillery, and missile or aircraft threats.
The aircraft were updated with modern digital navigation and flight-control systems, which equip the airplane with ring-laser gyro and global-positioning navigation systems, as well as improved controls and displays. The radar and terrain-following flight system were also updated.
Grumman’s EF-111A prototypes staged their first flights in 1977. After two years of testing the Air Force gave the contractor the go-ahead to convert 42 F-111As into the EF-111 configuration. The modifications cost approximately $25 million per aircraft, and the total cost of the program was $1.5 billion. The first production EF-111 was delivered to the 388th Tactical Electronic Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, in November 1981 and the aircraft became fully operational in 1983.
During Operation Desert Storm all available Ravens were deployed to Middle East bases to support U.S. and allied combat operations. More than 1,300 sorties were flown, with many missions penetrating deep into enemy territory. All major allied air attacks were supported by Ravens that teamed with other Air Force and allied electronic combat units to cause a rapid collapse of the enemy air defense system. One EF-111A was lost during combat.
The Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) included the installation of 10 new subsystems including a doppler radar and internal navigation system. The modification, installed in all 42 EF-111s, was completed in 1994. The first flight of the EF-111A upgraded by the System Improvement Program took place 14 March 1995. The EF-111A SIP was the first major upgrade to the Raven since the aircraft's introduction into the Air Force in 1981. The encoder/processor developed by the EF-111A SIP was a modification to the Raven's ALQ-99E Tactical Jamming System. Consisting of the encoder converter interface, countermeasures computer, digital display indicator, and onboard loader/recorder, the E/P provided the Raven with increased signal processing, memory capacity, processing speed and improved man-machine interface, reliability and maintainability. Prompted by a series of crashes attributable to the failure of the F-111’s original analog flight control system, the installation of Digital Flight Control System begann in 1990 and was completed in 1997.
The last squadron of EF-111s remaining in service, at Cannon AFB, NM, peformed the Suppression of Enemy Air Defense [SEAD] mission. DOD decided to retire the EF-111A jammer and replace it with a new Air Force system, the high speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) targeting system on the F-16C, and the existing Navy electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-6B. Recognizing that too few EA-6B aircraft may be available to meet both Air Force and Navy needs, DOD retained these 12 EF-111s in the active inventory through 1998, when additional upgraded EA-6Bs became available. The Raven's replacement, the Prowler, is a four-seat derivative of the highly successful A-6 Intruder. It features an upgraded version of the same tactical jamming system employed by the Raven.
Variants
In all, some 563 F-111s in several variants were built, including 96 production F-111Ds, 94 production F-111Es, and 106 production F-111Fs. Seventy-six were built as FB-111s and saw service with the Strategic Air Command until 1990 when they were converted to F-111Gs and assigned to Tactical Air Command. The Royal Australian Air Force has 24 F-111C models in service. The naval aircraft, the F-111B, was never placed in production. The Air Force aircraft, which was produced in a variety of models, including the F-111A, F-111D, F-111E, and F-111F, as well as an FB-111A strategic bomber version, had numerous problems, and only the F-111F actually fulfilled the original TFX design specification. This was less the fault of General Dynamics than of the civilian planners in the Pentagon whose "cost effective" inclinations ironically produced the major aeronautical fiasco of the 1960s-and a costly one at that.
The F-111A first flew in December 1964. Production of the F-111 prototype began in the fall of 1963, and the first F-111 rolled out on 15 October 1964, 16 days ahead of schedule. The first operational aircraft was delivered in October 1967 to Nellis Air Force Base, NV. The F-111A's initial operational testing finally came during its much-publicized Combat Lancer deployment to Thailand in 1968, an episode which demonstrated, tragically, that the aircraft was far from combat ready. Indeed, it was still undergoing Category I tests in 1972 and Cat II tests in 1973. Category III testing was ultimately skipped, altogether. In short, a minimally satisfactory "product" was seven years late in getting to its customer. During a 1972 - 1973 tour of duty in Vietnam, F-111As flew more than 4,000 combat missions. The early F-111As had extremely bad engine problems, suffering from compressor surge and stalls. NASA pilots and engineers wrung out the airplane in an attempt to solve its problems, studying the engine inlet dynamics of the plane to determine the nature of inlet pressure fluctuations that led to compressor surge and stall. Eventually, as a result of NASA, Air Force, and General Dynamics studies, the engine problems were solved by a major inlet redesign.
The F-111B, developed for the U.S. Navy, was canceled before its production. The Navy F-111B was found to be too heavy for carrierborne operations. A larger wing was developed for the F-111B, with a span of 70 feet in the fully extended (16° sweep) setting -- 7 feet more than the F-111A. The Navy's Grumman F-14 Tomcat was designed in 1968 to take the place of the controversial F-111B, then under development for the Navy's carrier fighter inventory.
The F-111C's are flown by the Royal Australian Air Force. The F-111C aircraft are similar to the F-111A except that they have the longer wing of the B version, stronger landing gear and a higher gross weight. The righthand control stick is also removeable from the aircraft depending on crew duties. The F-111C probably went through the longest negotiations of any modern aircraft. Ordered by the Australian government in 1966, their two squadrons did not become operational until 1975. When the F-111A ran into its wing box problems, the 24 aircraft destined for Australia were dismantled and put into storage until the "fix" had been developed and prices and terms re-negotiated. The Royal Australian Air Force fleet of F-111C and F-111G aircraft is planned to remain in Australian service for some time to come.
The F-111D , which proved to be troublesome to maintain, had improved avionics with better navigation, air-to-air weapon delivery systems, and newer turbofan engines. The F-111D featured an improved Mark II avionics package, more powerful TF30-P-9 engines, and an environmental control system. The F-111D's were flown by the 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
The F-111E model had modified air intakes to improve the engine's performance at speeds above Mach 2.2. Most F-111Es served with the 20th Fighter Wing, Royal Air Force Station Upper Heyford, England, to support NATO. F-111E's were deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and were used in Operation Desert Storm. In the early morning of Jan. 17, 1991, the F-111 went into combat again in the initial bombing raids of Operation Desert Storm. More than 100 F-111 aircraft of different versions joined the first strikes against Iraq both as bombers and radar jammers.
The F-111F had improved turbofan engines give F-111F models 35 percent more thrust than previous F-111A and E engines. The avionics systems of the F model combine features of the F-111D and E. The last F model was delivered to the Air Force in November 1976. The F models were modified to carry the all-weather AN/AVQ-26 Pave Tack system in their weapons bays. This system provides an improved capability to acquire, track and designate ground targets at night for delivery of laser, infrared and electro-optically guided weapons. In 1986, the F-111F was used during El Dorado Canyon, the raid on Libya, and bombed five targets in retaliation for terrorist attacks. It also played a major role in the Persian Gulf War, flying more than 2,500 missions. Pre-air campaign mission plans for the F-111F focused on low-altitude air interdiction against strategic targets, such as airfields, radar sites, and chemical weapons bunkers. However, like all other aircraft, almost all Desert Storm missions were conducted at medium-to-high altitude. Another deviation from pre-Desert Storm mission planning for the F-111F were LGB strikes against tanks commonly referred to after the war as "tank plinking." The F-111F night "tank plinking" strikes using 500 lb. GBU-12 laser-guided bombs were particularly deadly. On February 9, for example, in one night of concentrated air attacks, forty F-111F's destroyed over 100 armored vehicles. Overall, the small 66-plane F-111F force was credited with 1,500 kills of Iraqi tanks and other mechanized vehicles. The F-111F was the only Desert Storm aircraft to deliver the GBU-15 and the 5,000-pound laser-guided, penetrating GBU-28. 2 GBU-28s were dropped by 2 F-111F Aardvarks on a command and control bunker in Baghdad only days before the ceasefire. One missed its mark (because of faulty laser spotting), the other penetrated, destroying the bunker. Although F-111F's flew primarily at night during Operation Desert Storm, aircrews flew a particularly notable daytime mission using the Guided Bomb Unit (GBU-15) to seal the oil pipeline manifold sabotaged by Iraq, allowing the oil to flow into the Persian Gulf. In 1994 the 524th Fighter Squadron became the only F-111F unit to convert to Pacer Strike modified F-111F aircraft, which incorporates a global positioning satellite system and ring laser gyro into its avionics suite.
As a result of the Air Force decision to retire the F-111 weapon system, the 27th Fighter Wing's 74 F-111E/F aircraft began retiring in late 1995 and were replaced with 54 F-16C/D aircraft. All F-111s in the Air Force inventory have been retired to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The center, popularly know as the boneyard, was home to all the remaining F-111E and F models by October 1996.
FB-111
The F-111G was assigned to the 27th Fighter Wing at Cannon Air Force Base and was used in a training role only. Seventy-six were built as FB-111s and saw service with the Strategic Air Command until 1990 when they were converted to F-111Gs and assigned to Tactical Air Command. The conversion made minor avionics updates and strengthened the aircraft to allow its use in a more dynamic role as a fighter aircraft.
General Specifications:
Primary Function Multipurpose tactical fighter bomber.
Contractor General Dynamics Corporation.
Power Plant F-111A/E, two Pratt & Whitney TF30-P103 turbofans.
Thrust F-111A/E, 18,500 pounds (8,325 kilograms) each with afterburners;
F-111D, 19,600 pounds (8,820 kilograms) with afterburners;
F-111F, 25,000 pounds (11,250 kilograms) with afterburners.
Length 73 feet, 6 inches (22.0 meters).
Height 17 feet, 1 1/2 inches (5.13 meters).
Wingspan 63 feet (19 meters) full forward; 31 feet, 11 1/2 inches (11.9 meters) full aft.
Speed F-111F -- Mach 1.2 at sea level; Mach 2.5 at 60,000 feet.
Ceiling 60,000-plus feet (18,200 meters)
50,000 feet (15,152 meters) EF-111A
Range 3,565 miles (3,100 nautical miles) with external fuel tanks
2,000 miles (1,740 nautical miles) EF-111A
Weight F-111F, empty 47,481 pounds (21,367 kilograms).
Maximum Takeoff Weight F-111F, 100,000 pounds (45,000 kilograms)
EF-111A 89,000 pounds (40,050 kilograms)
Armament Up to four nuclear bombs on four pivoting wing pylons, and two in internal weapons bay. Wing pylons carry total external load of 25,000 pounds (11,250 kilograms) of bombs, rockets, missiles, or fuel tanks.
20 CBU-52
20 CBU-59
20 CBU-71
8 CBU-87
8 CBU-89
20 MK-20
4 BL-755
Unit cost $FY98
[Total Program] $75 million.
Crew Two, pilot and weapon systems officer.
Date Deployed October 1967.
Inventory None, retired in 1996
[formerly Active force, 225; ANG, 0; Reserve, 0]
In all 563 F-111s in several variants were built.
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