Aardvark
Initially identified as the TFX (Tactical Fighter “X”), the F-111 was designed to fulfill a requirement from the US Air Force for a new tactical fighter-bomber. In 1960, the Department of Defense combined the needs of the USAF with the Navy’s demand for a new air superiority fighter. The F-111A, developed for the USAF, had its first flight in December 1964, and the first production units were provided to the USAF in 1967. At the same time, the Navy’s F-111B project was discontinued. In total, 566 F-111 aircraft across all variants were constructed, with 159 being F-111As. While the F-111 was commonly called the Aardvark informally, it only received that name officially upon its retirement in 1996.
An interesting feature of the aircraft was its variable-geometry wings. While in the air, the wings could be swept forward for takeoffs, landings, or slow-speed flight and swept rearward for high-speed flight. The F-111 could also fly at very low levels and hit targets in bad weather.
F-111 TFR
To survive in the new world of high-reaching surface-to-air missiles, the F-111 would need to penetrate at ground level. Flying over terrain at low level would place a terrific load on pilots, and a single mental lapse would be fatal. To make a nap-of-the-earth flight feasible, the F-111 had terrain-following radar (TFR). The radar system did not just map the terrain. It took control of the aircraft. Pilots could shift their course left and right, but the radar system controlled altitude without intervention. System breakdowns were handled by a simple expedient. The aircraft was instantly put into a climb to get it away from the ground until the pilot could take over.
Phil Dunlop, former USAF F-111 Aardvark pilot, explains on Quora:
‘There are NO, none, 0, any TFR systems in current “modern aircraft systems.” The F-111 was a wonder in itself, that’s why the Russians were afraid of it, afraid of it enough that it was the only aircraft that was specifically mentioned in the “SALT” talks, (Strategic Arms Limitation talks). I flew both seats of the F-111, in combat and peace time.’
Going “downtown”
‘For example, You could quite easily pic a single fence post out of a fence if you wanted, and hit that post, no problem. Want to put a bomb through the window of a building? No problem, pick your window, that’s where the bomb is going to go. The TFR system allowed low level attack at 1,000′ (almost never used), 750′, 500′, 400′, 300′, 200′. Going into Hanoi we would start at 500′ and head in, and reduce the ground clearance depending on the threat.
‘When going “downtown,” we almost always wound up at 200′. I you listen to Joan Baez’ (Jane Fonda was the other traitor) record she made while being a traitor to her country, you will hear the sound of a jet aircraft, almost certain it was an F-111. I have 122 combat missions in the F-111A, 42 of those were in the Hanoi area.’
Dunlop concludes;
‘The attack radar was basically 1/2 the attack system, the TFR was the other half.’
Photo by U.S. Air Force
