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The Mach 2.15 F-111 Aardvark Has a Message for the U.S. Air Force

The F-111 Aardvark, a 1960s supersonic jet, was the controversial product of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara’s “Tactical Fighter Experimental” (TFX) program, which tried to force one airframe to ...
The National Interest

The F-111 Aardvark Could Kill Anything That Moved on the Battlefield

KEY POINT: Design flaws initially stymied the F-111’s success in combat operations and the airframe was retired by 1996. However, the Aardvarks’ legacy lives on among aviation buffs today. One often ...
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How the F-111 Aardvark Helped Pioneer Multirole Aircraft

The Aardvark was the first airplane to incorporate specific design features to make it multirole capable. When it comes to pioneering aircraft in the U.S. military’s history, the F-111 Aardvark ...
The National Interest

The F-111 Aardvark Was a “Bomb Truck” in the Skies

The F-111 Aardvark’s fuselage could lug bomb loads up to 31,000 pounds and fuel for missions up to 2,500 miles long. When the F-111 aircraft first took to the skies during the Cold War, it represented ...
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F-111 Aardvark's Crew Escape Module Ejected The Whole Cockpit

On March 30, 1968, Maj. Sandy Marquardt and Capt. Joe Hodges of the U.S. Air Force were forced to use the escape module of their swing-wing F-111 Aardvark strike jet. The F-111A, which had yet to ...