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In 1949 the USAF issued a request for an advanced supersonic interceptor, known as the " 1954 Interceptor " project, or Weapon System WS-201A. It was to be a supersonic aircraft with all-weather capability, radar, and air-to-air missile armament.
Republic was one of six companies to submit proposals. The Republic proposal, AP-57, was selected for further development on 2 July 1951, along with the Convair design that eventually became the F-102 Delta Dagger.AP-57 was an extremely advanced design intended to be built almost entirely of titanium, capable of speeds up to Mach 4 (2,600 mph/4,160 km/h) at 80,000 ft (24,390 m). To provide such performance it was intended to have a Wright J67 turbojet (a license-built version of the Bristol Olympus engine) supplemented by an RJ55-W-1 ramjetFor the fictional method of interstellar travel, see Bussard ramjet. A ramjet is a type of jet engine designed by William Avery. Ramjets reduce engine complexity by eliminating most of the moving parts; the speed of an aircraft is enough to compress air a for high-speed use. Both engines were fed by a large ventral intake.
The fuselage was completely smooth, with the cockpit submerged to reduce drag. There was no canopy for the pilot, only two small side windows. The airframe was a tailed delta wingThe delta-wing is a wing planform in the form of a triangle. Its use in the so called "tailless delta", i. without the horizontal tailplane, was pioneered especially by Alexander Lippisch in Germany and Boris Ivanovich Cheranovsky in the USSR prior to WWI configuration, with a delta planform and additional horizontal tailplane. The vertical fin was supplemented by a folding ventral fin for high-speed stability. Weapons were to be carried in fuselage weapons bays. Guidance was to be provided by the same Hughes MA-1 radar fire control system (originally MX-1179) as the later F-106 Delta DartF-106 Delta Dart Description RoleAll-weather interceptor, operational trainer (B variant) Crew1 Dimensions Length70. 55 m Wingspan38. 67 m Height20. 18 m Wing area661. 52 m² Weights Empty24,420 lb11,077 kg Loaded34,510 lb15,668 kg Powerplant EnginesOne Pr.
Although the design was authorized for further development under the designation XF-103 in September 1951, and a full-sized mockup was built in 1953This is a list of aviation-related events from 1953: Events The first year in which the world's airlines carried more than 50 million people ( ICAO statement, 29 December) January January 26 The first meeting of the Experimental Aircraft Association takes, the Republic design was considered far too risky in its advanced technology to have a realistic chance of production. The ConvairThe Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation universally known as Convair was the result of a 1943 merger between Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft, resulting in a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States. In 1954, Convair merged with El F-102 Delta Dagger was adopted instead. Continued development and manufacturing problems finally brought about an end to the XF-103 project on 21 August 1957. No flying prototypes were ever completed.
The "Thunderwarrior" name was apparently a company designation, not an official USAF popular name.