Fairchild F-7

Send

The Fairchild F-7 was a supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the American aerospace company Fairchild-Hiller in the 1960s. Designed as a daytime air-superiority fighter, it was intended to replace the aging North American F-86 Sabre in the service of the United States Air Force (USAF).The F-7 was powered by a single Immelmann IF-15C-21 turbojet engine, which generated a maximum thrust of 13,500 lbf (60.22 kN). The aircraft had a top speed of Mach 2.2 (1,479 mph, 2,383 kph) at high altitudes and had a range of 800 nmi (920 mi, 1,480 km) with external fuel tanks.The F-7's armament consisted of two M61A1 20 mm Vulcan cannons with a rate of fire of 4,000 rounds per minute each, housed in the fuselage. It could also carry up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles on wing pylons, as well as up to 4,500 lb (2,040 kg) of external stores, including bombs and rockets, for ground attack missions.The F-7 entered service with the USAF in 1967, but its tenure was short-lived. The type's limited range, combined with the advent of newer, more capable fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, led to the retirement of the F-7 from service by the mid-1970s.In total, 99 Fairchild F-7s were built, the majority of which served with the USAF. A small number were also sold to the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF), where they remained in service until the late 1990s.