F/A-31 Victor. The Fleet Protector

[Rafael]

After losing the F-14 Tomcat, the US fleet didn't have the luxury of a Mach 2+ fighter/bomber/interceptor. The Superbug was OK, and was a different aircraft from the original Bug. Nevertheless, the US Navy was pressed to reduce its budget, and aircraft acquisition was difficult, to say the least.

While every potential adversary worth its salt in the world was rapidly being equipped by the sov...er, russian Su-35 and its more advanced derivatives, the US Navy was still using an airplane that was scarce, expensive, and hard to train in.

What was needed was a new generation of airplanes that could cruise real fast, maneuver with the best, and come out victorious from any engagement with the new advanced adversaries.

Admiral Dean Fulce the same man who wrestled against his Congress and other powers that be in his country to do research, development and ultimately, put to sea the CV-X advanced Aircraft Carrier, the USS Texas Class, went further than those requirements and implemented what became known as "the Navy Fighter X-Prize".

Adm. Fulce went to every aircraft builder in his country and offered this ten-million-dollar prize and of course, the possibility of a very big, fat production contract. Nobody doubted Fulce's word. His stubborn character and his known and rumored fights to get what his Navy needed were an asset not to be ignored, and thus the first massive fly-off of the 21st century took place.

Every builder and his cousin presented Fulce with proposals. From the very exotic to the simplistic, a great many designs emerged from design agencies to get the prize, and the media made a killing by producing shows about "the new aviation revolution since the 1950s".

It was in the offices of Rockwell that a little known aeronautical engineer, Benny "Basher" Perri, famous for his spatted creations, came with a concept based on the company's research airplane, the X-31 Vector.

Working on the existent design and throwing in Adm. Fulce's long wish list of requirements, Perri Managed to cram inside his new airplane the newest, most compact high performance engine, producing thrust rivaling those of the best in the market, and a a little fuel consumption rate.

A new powerful AESA radar set was also put inside, new electronic cuadruple-redundant fly-by-light controls, more aerodynamic refinements, the best equipment Perri could find was made available to the new "combat X-31". Perri was not only an excellent engineer, but also a very gifted salesman and businessman, since he alone twisted everybody's arm and squeezed every penny out of bargains for contracts from every provider he could make interested.

The first flight of the new, improved "combat X-31" took place in December, 2014, and Fulce, impressed by what he saw, immediately dispatched Perri and his team to Pax, wher the type underwent extensive and intensive tests, passing them all in vivid, glorious colors.

Fulce was out of himself. He had found the perfect combination of price (roughly half a Superbug), warranties, and producibility. The very small fighter transported him back to his youth, when he piloted the last embarked A-4 Skyhawks, and soon Perri put the old Admiral at the controls (Fulce was current, even at his advanced age), and let him loose over the skies over Pax. The man could not believe his luck at being at the controls of the hottest fighter ever. After he climbed down of the cockpit that morning, things really went downhill. He went to Congress and to the Pentagon and pleaded, begged, shouted, threatened, kissed butts, yelled, threw himself in tantrums, and in general, made himself the supreme PITA he was when he wanted to get his way.

And his way he got. Congress and the Pentagon granted the appropriations for 48 airplanes the first year, and he got also 200 more the following budgetary excercise.

The first two F/A-31 Vector squadrons converted from SuperBugs to SuperScooters (Fulce's favorite nickname, but nicknamed by its crews as "Victor"), and entered service aboard the USS Texas for tests and Initial Operational Capability, while undergoing the fitting and testing of a new generation of weapons.

More to come.........

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Well, I love the sleek shape of the Vector. I spent the whole week making them, and it was a blast. Originally, I intended to make only one, but then, the foam cut produced to nearly-equal halves, so I could easily make two. Then a bug bit me, and I thought about making another one as a two-holer, and a fourth remained. So four they are.

They're made of foam, covered in crack-filler mud, white glue and bondo. the wings are made of foam backed with plastic card, and there's newspaper and cardboard (Yum!!!) elsewhere.

Still a lot to fill and sand, but the general shape is there.

I hope you like them as I liked making them.

Rafa

From left to right, an early F/A-31A, two F/A-31C, and one F/A-31D Attack bird (note the bigger canopy area)

[Eddie M.]

Those are super cool and the back story is outstanding!!

[sotoolslinger]

ALLL RIIIGHT I got my own fleet and air arm Super cool Rafa.  I am really looking forward to seeing these finished. That admiral sounds like just the fellow I would like to work for

[Spey_Phantom]

wow, they're looking great 
all you need now is to build a carrier to place them on 

[Rafael]

Thanks, My friends!!!

Nils, I'll commission the carrier to you, since you're the experienced shipbuilder 

Well, I've been painting, and here's what I've accomplished so far. Next, paint the canopies, frames, decal and warloads

Rafa

[Joe C-P]

Finish finish finish! Wanna see!   

[sotoolslinger]

WOW What a cool paint scheme

[Rafael]

Thanks, my friends!!!

After 3 years at sea, the F/A-31 Vectors, or Victors, were fully accepted and integrated in the fleet. Faster and much more maneuverable than SuperBugs, the Victors were the hottest jets any naval pilot wanted.

There were several differences between the F/A-31 and the X-31: first, it had a newer more powerful 3D exhaust engine, with the lowest fuel consumption ever achieved in one aircraft engine, and with a smaller size. The entire internal structure was made of a new carbon/buckythread composite, reinforced with titanium or steel in a few places. The skin was also made of advanced polymers and carbons/ceramics. The AESA radar and avionics were new generation, too. The Victor also achieved the lowest jet landing speed on deck through the use of innovative high-lift devices and aerodynamic surfaces. And the Victor was also equipped with GRID, a successor to GPS, this new system provided a higher degree of precision to navigation and targeting and a greater resistance to jamming and interference.

The armament suite was.... new. The Victor was an ideal platform to experiment with and development of new weapons was undertaken to improve the type's lethality an combat efficiency. Victors in the fleet tested and put into service the new tube-launched version of the JDRADM, a hypersonic, short/medium range missile, using an exotic mix of fuels to achieve speeds up to Mach 7 at high altitudes, and up to Mach 4 at lower levels. These missiles not only were useful in the short/medium range gap, but were lighter than Sidewinders so more units (usually three) could be hanged per weapons pylon, and could also be used in land/surface attack and in suppression/destruction of radar platforms.

Next were the turbo-Mavericks (T-Mavs). With new guidance combinations in one seeker head, a T-Mav could hit targets at longer ranges, thanks to its new turbine engine. And the JDAM-81. Using the bodies of old Mk.81 250lb bombs, the new JDAM was more readily available and easily complemented the SDB system. Last, but not least were the Surfboard Missiles. Hypersonic land attack munitions that killed by sheer force of impact, and by a newly developed explosive warhead in some versions.

The Victors were produced in 3 variants: The basic F/A-31A easily recognizable by its nose mounted canards, The F/A-31C, the version with the new "biplane" looks due to the big canards mounted behind the cockpit, and its two-seat incarnation, the land-attack F/A-31D, dubbed "the Navy's Strike Eagle).

Pictured here are a composite group from "Chevy" flight enroute to deliver the hardest punch delivered to key installations of the enemy forces during the third Gulf War.















Enjoy!!!

Rafa

[Ed S]

WOW!! Some serious WHIFFERY here.

Great job Rafa.



Ed

[noxioux]

Snazzy

I love those big boxy chin intakes.  They're just crying out for some sharks' jaws.

[John Howling Mouse]

And, just like that, Rafa has created an entire squadron of fantastic new ideas!   

[BlackOps]

Rafa, you've been busy! are you going to make all 248 of them? 

[Spey_Phantom]

wow, they really turned out well 

[sotoolslinger]

OMG Those are so cool ....... I cannot say anything more on a family friendly site

[ChernayaAkula]

Awesome builds! 

Love the formation shots of the "strike package"!