AFVG
| AFVG | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Artist's concept | |
| Role | Interceptor, tactical strike, reconnaissance |
| National origin | United Kingdom/France |
| Manufacturer | British Aircraft Corporation/Dassault Aviation |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Number built | None |
| Developed into | Panavia Tornado |
The AFVG (standing for Anglo-French Variable Geometry) was a supersonic multi-role combat aircraft with a variable-geometry wing, being jointly developed by British Aircraft Corporation in the United Kingdom and Dassault Aviation of France.
The project was borne out of ambitions to produce a viable combat aircraft that made use of the variable-sweep wing, as well as to promote wider cooperative efforts between France and the United Kingdom. However, neither Dassault not the French Air Force were particularly keen on the AFVG; the project was further impacted by repeated specification changes and indecision for what roles that the AFVG was to be tasked with on the part of Britain. In mid 1967, British requirements settled upon adopting the AFVG for the Royal Air Force (RAF) for the strike role in the place of the cancelled BAC TSR-2 strike bomber.
The project was cancelled in June 1967, when the French Government withdrew from participation. However, the cancellation was not the end of work on the proposed design. BAC modified the specification to solely satisfy Royal Air Force (RAF) needs, reconfiguring the design as the UKVG and sought out new partners to procure the aircraft, which ultimately emerged as the tri-national consortium-funded MRCA Panavia Tornado, a variable-geometry wing fighter aircraft.
From 1945 onwards, Britain conducted a number of studies into the properties and use of variable geometry wings. The noted British engineer and inventor Sir Barnes Wallis became exploring the concept during the Second World War and became an early pioneer and advocate for the variable geometry wing, conceiving of an aircraft consideration that lacked conventional features such as a vertical stabiliser and rudder, instead using variable geometry wings to provide primary controllability in their place. In 1946, Wallis published a paper upon this research, which was quickly hailed as being a major scientific breakthrough in the aviation industry. Wallis proceeded to advocate for the production of an aircraft, military or civil, that would take advantage of a variable geometry wing. The Ministry of Supply and Ministry of Defence arranged for a series of tests to demonstrate the application of the technology to projectiles, both for research purposes and a potential form of anti-aircraft defence; while Wallis worked upon this research programme, he continued to promote the concept of a manned variable geometry aircraft.
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