Nov 22, 2025
My other favorite cancelled jet, the North American XF-108 Rapier. Seen here in the livery of the 159th Fighter Squadron “Boxin’ Gators”. Art by @hansclaw.
@TheBigCigar via X
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My other favorite cancelled jet, the North American XF-108 Rapier. Seen here in the livery of the 159th Fighter Squadron “Boxin’ Gators”. Art by @hansclaw.
@TheBigCigar via X
North American Mach 3 XF-108 Rapier Mockup. July 1959. The Missing Century Aircraft. ➤XF-108 VIDEO: https://youtu.be/yDlhie-fcoQ ➤EXTREME AIRCRAFT VIDEOS: https://dronescapes.video/Extreme
Turnaround for the North American F-108 Rapier
Date: July 22, 1959
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Mach-3 XF-108 Rapier
The North American XF-108 Rapier was a proposed long-range, high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by North American Aviation intended to defend the United States from supersonic Soviet strategic bombers. The aircraft would have cruised at speeds around Mach 3 (3,200 km/h; 2,000 mph) with an unrefueled combat radius over 1,000 nautical miles (1,900 km; 1,200 mi), and was equipped with radar and missiles offering engagement ranges up to 100 miles (160 km) against bomber-sized targets.
To limit development costs, the program shared engine development with the North American XB-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber program, and used a number of elements of earlier interceptor projects. The program had progressed only as far as the construction of a single wooden mock-up when it was cancelled in 1959, due to a shortage of funds and the Soviets' adoption of ballistic missiles as their primary means of nuclear attack. Had it flown, the F-108 would have been the heaviest fighter of its era.
Prior to the project's cancellation, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower noted that raising the F-108 interceptor force would have cost the U.S. taxpayer $4 billion (equivalent to $36 billion today)
XF-108 Rapier: The North American Ultimate Weapon That Never Was And Other Experimental Aircraft
Proposed Prototype Of A North American XF-108 Rapier High-Speed Interceptor Aircraft. The Project Was Cancelled.
➤➤ HD IMAGE: https://dronescapes.video/XF108
Mockup of the cockpit of the North American XF-108 Rapier.
Date: February 4, 1959
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Concept art of North American XF-108 Rapier.
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