The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" is a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also fills the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s and first entering service in 1967, the United States Air Force (USAF) variants were officially retired by 1998. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the sole remaining operator of the F-111.

The F-111 pioneered several technologies for production military aircraft including variable-sweep wings, afterburning turbofan engines, and automated terrain following radar for low-level, high-speed flight. Its design was influential, being reflected in later Soviet aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-24, and some of its advanced features have since become commonplace. During its inception, however, the F-111 suffered a variety of development problems, and several of its intended roles, such as naval interception through the F-111B, failed to materialize.

In USAF service the F-111 has been effectively replaced by the F-15E Strike Eagle for medium-range precision strike missions, while the supersonic bomber role has been assumed by the B-1B Lancer. In 2007, the RAAF decided to replace its 21 F-111s in 2010 with 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale rendition of a USAF General Dynamics FB-111A "Aardvark" strike aircraft that was known as "Ruptured Duck", and attached to the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, then deployed to Pease AFB, during 1989. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 12-1/4-inches
Length: 10-1/2-inches

Release Date: December 2013

Hisotricalk Account: "Bombs Away" - The 393rd Bomb Squadron began upgrading to the Boeing B-50 Superfortress, an advanced version of the B-29 in 1949. The B-50 gave the unit the capability to carry heavy loads of conventional weapons faster and farther as well as being designed for atomic bomb missions if necessary. Squadron deployed to SAC airfields in England, and also to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam on long-term deployments in the 1950s.

By 1951, the emergence of the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 interceptor in the skies of North Korea signaled the end of the propeller-driven B-50 as a first-line strategic bomber. Received new, swept wing Boeing B-47 Stratojets in 1955 which were designed to carry nuclear weapons and to penetrate Soviet air defenses with its high operational ceiling and near supersonic speed. The squadron flew the B-47 for about a decade when by the mid-1960s it had become obsolescent and vulnerable to new Soviet air defenses. The squadron began to send its stratojets to AMARC at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona for retirement in 1965.

Was scheduled for inactivation however instead received Boeing B-52D Stratofortresses in 1965. It rotated aircraft and crews to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam in support of Southeast Asia Operation Arc Light operations between 1966 and 1969. Not operational, Nov 1969-Jun 1971. Re-equipped with General Dynamics FB-111 nuclear capable medium bomber in 1970; operated until retirement in 1990.

It was reactivated in 1993 as the first operational squadron equipped with the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.