"Tell the Vietnamese they've got to draw in their horns or we're going to bomb them back into the Stone Age. And we would shove them back into the Stone Age with Air power or Naval power - not with ground forces."
- General Curtis LeMay, May 1964

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 F-111F Aardvark Strike Aircraft that was attached to the 523rd Tactical Fighter Squadron "Crusaders", then deployed to RAF Fairford, England, during 1995. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: September 2021

Historical Account: "Central Enterprise" - Central Enterprise is an annual NATO live-fire exercise. Central Enterprise is designed to test the integrated air defense system throughout Western Europe. Regular exercises which incorporate a major military low flying element over the United Kingdom include Exercises Elder Forest (once every two years), Elder Joust (once a year), Central Enterprise (once a year), Mallet Blow (twice a year), OSEX (once a year) and Salty Hammer (once a year). Some of these exercises test and practice the United Kingdom air defenses while others primarily provide aircrews with training in tactical low flying techniques.

The Central Enterprise exercise was designed to evaluate new joint air defense employment concepts. The exercise was a good start for NATO, though Air Force participation was initially relatively scripted in support of the Army evaluation and emphasis was on the evaluation as opposed to training.

The June 1982 Central Enterprise exercise marked the first practical test of the new NATO airborne early warning system.

During the Central Enterprise exercise held at June 1993 in Europe, eight F 117-A's were deployed at Gilzen Rijen in the Netherlands.