It could have been: The Vought YA-7F

I like the idea of putting more aviation related write-ups on here on a more regular basis, so until further notice, I think I'll be replacing the regular unresolved mysteries posts with this type from here on out. 

This week I just felt the urge to write about the YA-7F prototype, as it is something that is pretty close to home (literally). Back in the 60s and 70s, the US Air Force was being criticized for not taking the mission of Close Air Support seriously, and so they bought a bunch of A-7D Corsair IIs developed initially for the US Navy to help perform the role and were very successful in Vietnam. 

One of the two prototypes built in flight.

They were massively successful at the role, but despite this, the Air Force insisted on developing a dedicated aircraft for the mission, and came up with what we know as the A-10 Thunderbolt II (more famously know as the Warthog) that is still in use today.

But, there was a problem. The A-10 despite excelling at the role of CAS, is still an exceptionally slow aircraft, and is not suited (or designed) to be performing missions in non-permissive or non-sanitized environments, which is what the strike/interdiction mission is all about.  The F-16, despite being a faster and more accurate strike aircraft is still ridiculously short ranged, and carries a very limited payload even without additional fuel tanks taking up the pylons. 

Changes from the A-7D to the YA-7F Strikefighter taken from the Secret Projects forum.

So what is the solution? Upgrades, people. Upgrades. The plan was to take the older airframe of the A-7D Corsair II and swap out the outdated avionics for more modern systems, like OBOGS, new multi function cockpit displays, new heads up display, new sensors, upgraded radar, along with new pylons for modern podded nav and attack systems. They would also physically stretch out the fuselage to allow for more fuel for the already long ranged aircraft, and slap an afterburning engine in there to ramp up it's speed, then re-wing the thing with one with a larger area including new flaps and leading edge extensions to vastly increase payload and maneuverability. With all these upgrades they now called it the A-7F Strikefighter. 

Size comparison of the Navy A-7E and the prototype YA-7F on the bottom.

This made for a pretty formidable aircraft and another appealing aspect was that you could retrofit older aircraft to this standard as a stopgap until new production aircraft could be completed. There were of course downsides, in that it was slower than an F-16 and not as maneuverable as the A-10 or the F-16 (but was very close). However, it certainly seemed it would be a more economical option in that it seemed to be far cheaper to manufacture, far longer ranged than either the F-16 or A-10, carried a much higher payload, and was very economical on fuel. 

Testing of the F-100 engine on the prototype. The F-100 was to be used on the prototype, but the production plane was to have a more economical TF-41 engine mated with the afterburner from the F-100. A Navy version would have used the F-110 from the F-14. 

Its a shame it never made it to production, as I think it would have been a welcome addition to the modern set of capabilities, especially in Afghanistan when long range was a key requirement. Not to mention the benefit of a naval variant which would have kicked the butt of the F-18 Hornet in terms of acceleration, range, payload, and cost. For example, a new F-18 Hornet in 1982 cost approx 37 million USD per unit, whereas an A-7F production variant would have been closer to 31-32 million per unit (adjusted for inflation). But as with all things decidedly not sexy or without a pointed nose, the poor advanced version of the SLUF (short little ugly f*cker) died out not long after the end of the cold war. 

There were only two prototypes built of this special variant of the A-7, both of which are in museums. One having it's home at the Edwards AFB museum, and the other here at the Hill AFB Museum.

It's final resting place outside the entrance of Hill AFB Museum right next to the parking lot. Photos from the Wiki page.