The controversy surrounding the controversial F-22 "Raptor" has been raging for a decade. The appearance of the F-35 "Lightning II" - a "budget" version of the generation fighter added fuel to the fire: if even the large and expensive Raptor does not always meet the requirements, then what to expect from a single-engine fighter with a limited range of onboard equipment? In general, the "fifth generation" is born in terrible agony - the requirements put forward for such fighters are very vague, and sometimes even impossible to fulfill in practice.
One of the main conditions is a decrease in the aircraft's signature in the radar and thermal ranges. Second condition: supersonic cruising speed. The third is super-maneuverability. Often these three factors are "mutually exclusive paragraphs": powerful engines and perfect aerodynamics are in conflict with the requirements of stealth technology. In addition, the fifth generation fighter should be equipped with the most modern avionics and be easy to fly.
Meanwhile, 50 years ago, a serial aircraft was created that met many of the requirements of the "fifth generation" and flew in supersonic cruise mode. As you probably already guessed, we will talk about the deck bomber A-5 "Vigilante".
When ballistic missiles were small, and Yuri Gagarin was still in school, the United States and the Soviet Union faced the acute problem of delivering nuclear weapons. The United States relied on strategic bombers, aircraft carriers and carrier-based aircraft. In 1953, the North American aircraft manufacturer, on its own initiative, began work to find a promising replacement for the A-3 Skywarrior subsonic carrier-based bomber.
The firm was not mistaken - in 1955, the US Navy officially announced a competition to create just such an aircraft. The engineers were given a task comparable in complexity to the creation of a "fifth generation fighter": the NAGPAW (North American General Purpose Attack Weapon) project envisaged the development of a supersonic all-weather attack aircraft capable of operating from the decks of heavy Forrestal-class aircraft carriers. The aircraft's only mission was to deliver nuclear weapons to targets on enemy territory.
In August 1958, the new aircraft made its maiden flight, and a year later the Navy signed a contract for the supply of 55 supersonic carrier-based nuclear bombers, dubiously named A-5 Vigilanti ("Lynch member"). The naval pilots liked the new technique: in 1960, one of the "vigilantes" set a world record, climbing to a height of 28 kilometers with 1000 kg of cargo.
You will laugh, but the A-5 aircraft, created half a century ago, really met most of the requirements for modern fifth-generation fighters:
"Vigilanti" without any problems realized the supersonic cruising flight mode (2000 km / h at an altitude of 11000 m).
Moreover, the deck-based bomber had an important structural element inherent in modern stealth technology - the placement of standard weapons on the internal sling. An internal bomb bay was integrated between the two engines in the fuselage, containing two 1000-pound bombs (2x450 kg). The all-moving vertical tail, in terms of stealth technology, also contributed to a decrease in the aircraft's radar signature.
There was also some semblance of "super manners": the heavy "vigilante" more than once participated in training battles with fighters, achieving phenomenal results. Already on the third bend, Vigilanti went into the tail of the F-8 Crusader (Crusader) carrier-based fighter and could pursue it for a long time.
The super-bomber had good dynamics and acceleration properties, the rate of climb of the lightly equipped Vigilanti reached 172 m / s. The practical ceiling is 19,000-20,000 meters. In theory, the bomber was calculated for more, but basing on the deck of an aircraft carrier worsened its flight characteristics. In order to reduce the area occupied by the aircraft on the deck, the wing ends with the help of hydraulic drives were folded up, and the upper part of the keel was deflected to the side. We had to drag a heavy tail hook (landing hook), and the structure and chassis of the Vigilanti were designed for high dynamic loads when landing on the deck of the ship, which entailed an even greater increase in the weight of the airframe (it was forbidden to use titanium in the aircraft structure).
Vigilanti was a very large, heavy and extremely technological product for its time. It carried a whole range of innovative solutions: bucket-shaped adjustable air intakes, spoilers for roll control instead of classic ailerons, and even an on-board computer (it hung every 15 minutes). For the first time in aviation, the aircraft was equipped with a fly-by-wire control system (there was no mechanical connection between the rudders and the steering wheel). Like any carrier-based aircraft of the US Navy, Vigilanti received a system for refueling in the air. As a result, the price of the "vigilante" has risen to $ 100 million in today's prices. By the way, the Americans are still confident that the MiG-25 interceptor was copied from the A-5, although the external resemblance still does not mean anything.
When you get acquainted with the A-5 bomber, you will not immediately guess that the car is two-seater. Only one seat is visible behind the glazing of the cockpit canopy. The second member of the crew - the navigator, sits somewhere in the fuselage of the aircraft. His presence is betrayed by two tiny portholes on the sides of the bomber.
And then there was a misunderstanding: in 1960, the underwater strategic missile carrier George Washington with the Polaris ballistic missiles went on combat patrols. The rapid evolution of missile technology put an end to the Vigilanti project, making it ineffective to place nuclear weapons on the decks of aircraft carriers. The super-hero was out of work …
An attempt to adapt the Vijlanta to the performance of shock missions failed - even with the use of additional external pylons for the suspension of weapons, the heavy aircraft was inferior in efficiency to the Phantom fighter-bomber.
By that time, 63 useless A-5 Vigilante bombers had been added to the carrier-based aircraft. The satisfied managers of North American went to the Hawaiian Islands to drink Martini: they fulfilled the contract, the rest is not their problem. And the naval pilots were sorry to give up completely new machines with unique flight characteristics. It was necessary to come up with something urgently.
"You will go to the scouts!" - decided the naval experts, looking sternly at the crooked recruit. And Vigilanti did not shame their expectations, turning into a specialized long-range reconnaissance RA-5C. (the letter "R", from the English word reconnaissance always means reconnaissance modification). Cameras, additional fuel tanks were installed in the internal bomb bay, and this equipment was covered with an enlarged fairing.
With the outbreak of active hostilities in Southeast Asia, Vigilanti became the "eyes" of the fleet - each aircraft carrier always had an RA-5C link in its air wing. Deck scouts hung over the positions of the North Vietnamese army for hours, photographing targets before and after air strikes. In the second case, the work was associated with a special risk - the Vietnamese air defense was in a state of full combat readiness and was filled with a thirst for revenge. "Vigilantes" were saved only by the speed of 2M and the maximum flight altitude. And that's not always - the wreckage of 27 Vigilanti fell in the jungle.
RA-5Cs performed well in a new role, in the mid-60s the fleet ordered a new batch of reconnaissance aircraft. North American turned on the assembly line and stamped 91 more Vigilanti. Aircraft of this type flew until the end of the 70s and were decommissioned in November 1979. In the history of naval aviation, they remained as complex aircraft, on which new technologies and ideas were developed. The pilots still recall with surprise how they put these monsters on the deck (although this is not the limit - in the fall of 1963, the Hercules military transport aircraft made 20 successful landings on an aircraft carrier).
You may have noticed, dear readers, that this story is written with a grain of irony. Of course, the A-5 Vigilante was not close to the fifth generation fighter. Despite the same wing loading as the Su-35 (380 kg / sq. Meter), the Vigilanti's low thrust-to-weight ratio did not allow him to perform the Pugachev Cobra or other more complex aerobatics. As for the avionics comparison - I suppose the comments are superfluous here.
But the very fact that 50 years ago, it was possible to create a combat aircraft, many of the features of which correspond to the fifth generation fighter, makes one think. At the same time, Vigilanti was designed as a two-seater bomber, and its designers did not even have any thoughts about super-maneuverability or the notorious stealth. Modern engineers are fighting a battle for supersonic without the use of afterburner, the best minds solve the problem of stealth: for example, where to find a place for the internal weapons compartment. And often, possessing ultra-modern computer-aided design systems, new materials and nanotechnology, they cannot cope with this task. It's amazing how the creators of Vigilanta managed to achieve such amazing results with the help of primitive technical solutions.
