F-15 RFP: Did Northrop submit a design?

[gjs238]

Did Northrop submit any proposals for what became the F-15?
The F-5 has proven to be a very scalable timeless design, I wonder if Northrop considered building it up for submittal.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Did Northrop submit any proposals for what became the F-15?
The F-5 has proven to be a very scalable timeless design, I wonder if Northrop considered building it up for submittal.

I'm sure they did, but I think based on the RFP it was a whole different animal.

 

[evangilder]

According to Wikipedia, it was part of the FX program:

F-X program

There was a clear need for a new fighter that overcame the close-range limitation of the Phantom while retaining long-range air superiority. After rejecting the U.S. Navy VFX program (which led to the F-14 Tomcat) as being unsuited to its needs, the U.S. Air Force issued its own requirements for the Fighter Experimental (F-X), a specification for a relatively lightweight air superiority fighter.[12] The requirements called for single-seat fighter having a maximum take-off weight of 40,000 lb (18,100 kg) for the air-to-air role with a maximum speed of Mach 2.5 and a thrust to weight ratio of nearly 1 at mission weight.[13] Four companies submitted proposals, with the Air Force eliminating General Dynamics and awarded contracts to Fairchild Republic, North American Rockwell, and McDonnell Douglas for the definition phase in December 1968. The companies submitted technical proposals by June 1969. The Air Force announced the selection of McDonnell Douglas on 23 December 1969.[14] The winning design resembled the twin-tailed F-14, but with fixed wings. It would not be significantly lighter or smaller than the F-4 that it would replace.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

There ya go!

 

[evangilder]

I did a little further reading about the F-15 and the "Fighter Mafia" and found that the F-5 was submitted for the LWF (Light Weight Fighter) program that was kind of a sub-program to the F-X program. That one had the F-5, F-16 and a few others.

I always liked the F-5 and the F-20.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

My father in law loved the F-5. Although he worked around it, he never got a chance to fly the F-20 which he felt would have served just as well as the F-16. If you have just a little jet time and sit in the cockpit of an F-5 it does not intimidate you, very simple aircraft both for the pilot and maintainer.