Concept Aircraft : F-108 Rapier (1960)

F-108 Rapier (1960)

The F-108 "Rapier" was an actual plane being developed by the North American Aircraft Co. during the late 1950s. Designed to be a Mach 3 interceptor/escort for the XB-70 Valkyrie, the double-delta-winged "Rapier" made it to the mockup stage before the project was abruptly cancelled in 1959.

A year later, ITC released its own version of the F-108 -- one strikingly different from the actual plane. This "Rapier" launched like a rocket -- a concept intended to overcome the vulnerability of conventional airfields -- and was designed to carry atomic-tipped missiles that could be fired from up to 1,000 miles away from its target. Although it bore a superficial resemblance to the actual F-108, this design could never be confused with its real-world counterpart.

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