YF-19 Photon
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United States Air Force
The YF-19 Photon was an experimental aircraft developed by Treadstone Industries, originally intended to be a new high-speed interceptor for the United States Air Force, and an evolution of their earlier F-109 Meteor. Though Treadstone officially set out to develop a craft that was simply faster than anything else on the market, they strove towards a much more ambitious target: an aircraft capable of shooting down an ICBM before it reached it's target.
Their secondary goal presented a variety of problems. Not only did they need a craft that was capable of flying as fast as a rocket: they needed one calable of achieving high altitudes, and delivering a sufficiently powerful air-to-air payload that would not only knock an ICBM off-course, but also redirect it in a controlled manner.
To overcome the altitude obstacle, the YF-19 was fitted with three separate propultion systems. A pair of conventional jet engines provided the craft with propulsion at standard altitudes, while a second pair of modified aerospike engines took over at higher altitudes. A single liquid oxygen rocket booster was added to provide additional thrust during missile interception. Because of it's five sets of engines, the YF-19 acquired the nickname "Quinjet" during development.
The YF-19 was first flown for the United States Air Force in 1980. However, with the recent purchase of the [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_F/A-18_Hornet F-18], and with the worst of the Cold War over, the Air Force elected not to pursue the project any further.
Shelved, Treadstone eventually revisited the F-19 design following the international disclosure of the F-117 Nighthawk in 1988. Though referred to as a "stealth fighter", the Nighthawk was actually designed for air-to-ground missions. In an air-to-air situation, the craft would be equally outmatched.
Having factored some stealth concepts into the design already, Treadstone proposed a modified version of the YF-19 as a "stealth interceptor", capable of functioning as an escort for the Nighthawk, or as a means to deliver an undetected stealth attack against incoming enemy aircraft. Though the Air Force once again declined to develop the YF-19 any further, stealth considerations were factored into the Joint Strike Fighter program that eventually spawned the F-35.
Out of Character
There is no F-19 in real life. Conspiracy theorists believe that it may refer to a still-classified stealth fighter; though in truth it was skipped because the developers of the F-20 wanted their plane to seem like it was the first in a new generation of fighters (ie. first of the F-2x series).
It's appearence is based on the fictional MiG-31 from the Clint Eastwood movie Firefox.
