What Happened To Boeing's Airborne Aircraft Carrier Plan?

Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

To opportunity nan Boeing 747 changed nan aviation manufacture is simply a monolithic understatement. Over doubly nan size of immoderate airliner earlier it, nan queen of nan skies wholly transformed commercialized aviation, unlocking aerial recreation for nan mediate class. After half a period successful nan air, nan jumbo liner's work successful nan commercialized abstraction has yet reached its twilight era, with only a fistful of airlines and shipping companies still operating nan beast.

But pinch nan level serving arsenic Air Force One, and being modified into a "doomsday" power halfway for atomic war, nan 747 still has plentifulness of life pinch nan U.S. military. Past proposals person hoped to grow nan plane's inferior wrong nan Air Force, with hopes for transforming nan pitchy into a refueling tanker, a cruise rocket platform, and moreover a rocket defense platform, pinch a monolithic laser attached to its nose.

There is 1 conception for nan 747, however, that genuinely stands retired dissimilar immoderate other. Declassified Boeing/U.S. Air Force documents show studies to toggle shape nan airliner into an craft bearer successful nan skies. The Airborne Aircraft Carrier mightiness look for illustration a conception consecutive retired of Hollywood, but Boeing believed that if executed right, their 747 could bring aerial superiority to anyplace successful nan globe successful a matter of hours.

This wasn't nan first clip nan conception of a flying bearer had been toyed with. Back successful nan 1940s, B-36 bombers tried to deploy a helping of escort fighters, pinch plans of carrying up to 3 purpose-built XF-85 Goblins. But these "parasite fighters" struggled to dock pinch nan mothership owed to nan turbulent aerial nan B-36 generated, pinch 1 aviator smashing his canopy successful during an attempt. The cons seemed to vastly outweigh nan pros, and nan task was canceled successful 1949.

So why did nan Air Force prime nan pen up again successful 1973? The era's newest aircraft, specified arsenic nan 747 and Lockheed's C-5 cargo plane, introduced caller capabilities. Where older prototypes simply held nan aircraft, jumbo jets had nan abstraction to refuel and rearm onboard fighters, becoming a bearer for nan skies.

Boeing's 1973 study showed that nan pressurized fuselage could internally shop up to 10 microfighters. Boom arms would move nan combatant into 1 of 2 deployment airlocks and could motorboat nan combatant retired of its belly. With pilots connected standby, Boeing predicted that 2 microfighters could spell from retention to nan entity successful astir 80 seconds. "Landing" would beryllium nan reversal of nan process, pinch crews capable to rearm and refuel nan trade successful 10 minutes.

Even pinch 10 fighters onboard, Boeing recovered abstraction to shop fuel, armaments and spare parts, arsenic good arsenic having sleeping quarters and  a lounge. It would clasp 44 unit members: 12 bearer crew, 14 pilots, and 18 ngo specialists.

Boeing proved that a modern flying bearer was possible, but nan Air Force ne'er pulled nan trigger connected nan design, and nan Airborne Aircraft Carrier ne'er made it beyond nan 74-page study. There wasn't a uncertainty nan 747 was tin of carrying 10 fighters, but nan capabilities of nan onboard aerial helping had nan Air Force concerned. Boeing promised these microfighters to astatine slightest lucifer nan capacity of nan Soviet MiG-21. But nan Air Force watched really quickly warfare zones evolved passim nan '60s and '70s, and knew these small planes would apt beryllium tally complete by nan newer 4th-gen fighters connected nan way.

For those of you still hoping for a flying carrier, it's much than apt that we'll spot 1 successful work successful nan adjacent future. DARPA's Gremlins task intends to toggle shape C-130s into flying carriers, capable to deploy swarms of unmanned drones. For nan Ace Combat fans, deliberation little P-1112 Aigion and much Arsenal Bird.