biology

McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II

McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II rather than just read about it. In short: The General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II was a proposed American attack aircraft from General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas. It was to be an all-weather, carrier-based stealth bomber replacement for the Grumman A-6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Key takeaways

McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II was a proposed American attack aircraft from General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas. It was to be an all-weather, carrier-based stealth bomber replacement for the Grumman A-6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Its Avenger II name was taken from the Grumman TBF Avenger of World War II. The development of the A-12 was troubled by cost overruns and several delays, causing questions of the program's ability to deliver upon its objectives; these doubts led to the development program's cancellation in 1991. The manner of its cancellation was contested through litigation until a settlement was reached in January 2014.

Design and development

Advanced Tactical Aircraft program The United States Navy began the Advanced Tactical Aircraft (ATA) program in 1983. The program was to develop and field a replacement for the A-6 Intruder by 1994. Stealth technology developed for the United States Air Force would be used heavily in the program. Concept design contracts were awarded to the industry teams of McDonnell Douglas/General Dynamics, and Northrop/Grumman/Vought in November 1984. The teams were awarded contracts for further concept development in 1986. The General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas team was selected as the winner on 13 January 1988; the rival team led by Grumman surprisingly failed to submit a final bid. The General Dynamics/McDonnell Douglas team was awarded a development contract and the ATA aircraft was designated A-12. The first flight was initially planned for December 1990. The A-12 was named Avenger II in homage to the World War II-era Navy torpedo-bomber Grumman TBF Avenger. The Navy initially sought to buy 620 A-12s and Marines wanted 238. In addition, the Air Force briefly considered ordering some 400 of an A-12 derivative. The A-12 was promoted as a possible replacement for the Air Force's General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, and for the United Kingdom's Panavia Tornado fighter-bombers. The craft was a flying wing design in the shape of an isosceles triangle, with the cockpit situated near the apex of the triangle. The A-12 gained the nickname "Flying Dorito". The aircraft was to be powered by two General Electric F412-D5F2 turbofan engines, each producing about 13,000 pounds-force (58 kN) of thrust. It was designed to carry precision guided weapons internally, up to two AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, two AGM-88 HARM air-to-ground missiles and a complement of air-to-ground ordnance, including unguided or precision-guided bombs, could be carried in an internal weapons bay. It has been claimed that the A-12 was to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons held in its internal weapons bay as well. The A-12 was to have a weapons load of 5,160 pounds (2,300 kg). Beginning in early 1990 General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas revealed delays and projected cost increases. Due to late requirement changes to the aircraft impacting the composite design, aircraft weight had increased to 30% over design specification. This was unwelcome for an airplane that needed to operate efficiently and effectively from an aircraft carrier. Technical difficulties with the complexity of the radar system to be used also caused costs to increase; by one estimate the A-12 was to consume up to 70% of the Navy's budget for aircraft. After delays, its critical design review was successfully completed in October 1990 and the maiden flight was rescheduled to early 1992. In December 1990 plans were made for 14 Navy aircraft carriers to be equipped with a wing of 20 A-12s each. A government report released in November 1990 documented serious problems with the A-12 development program. In December 1990 Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney told the Navy to justify the program and deliver reasons why it should not be canceled. The response given by the Navy and the contractors failed to persuade the Secretary of Defense, as he canceled the program in the following month, on 7 January 1991, for breach of contract.

The government felt the contractors could not complete the program and instructed them to repay most of the $2 billion that had been spent on A-12 development. McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics disputed this in Federal Claims court. The reasons and causes for the cancellation have been debated and have been an issue of controversy.

Aftermath

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II

In research: McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear, Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States, Carrier-based aircraft, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II in simple terms?

Why does McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II.