BAC TSR-2

The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled supersonic strike and reconnaissance aircraft designed by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). It was under development throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s for the Royal Air Force (RAF); the TSR-2 designation came from "Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance, Mach 2".

The TSR-2 arose from the issuing of General Operational Requirement 339 (GOR.339) in November 1956, which sought a successor to the English Electric Canberra that would perform both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons delivery, be able to penetrate well-defended frontline areas at low altitudes and very high speeds, and attack high-value targets in rear areas. Another intended combat role was to provide high-altitude, high-speed stand-off, side-looking radar and photographic imagery and signals intelligence, aerial reconnaissance. On 1 January 1959, the project received its official go-ahead; early work was undertaken by Vickers-Armstrong in cooperation with English Electric, before Britain's aircraft industry underwent consolidation to create BAC. However, as some contributing manufacturers were employed directly by the Ministry rather than through BAC, this led to communication difficulties and cost overruns. On 27 September 1964, test pilot Roland Beamont performed the type's maiden flight.

Only one example flew and test flights and weight increases during design indicated that the aircraft would be unable to meet its original stringent design specifications. The design specifications were reduced as the result. The decision to cancel the TSR-2 programme came about out of ever-rising costs and inter-service rivalry over Britain's future defence needs. It was decided to order an adapted version of the General Dynamics F-111 instead, but that decision was also later rescinded as costs and development times of that aircraft increased as well. Operationally, the roles intended for the TSR-2 were taken up by other aircraft, such as the Blackburn Buccaneer and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, both of which had been considered and rejected early in the TSR-2 procurement process. Eventually, the smaller swing-wing Panavia Tornado was developed by a European consortium and introduced during the 1980s to fulfil broadly similar requirements to the TSR-2.