F-111

…two countries developed the medium-range F-111 (designated a fighter but actually a strategic bomber) and Tu-26 Backfire and the long-range B-1 and Tu-160 Blackjack, respectively. These planes were designed to slip under early-warning radar at low level and to approach military targets using terrain-following radars and inertial-guidance systems. They could…

General Dynamics F-111, the first operational aircraft to use a variable-sweep wing. Variable geometry was originally intended to allow the F-111 to combine the missions of low-altitude bomber and high-altitude fleet-defense fighter, but the fighter version was eventually abandoned. After a poor showing in Indochina in 1968,…