The Lockheed CL-1200 Lancer was a late 1960s company-funded proposal for a new and improved F-104 Starfighter. It was intended for the export market and was in direct competition with the Northrop F-5E Tiger II.

The X-27 was a proposed lightweight fighter aircraft derived from the CL-1200 Lancer project.

CL-1200 design

The CL-1200 retained the basic F-104 fuselage but was fitted with a shoulder-mounted wing of 53% larger area  which was moved further aft. The new wing had a span of 29 feet and still featured leading- and trailing-edge flaps plus inner strakes. The tailplane was moved from the tip of the vertical fin to the base of the rear fuselage. in order to avoid the downwash effects from the high set wings at high angles of attack and to eliminate the Starfighter's inherent pitch-up problems.

The first version was to be the CL-1200-1, still with the now well- proven J79-GE-19 engine. The more advanced CL-1200-2 was to have had a redesigned rear fuselage that could accommodate a modern turbofan engine rather than the J79 turbojet. This turbofan engine was to be either the Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-100 or the F100-P-100. These engines offered an increase of 60 percent in thrust at maximum power. The air intakes were located in the same place that they were on the F-104, but they incorporated translating shock cones with four-inch movement in place of the F-104's fixed cones.

The Lancer retained the 20mm General Electric M61A1 cannon as its primary built-in armament, although a 30 mm DEFA gun could be fitted as an alternative if the customer so desired. Nine weapons stations were provided, one under the fuselage, three under each wing, and one at each wingtip. Up to 12,000 pounds of ordnance could be carried.

The estimated gross weight was 35,000 pounds and a top speed of 1700 mph at 35,000 feet was envisaged. The takeoff run was 1450 feet in the intercept configuration, only 52 percent of that required for the F-104G. Kelly Johnson projected that the CL-1200-2 would be superior in air-to-air combat to any known fighter.

The CL-1200 was entered in the International Fighter Aircraft competition to find a replacement for the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter in the international market. It was projected that CL-1200 deliveries could begin in 1974. However, in November 1970 the Northrop F-5-21 was named the winner of the competition, and the primary market for the Lancer was lost. The project was then terminated.

Another stillborn Starfighter derivative was the CL-704 VTOL strike and reconnaissance aircraft originally proposed in 1962. For VTOL operations, it was to have had seven vertically-mounted Rolls Royce RB.181s in each of the enlarged wingtip pods. The main forward propulsion was to have been provided by a fuselage-mounted Rolls Royce RB.168.

A larger-winged F-104 derivative was proposed as an alternative to the MRCA (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) then being designed as a multi-national European project. Nothing ever emerged, and the MRCA eventually emerged as the Panavia Tornado.

Specifications (CL-1200-2)

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 57 feet 3 inches (17.45 m)
• Wingspan: 29 feet 2 inches (8.89 m)
• Height: 17 feet 2 inches (5.23 m)
• Wing area: 300 ft² (28 m²)
• Empty weight: 16,640 pounds (7,548 kg)
• Loaded weight: 24,385 pounds (11,061 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 35,000 pounds (15,900 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney TF30-P-100 turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 15,000 lbf (66.7 kN)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 25,000 lbf (111.2 kN)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,477 knots at 35,000 feet (Mach 2.57) (1,700 mph, 2,720 km/h)
• Range: 367 nm combat radius with 4,000 lb (8,800 kg) bombload. (420 miles, 680 km)
• Rate of climb: 60,000 ft/min (300 m/s)
• Takeoff run: 1,450 ft (440 m)
• Landing run: 2,060 ft (930 m)

Armament

• 1 × 20 mm General Electric M61 Vulcan cannon with 725 rounds
• 1 × 30 mm DEFA cannon with 400 rounds as alternative.
• Offensive load of up to 12,000 lb (5,450 kg) on nine external weapons hardpoints

X-27 Development

At one time, the USAF had considered acquiring one or more examples of the Lancer. The USAF planned to buy at least one experimental Lancer under the experimental designation X-27 for Mach 2.6 testing. The X-27 was to be similar in overall configuration to the Lancer, but was to feature modified engine air intakes having a rectangular shape. However, the X-27 program received almost no U.S. Congressional or Air Force support. Due to the lack of monetary support, no flight capable aircraft were constructed. One full-scale mockup was built by Lockheed, although up to three fuselages had been converted prior to the shutdown of the project.

Specifications (X-27, as designed)

General characteristics

• Crew: one, pilot
• Length: 53 ft 2 in (16.2 m)
• Wingspan: 28 ft 7 in (8.7 m)
• Height: 16 ft 2 in (4.9 m)
• Empty weight: 17,250 lb (7,800 kg)
• Loaded weight: 32,500 lb (16,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 1× Pratt & Whitney TF30-PW-100 turbofan engine

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,260 knots (1,450 mph, 2,330 km/h)
• Range: 1,836 nm (2,100 mi, 3,400 km)
• Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,300 m)