Dollars (1970). Unit costs depended on the size of the production run with $2.7 million being quoted in the case of a production run of 500 aircraft and $2.4 million for twice this number. Lockheed researched operating costs for the first 10 years of operation. This included the provision of spares, ground equipment, technical manuals, and both maintenance and flight training. For a production run of 500 aircraft, the support cost over 10 years was given as $330 million, reducing to $180 million if 1,000 Lancers were built. Operating costs over 10 years were also calculated. By adding the total of all these costs Lockheed claimed that their product offered significant savings over both the Dassault Mirage F-1 and the F-4F Phantom when their equivalent costs were shown. Project cancellations CL-1200-1 In November 1970 the Northrop F-5-21 was named the winner of the International Fighter Aircraft competition. After that, no interest was shown in the CL-1200 by existing F-104 operators and the project was terminated. CL-704 VTOL Another cancelled Starfighter derivative, pre-dating the CL-1200 Lancer by eight years and not directly related, was the CL-704 VTOL strike and reconnaissance aircraft originally proposed in 1962 as a joint venture between Lockheed and Short Brothers and Harland Ltd. Designed purely for VTOL operations, it would have seven vertically-mounted Rolls-Royce RB181 lift engines in each of the enlarged wingtip pods. The main forward propulsion was provided by a Rolls-Royce RB.168R mounted in the fuselage. The project was cancelled due to the numerous complexities involved and the highly advanced development of the Hawker P.1127. A larger-winged F-104 variant 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 became the Panavia Tornado. X-27 development The USAF planned to buy at least one experimental Lancer under the designation X-27 (called the CL-1600 by Lockheed) 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 of rectangular form. The X-27 program received almost no U.S. Congressional or Air Force support. Due to the lack of funding, no flight-capable aircraft were built. One full-scale mockup was built, and up to three fuselages had been converted before project termination. Specifications (CL-1200-2 / X-27) See also References Bibliography External links Photo of CL-1200 Lancer Further photo of CL-1200 Lancer