The land-based F-111 first flew in December 1964; the carrier-capable F-111B flew in May 1965, but proved overweight and underpowered for the navy's needs. With the naval version not accepted, production estimates for 2,400 F-111s including exports were sharply reduced, but GD still made a $300 million profit on the project. Grumman went on to use many of the innovations of the F-111 in the F-14 Tomcat, an aircraft designed solely as a carrier-borne fighter.
The land-based F-111 first flew in December 1964; the carrier-capable F-111B flew in May 1965 but proved overweight and underpowered for the navy's needs With the naval version not accepted production estimates for 2400 F-111s including exports were sharply reduced but GD still made a $300 million profit on the project Grumman went on to use many of the innovations of the F-111 in the F-14 Tomcat an aircraft designed solely as a carrier-borne fighter