<article><hdr>Ground shot of a Northrop A-9</hdr><body>
<hi style=afpcap>During the late sixties the Air Force decided to effect a competition for an aircraft dedicated to the close air support role under the designation 'AX'. The specification was tailored for an aircraft capable of effectively destroying tanks and armoured vehicles with a powerful internal canon. Funding was provided during fiscal year 1971 with two manufacturers were selected to produce a pair of prototypes which were flown during 1972. The Fairchild A-10 was elected the winning design over that of the Northrop A-9, with the latter pair of aircraft transferred to NASA at Edwards AFB, California for storage pending possible further evaluation.</hi>
