The A-9 was designed by Northrop as a competitor for the ground attack aircraft competition for the Air Force in the mid 1970's. It was designed to provide extremely stable platform for bombing accuracy. It was also designed to be extremely durable and rugged since most of its flight time was to be spent close to the ground, in range of enemy guns. The twelve underwing pylons could carry almost all arms in Air Force inventory. All flight control systems were backed up by identical systems and all vital areas were protected with aluminum alloy armor of 1.25 to 2.5 inches. The competitor in the competition, and the aircraft chosen for production, was the A-10 Warthog, which gained fame in the Persian Gulf War as a tank killer. The A-9 was a very capable aircraft and it is curious that the Russian Su-25 Frogfoot ground attack aircraft looks very similar?? Only two A-9A's exist today. Our A-9A and a second one at the Castle Air Museum in Atwater, CA. The March Field Museum recovered this A-9A from the NASA Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Ca.
