 From a handful of company designs, Saville selected Hughes Aircraft to make the FCS. Saville worked closely with Dr. Ruben F. Mettler of Hughes, to lay out the desired strategy of the weapons system and to describe the expected fighter tactics. This weapon would eventually be developed as the AIM-4 Falcon after much urging by Saville. The Falcon was used successfully for more than a decade, beginning in 1956. Designing an aircraft around a weapons system was something Saville had witnessed in the development of Bell's P-39 Airacobra around a large autocannon, but he further refined the concept and made it a requirement for government contractors, a practice that is continued to this day. Saville put an end to specific design goals in aircraft requests for proposal (RFPs); instead, he briefed potential designers on general requirements and discussed with them the defense problems the aircraft was to solve.
