McDonnell Douglas A - 12 Avenger II The McDonnell Douglas / General Dynamics A - 12 Avenger II was a proposed American attack aircraft from McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics . It was to be an all - weather , carrier - based stealth bomber replacement for the Grumman A - 6 Intruder in the United States Navy and Marine Corps . Its " Avenger II " name was taken from the Grumman TBF Avenger of World War II . The development of the A - 12 was troubled by cost overruns and several delays , causing questions of the program ' s ability to deliver upon its objectives ; these doubts led to the development program being canceled in 1991 . The manner of its cancellation has been contested through litigation to this day . Design and development . ATA program . The United States Navy began the Advanced Tactical Aircraft ( ATA ) program in 1983 . The program was to develop and field a replacement for the A - 6 Intruder by 1994 . Stealth technology developed for the United States Air Force would be used heavily in the program . Concept design contracts were awarded to the industry teams of McDonnell Douglas / General Dynamics , and Northrop / Grumman / Vought in November 1984 . The teams were awarded contracts for further concept development in 1986 . The McDonnell Douglas / General Dynamics team was selected as the winner on 13 January 1988 , the rival team led by Grumman surprisingly failed to submit a final bid . The McDonnell Douglas / General Dynamics team was awarded a development contract and the ATA aircraft was designated " A - 12 " . The first flight was initially planned for December 1990 . The A - 12 was named " Avenger II " in homage to the World War II - era Navy torpedo - bomber Grumman TBF Avenger . The Navy initially sought to buy 620 A - 12s and Marines wanted 238 . In addition , the Air Force briefly considered ordering some 400 of an A - 12 derivative . The A - 12 was promoted as a possible replacement for the Air Force ' s General Dynamics F - 111 Aardvark , and for the United Kingdom ' s Panavia Tornado fighter - bombers . The craft was a flying wing design in the shape of an isosceles triangle , with the cockpit situated near the apex of the triangle . The A - 12 gained the nickname " Flying Dorito " . The aircraft was to be powered by two General Electric F412 - D5F2 turbofan engines , each producing about of thrust . It was designed to carry precision guided weapons internally , up to two AIM - 120 AMRAAM air - to - air missiles , two AGM - 88 HARM air - to - ground missiles and a complement of air - to - ground ordnance , including unguided or precision - guided bombs , could be carried in an internal weapons bay . It has been claimed that the A - 12 was to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons held in its internal weapons bay as well . The A - 12 was to have a weapons load of . Beginning in early 1990 McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics revealed delays and projected cost increases . The weight of the aircraft had significantly increased due to complications with the composite materials used , the weight being 30 % over design specification , this was a significantly negative factor for carrier - based operations . Technical difficulties with the complexity of the radar system to be used also caused costs to increase ; by one estimate the A - 12 was to consume up to 70 % of the Navy ' s budget for aircraft . After delays , its critical design review was successfully completed in October 1990 ; the A - 12 ' s maiden flight was rescheduled to early 1992 . In December 1990 , it was planned for 14 Navy aircraft carriers to equipped with a wing of 20 A - 12s each . A government report released in November 1990 documented serious problems with the A - 12 development program . In December 1990 Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney told the Navy to justify the program and deliver reasons why it should not be canceled . The response given by the Navy and the contractors failed to persuade the Secretary of Defense , as he canceled the program in the following month , on 7 January 1991 , for breach of contract . The government felt the contractors could not complete the program and instructed them to repay most of the $ 2 billion that had been spent on A - 12 development . McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics disputed this in Federal Claims court ; the reasons and causes for the cancellation have been debated and remain an issue of controversy , with suggestions of political expediency and scheming to be behind the action . Aftermath . After the cancellation of the A - 12 , the Navy elected to purchase the F / A - 18E / F Super Hornet , which went on to replace the A - 6 Intruder and the F - 14 Tomcat . The Super Hornet uses the General Electric F414 turbofan engine , which is a modified variant of the upgraded F404 version developed for the A - 12 . The full - size A - 12 mockup was revealed to the public at the former Carswell Air Force Base in June 1996 . The cancellation of the A - 12 is seen as one of the major losses in the 1990s that weakened McDonnell Douglas and led to its merger with rival Boeing in 1997 . After years of being in storage at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics ( formerly General Dynamics ) facility in Fort Worth , Texas , the mock - up was transported to Veterans Memorial Air Park adjacent to Meacham Airport in north Fort Worth on June 28 , 2013 . The manner in which the program was canceled led to years of litigation between the contractors and the Department of Defense over breach of contract . On 1 June 2009 , the U . S . Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the U . S . Navy was justified in canceling the contract . The ruling also required the two contractors to repay the U . S . government more than US $ 1 . 35 billion , plus interest charges of US $ 1 . 45 billion . Boeing , which had merged with McDonnell Douglas , vowed to appeal the ruling , as has General Dynamics . In September 2010 , the U . S . Supreme Court said it would hear the two companies ' arguments , that the government canceled the project improperly and that the use of a state secrets claim by the U . S . prevented them from mounting an effective defense . In May 2011 , the Supreme Court set aside the Appeals Court decision and returned the case to federal circuit court . The Lockheed Martin F - 35 Lightning II , an in - development carrier - capable fighter featuring stealth technology and oriented toward ground - attack operations , is in effect a successor to the A - 12 in both role and industrial origins . Comparisons have been drawn between the role of the future Next - Generation Bomber and the A - 12 ; the two aircraft both being stealthy sub - sonic bombers designed to carry comparable bomb loads and fly similar ranges .