AFVG The AFVG ( standing for Anglo - French Variable Geometry ) was a supersonic multi - role combat aircraft with a variable - geometry wing , being jointly developed by British Aircraft Corporation in the United Kingdom and Dassault Aviation of France . The project was cancelled in June 1967 , when the French Government withdrew from participation . BAC modified the specification to solely satisfy Royal Air Force needs , reconfiguring the design as the UKVG and sought out new partners to procure the aircraft , which ultimately emerged as the tri - national consortium - funded MRCA Panavia Tornado , a variable - geometry wing fighter aircraft . Development . Background . The AFVG project followed on from the earlier BAC P . 45 design study for a variable - geometry strike / trainer / fighter aircraft for the Royal Air Force ; one of a number of proposed designs to meet AST . 362 . Anglo - French collaboration . Discussions took place in 1964 between France and Great Britain on collaborative military aviation programs with Handel Davies , the co - chairman of an Anglo - French committee , and his French counterpart , Ingénieur - General Lecamus , negotiating the launch of two new military combat aircraft . The French would take the lead role in a light ground - attack / trainer , while the British assumed the leadership of a swing - wing multirole fighter project . On 17 May 1965 , after the cancellation of the BAC TSR - 2 , the British and French governments signed agreements for the two joint projects ; one based on the Breguet Aviation Br . 121 ECAT ( " Tactical Combat Support Trainer " ) proposal ; this would later evolve , after the cancellation of AFVG , to become the SEPECAT Jaguar . The other was the AFVG , a larger , variable - geometry carrier - capable fighter aircraft for the French Navy ( " Aéronavale " ) as well as fulfilling interceptor , tactical strike and reconnaissance roles for the Royal Air Force . Design specifications . In RAF service , the AFVG was originally intended as a fighter , replacing the English Electric Lightning . However , following the RAF ' s decision to procure the F - 4 Phantom II instead , the AFVG ' s expected role changed in 1966 to supplementing the F - 111K strike aircraft in replacing the English Electric Canberra and the V bomber force . The AFVG was to be powered by two SNECMA / Bristol Siddeley M45G turbofans , fed by Mirage - style half - shock cone inlets . The engine development programme contract was to be issued by the French government to a SNECMA / Bristol Siddeley joint venture company registered in France . Cancellation . For Marcel Dassault , the founder of the firm that bore his name , relinquishing leadership on a major project , essentially taking a subordinate position to BAC on the AFVG threatened his company ' s long - term objective of becoming a premier prime contractor for combat aircraft . After less than a year , Dassault began to actively undermine the AFVG project , working on two competing " in - house " projects : the variable - geometry Mirage G and the Mirage F1 . In June 1967 , the French government announced their withdrawal from the AFVG project ostensibly on grounds of cost . The unilateral French decision led to a censure debate in the House of Commons . By 1967 when the French withdrew from the AFVG programme , the Air Ministry was faced with a dilemma stemming from the imminent prospect of cancelling the F - 111K , a decision that was taken in November 1967 , to be formalized on 20 March 1968 . Redesign . With the prospect of no operational aircraft available to fulfill the RAF ' s strike role , BAC revamped the AFVG design , eliminating the carrier capabilities that were no longer necessary , into a larger , more strike - oriented VG aircraft , renamed UKVG . While funding for the UKVG in the United Kingdom was seriously restricted , the government sought partners in NATO to create a common NATO strike aircraft . This eventually led to the Multi - Role Combat Aircraft ( MRCA ) project , later to become the Panavia Tornado .