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Description
The process of post-October War rebuilding meant that not even the USA could afford the ludicrous amount of money needed to build new weapons to replace both war losses and the post-War cutbacks, never mind both of these combined with the rebuilding of devastated cities and farmland that had been put off for so long. Consequently, there was a need for cheaper fighters to operate alongside the big, expensive Phantom.
For the US Navy and Marine Corps, the existing F-8 Crusader provided the starting point. Ling-Temco-Vought produced the F-8F proposal, which was rapidly accepted. This would be a mix of new builds and the thorough rebuild of the F-8E.

Compared to the F-8E, the F-8F featured significantly increased wing lift due to greater slat and flap deflection and the addition of a boundary layer control system, enlarged stabilators, AN/APQ-104 radar (an upgraded version of F-8E's AN/APQ-94) and the replacement of the J57 with a J79-GE-12 turbojet. The new engine produced 11,870 lbf (52.8 kN) thrust dry and 18,750 lbf (83.40 kN) with afterburner, keeping the same level of performance even with the increased weight. To make room for additional avionics, two of the four 20mm Colt Mk.4 cannon were deleted.
Vought would also produce a dedicated conversion trainer, the TF-8F. Unlike the prototype TF-8A, the converted F-8E fuselage was the same length as the single-seater and was fully combat-capable.
The F-8F became known in service as the Crusader II. This was a formal adoption of an unofficial designation Vought had previously used for the F8U-2, the old designation of the F-8C. While Vought had referred to the F8U-2 as Crusader II and the prototype XF8U-3 as Crusader III, the US Navy had never used such names and adopted the Crusader II moniker for the F-8F.

* * *

This is basically a J79-powered version of the F-8E(FN), only with two of the four cannon removed to free up internal space. Cheaper to build and operate than the Phantom, hence its continued role in a US military whose rebuilding process is being carried out in a world that is still terminally strapped for cash.

You can see the rest of the stuff in this AU here: The October War, 27-10-1962

Description
The process of post-October War rebuilding meant that not even the USA could afford the ludicrous amount of money needed to build new weapons to replace both war losses and the post-War cutbacks, never mind both of these combined with the rebuilding of devastated cities and farmland that had been put off for so long. Consequently, there was a need for cheaper fighters to operate alongside the big, expensive Phantom.
For the US Navy and Marine Corps, the existing F-8 Crusader provided the starting point. Ling-Temco-Vought produced the F-8F proposal, which was rapidly accepted. This would be a mix of new builds and the thorough rebuild of the F-8E.

Compared to the F-8E, the F-8F featured significantly increased wing lift due to greater slat and flap deflection and the addition of a boundary layer control system, enlarged stabilators, AN/APQ-104 radar (an upgraded version of F-8E's AN/APQ-94) and the replacement of the J57 with a J79-GE-12 turbojet. The new engine produced 11,870 lbf (52.8 kN) thrust dry and 18,750 lbf (83.40 kN) with afterburner, keeping the same level of performance even with the increased weight. To make room for additional avionics, two of the four 20mm Colt Mk.4 cannon were deleted.
Vought would also produce a dedicated conversion trainer, the TF-8F. Unlike the prototype TF-8A, the converted F-8E fuselage was the same length as the single-seater and was fully combat-capable.
The F-8F became known in service as the Crusader II. This was a formal adoption of an unofficial designation Vought had previously used for the F8U-2, the old designation of the F-8C. While Vought had referred to the F8U-2 as Crusader II and the prototype XF8U-3 as Crusader III, the US Navy had never used such names and adopted the Crusader II moniker for the F-8F.

* * *

This is basically a J79-powered version of the F-8E(FN), only with two of the four cannon removed to free up internal space. Cheaper to build and operate than the Phantom, hence its continued role in a US military whose rebuilding process is being carried out in a world that is still terminally strapped for cash.

You can see the rest of the stuff in this AU here: The October War, 27-10-1962