The Convair Model 200 was designed in 1973 as a single-jet fighter, that could be built in both
vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) (model 200A) and
conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) configurations (Model 201A). For the CTOL, the single
Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-26A with tail hook, canard with flap, and CTOL tail cone. For the VTOL operations, the single Pratt & Whitney JTF22A-30A with a jet exhaust pipe tiltable by 90 degrees using a three-bearing swivel nozzle, and two additional lifting engines with 46.7 kN thrust each were provided behind the cockpit. The lifting engines and the swiveling nozzles were eliminated in the CTOL versions. The top speed was Mach 2. The wingspan was ; the length was . The Model 200 had a cruise engine, a swept tail, two ventral fins under the fuselage, delta wings and delta canards directly behind the rectangular air intakes. The Model 200 was proposed in a US Navy competition for a small VTOL fighter that could be carried by the
Sea Control Ship, the small aircraft carriers that the US Navy was planning at the time. Neither the Model 200 nor the SCS were built. However, a competitor of the Model 200, the
Rockwell XFV-12 fighter aircraft, was built. The XFV-12, which could not demonstrate vertical flight, was far from meeting expectations, and the project was canceled before the second XFV-12 was completed. Various models for wind tunnel tests were built for the Convair Model 200, as well as a model for researching the air currents during vertical takeoff and landing. Furthermore, a 1:1 front fuselage model including a complete cockpit layout was built. The JTF22A-30A's swivel nozzle design would lay the groundwork for nozzle design of the
F135-PW-600 on the
Lockheed Martin F-35B. ==Variants==