Aerfer Ariete

The Aerfer Ariete (Italian for Ram or Aries) was a prototype fighter aircraft built in Italy in 1958. It was a refined derivative of the Aerfer Sagittario 2, and was an attempt to bring that aircraft up to a standard where it could be mass-produced as a viable combat aircraft.

Retaining most of the Sagittario 2's layout with a nose intake and ventral exhaust for the main Derwent engine, the Ariete added a Rolls-Royce Soar RS.2 auxiliary turbojet engine to provide additional power for climbing and sprinting. This used a dorsal, retractable intake with its exhaust at the tail.

No production ensued; a proposed version with a de Havilland Spectre rocket engine instead of the auxiliary turbojet, the Aerfer Leone (Lion or Leo), was abandoned before a prototype could be built.

Operators

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• Italian Air Force operated two aircraft for evaluation test<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Bibliography

• Buttler, Tony. X-Planes of Europe II: Military Prototype Aircraft from the Golden Age 1946–1974. Manchester, UK: Hikoki Publications, 2015. Template:ISBN
• Swanborough, Gordon. Air Enthusiast, Volume One. London: Pilot Press, 1971. Template:ISBN.