In the UK, as early as 1971, work commenced on the development of a maneuverable, tactical aircraft to replace the
SEPECAT Jaguar (that was then about to enter service with the RAF). This work soon expanded to include an
air superiority capability. A specification titled
Air Staff Target 403 (AST 403), in 1972, led to the
Hawker P.96, an unbuilt design with a relatively conventional
planform, including a separate tail structure, in the late 1970s.
Simultaneously, in
West Germany, the requirement for a new fighter had resulted in competition between
Dornier,
VFW-Fokker and
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) for a future
Luftwaffe contract known as
Taktisches Kampfflugzeug 90 ("Tactical Combat Aircraft 90"; TKF-90).
[8] Dornier collaborated with Northrop in the US on an acclaimed but unsuccessful design known as the
Northrop-Dornier ND-102 [
de]. MBB was successful, with a design including a
cranked delta wing, close-coupled-
canard controls, and artificial stability.