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In March 1951 Grumman started development of an F9F Panther variant with swept flying surfaces including a wing with leading edge slats and spoilers instead of ailerons. The XF9F-6 first flew in September of the same year, and soon revealed overall superiority to the Panther, to emphasize its difference from the basic Panther, the name Cougar was allocated. The F9F-6 entered service in November, 1952 with the 6,250 lb. thrust J48-P6A turbojet, and 646 were built. There were also several role optimized models, and in 1962 surviving aircraft were redesigned in the F-9 series. Some two seats were used operationally in the beginning of the Vietnam War, and the last Cougar were retired in the early 1`970s

Description	Specifications
Manufacturer: Grumman	Length: 41 ft. 9 in.
First Flight: September, 1951	Height: 12 ft. 3 in.
Model: 8	Wing Span: 34 ft. 6 in.
Crew: One	Wing Area: 337.0 sq. ft.
Nickname: Cougar	Empty Weight: 11,866 lb.
Basic Role: Carrierborne fighter	Max. Weight: 24,763 lb.
Other Versions: F9f-6 First swept wing model, later redesign F9F. F9F-7 different engine, later F-9H. F9F-8 revised wing and fuselage, later f-9J. F9F-8B conversions for close support, later AF-9J. F9F-8P photo reconnaissance aircraft, later RF-9J. F9F-9T trainers with a longer forward fuselage, later TF-9J	Armament: Four 20-mm cannon, and up to 2,000 lb. of disposable stores.
Principal User: USA	Propulsion
Performance	Power Plant: Pratt & Whitney J48-P-8A turbojet
Range: 600 miles.	Horsepower: 7,250 hp thrust.
Max. 647 mph.	No. Of Engines: One
Ceiling: 50,000 ft.
Climb Rate: 40,000 ft. in 8 min. 30 sec.