Convair F-106 Delta Dart

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart began its production life as a direct successor to the interim F-102 Delta Dagger (detailed elsewhere on this site). Like the F-102 before it, the F-106 was designed to meet and "greet" high-flying supersonic enemy bombers and fighters at speeds in excess of Mach 2.0.

The F-106 system was built around the highly-advanced Hughes-produced MA-1 fire control system that allowed the pilot to concentrate more on piloting the aircraft and making fewer adjustments to the targeting and tracking system than ever before. The computer systems were of the early "smart" varieties designed to assist the pilot in use of his weapons systems.

The F-106 retained many design elements of the F-102 including a small internal bomb bay. Nuclear capability with twin Genie nuclear-tipped missiles was a standard design initiative. An internal 20mm cannon would not be fitted to the system until 1973, when it was found throughout engagements in the Vietnam conflict that close-range fighting was still to be a part of an aircrafts forte.

The F-106 Delta Dagger was seen as a sort of "ultimate interceptor". The need for the F-102 arose when initial powerplant performance and avionics assessment of pre-production F-106 fighters was found to be less than acceptable by the United States Air Force. Thusly the F-102 would have to hold its own until the long development of the F-106 would produce some very expensive but much-needed fruit.

Initial orders of the F-106 were was high as 1,000 aircraft but this total was later trimmed due to rising costs and complexity in the overall order and production of the Delta Dagger. Even with the low overall production numbers, the system would go on to see service for the next twenty years since reaching full operational service. Modernization programs would extend the life of the machine that many pilots reportedly enjoyed to fly. It was a stable and easy-handle-aircraft with a solid service record when compared to most aircraft designed during this time. Though the F-102 would go on to become a well-accepted aircraft in its own right, the F-106 would supercede it in most respects - as planned.

In the end, F-106 Delta Darts were relegated to limited Air National Guard use and ultimately removed from service in the 1980's, making way for the next generation of frontline fighters in the form of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-15 Eagle. The longevity of the system throughout the Cold War made the F-106 Delta Dart a success by the time the kinks had been worked out of the complex subsystems.

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Last Revision: 9/8/2009