Convair F-106 Delta Dart

The Convair F-106 Delta Dart was an all-weather interceptor, the last specialist interceptor flown by the United States Air Force to date. It began as the F-102B, a development of the F-102 Delta Dagger, and was redesignated before it flew. Changes included the more powerful Pratt and Whitney J75 turbojet, redesigned air inlets with a variable-geometry duct, a longer fuselage and a slightly larger wing. It carried its AIM-4 Falcon missiles in an internal bay and had no gun. The first prototype flew on 26 December 1956, and results fell short of Convair estimates, so the Air Force ordered 350 of a planned 1,000. It became operational in June 1959, never saw combat and was never exported. Withdrawn through the 1980s, many were converted into QF-106 target drones, and NASA flew a few for research.