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96-679: The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger is an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair . A member of the Century Series , the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). The F-102 was designed in response to a requirement, known as the 1954 Ultimate Interceptor , produced by USAF officials during

192-569: A boxcar . Similarly, their pilots were given less training in combat maneuvers, and more in radio-directed pursuit. The Soviets' main interceptor was initially the Su-9 , which was followed by the Su-15 and the MiG-25 "Foxbat". The auxiliary Tu-128 , an area range interceptor, was notably the heaviest fighter aircraft ever to see service in the world. The latest and most advanced interceptor aircraft in

288-422: A request for information (RFI), where a customer needs more information from vendors before submitting an RFP. An RFI is typically followed by an RFP or RFQ. When an RFP is made after negotiations with prospective contractors, the submitted tender is known as a BAFO (best and final offer). A request for proposal requires the bidder to produce an original business proposal based on the buyer's needs. Depending on

384-475: A Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) project known as Pave Deuce . Eventually, the program converted hundreds of F-102s for use as target drones for newer fighter aircraft, as well as testing of the U.S. Army's Patriot missile system. The F-102 and TF-102 were exported overseas to both Turkey and Greece. The Turkish F-102s saw combat missions during the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus . There have been claims of air combat between Greek F-5s and Turkish F-102s above

480-589: A board at the U.S. Department of Defense headed by Major General Gordon P. Saville reviewed the proposals, and distributed some to the George E. Valley -led Air Defense Engineering Committee. Following recommendations by the committee to the Saville Board, the proposals were further reduced to two competitors, Hughes Aircraft and North American Aviation . Although the Valley Committee thought it

576-485: A brief period of time they fared rapid development in both speed, range, and altitude. At the end of the 1960s, a nuclear attack became unstoppable with the introduction of ballistic missiles capable of approaching from outside the atmosphere at speeds as high as 3 to 4 miles per second (5 to 7 km/s). The doctrine of mutually assured destruction replaced the trend of defense strengthening, making interceptors less strategically logical. The utility of interceptors waned as

672-462: A chosen aspect of performance. A "point defense interceptor" is of a lightweight design, intended to spend most of its time on the ground located at the defended target, and able to launch on demand, climb to altitude, manoeuvre and then attack the bomber in a very short time, before the bomber can deploy its weapons. At the end of Second World War, the Luftwaffe ' s most critical requirement

768-459: A command centre in the Horse Guards building. The Pup proved to have too low performance to easily intercept Gotha G.IV bombers, and the superior Sopwith Camels supplanted them. The term "interceptor" was in use by 1929. Through the 1930s, bomber aircraft speeds increased so much that conventional interceptor tactics appeared impossible. Visual and acoustic detection from the ground had

864-470: A credible threat in that time period. The F-102s were sent to Thailand and other nearby countries to intercept these aircraft if they threatened South Vietnam. Later on, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strikes, codenamed "Arc Light" , were escorted by F-102s based in the theater. It was during one of these missions that an F-102 was shot down by a VPAF Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 using an AA-2 Atoll heat-seeking missile . The MiGs approached undetected, and one of

960-551: A final selection decision is based. Federal government requests for final proposal revisions must advise offerors that the final proposal revisions shall be in writing and that the Government intends to make award without obtaining further revisions. The term "request for proposals" is sometimes used in relation to government procurement in the United Kingdom , for example a request for proposals to raise and manage

1056-740: A licensed derivative of the Bristol-Siddeley Olympus which was still in development, and the MA-1 (formerly MX-1179 ) FCS; to address the latter, decision makers opted to order an interim aircraft with the J40 and a simpler FCS (initially referred to as E-9 ) into production as the F-102A . The failure of the J40 led to the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet with afterburner, rated with 10,000 pounds-force (44 kN) of thrust, being substituted for

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1152-472: A much larger area from attack, depending on greater detection capabilities, both in the aircraft themselves and operating with AWACS, rather than high speed to reach targets. The exemplar of this concept was the Tupolev Tu-28 . The later Panavia Tornado ADV was able to achieve long range in a smaller airframe through the use of more efficient engines. Rather than focusing on acceleration and climb rate,

1248-694: A pair of proposals for interceptor aircraft, the first such designation in the US. One proposal was for a single-engine fighter, the other for a twin-engine. Both were required to reach an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 m) in six minutes as a defense against bomber attack. Kelsey said later that he used the interceptor designation to sidestep a hard USAAC policy restricting fighters to 500 pounds (230 kg) of armament. He wished for at least 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of armament so that American fighters could dominate their battles against all opponents, fighters included. The two aircraft resulting from these proposals were

1344-510: A range of only a few miles, which meant that an interceptor would have insufficient time to climb to altitude before the bombers reached their targets. Standing combat air patrols were possible but only at great cost. The conclusion at the time was that " the bomber will always get through ". The invention of radar made possible early, long-range detection of aircraft on the order of 100 miles (160 km), both day and night and in all weather. A typical bomber might take twenty minutes to cross

1440-422: A service or product from potential suppliers. It is usually part of a complex sales process, and made through a bidding process. Unlike invitations to tender , which award contracts based upon the price and quality of the tender, RFPs allow suppliers more flexibility in proposing an original service or product in alignment with a company's needs. Similar requests include a request for quotation (RFQ) and

1536-686: A single AIM-26 Super Falcon in each side bay in lieu of the two conventional AIM-4 Falcons. Operations with both the F-102A and TF-102A two-seaters (which were used in a Forward Air Control role because its two seats and 2.75 in/70 mm rockets offered good versatility for the mission) continued in Vietnam until 1968 when all F-102s were returned to the United States. During 1973, six aircraft were converted to target drones as QF-102As and later PQM-102Bs (simulating MiG-21 threat aircraft) under

1632-442: A small pre-production batch of aircraft would be completed, the aim being to eliminate the need for a lengthy prototype program, instead incorporating any changes required into the production line. However, if substantial modifications were necessary, re-tooling would then become necessary as well. In December 1951, in order to accelerate the aircraft's development, it was proposed to equip the prototypes and pre-production aircraft with

1728-556: A step and roughly doubled operational altitudes. Although radars also improved in performance, the gap between offense and defense was dramatically reduced. Large attacks could so confuse the defense's ability to communicate with pilots that the classic method of manual ground controlled interception was increasingly seen as inadequate. In the United States, this led to the introduction of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment to computerize this task, while in

1824-525: A taller vertical tail with a 40 percent greater surface area was fitted to counteract flutter and a lack of directional control at high speeds; existing aircraft were also retrofitted with this change. The production F-102A had the Hughes MC-3 FCS, which was later upgraded in service to the MG-10; it was used to locate enemy targets, steer interception courses, and control weapons deployment. The F-102

1920-459: A total of 24 "FFAR", with initially 2 in (51 mm) being fitted and later 2.75 in (70 mm) replacing them. The F-102 was later upgraded to allow the carrying of up to two GAR-11/AIM-26 Nuclear Falcon missiles in the center bay. The larger size of this weapon required redesigned center bay doors with no rocket tubes. Plans were considered to fit the MB-1 Genie nuclear rocket to

2016-453: A very high fuel consumption. This led fighter prototypes emphasizing acceleration and operational ceiling, with a sacrifice on the loiter time, essentially limiting them to point defense role. Such were the mixed jet/rocket power Republic XF-91 or Saunders Roe SR.53 . The Soviet and Western trials with zero-length launch were also related. None of these found practical use. Designs that depended solely on jet engines achieved more success with

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2112-446: Is that interceptors often look very impressive on paper, typically outrunning, outclimbing and outgunning slower fighter designs. However, pure interceptors fare poorly in fighter-to-fighter combat against the same "less capable" designs due to limited maneuverability especially at low altitudes and speeds. In the spectrum of various interceptors, one design approach especially shows sacrifices necessary to achieve decisive benefit in

2208-579: The Aegean Sea during the Turkish invasion. A Greek internet website editor, Demetrius Stergiou, claims that the Greek F-5s had shot down two Turkish F-102s, while the Turkish side has claimed that their F-102s had shot down two Greek F-5s; however, both Greece and Turkey still officially deny any aircraft losses. The F-102 was finally retired from both of those air forces in 1979. In 1976, the F-102

2304-645: The Convair F-106 Delta Dart , Sukhoi Su-15 , and English Electric Lightning . Through the 1960s and 1970s, the rapid improvements in design led to most air-superiority and multirole fighters , such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle , having the performance to take on the point defense interception role, and the strategic threat moved from bombers to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Dedicated interceptor designs became increasingly rare, with

2400-601: The F-104 Starfighter (initial A version) and the English Electric Lightning . The role of crewed point defense designs was reassigned to uncrewed interceptors— surface-to-air missiles (SAMs)—which first reached an adequate level in 1954–1957. SAM advancements ended the concept of massed high-altitude bomber operations, in favor of penetrators (and later cruise missiles ) flying a combination of techniques colloquially known as "flying below

2496-627: The F-86D and F-89 Scorpion . In the late 1940s ADC started a project to build a much more advanced interceptor under the 1954 interceptor effort, which eventually delivered the F-106 Delta Dart after a lengthy development process. Further replacements were studied, notably the NR-349 proposal during the 1960s, but came to nothing as the USSR strengthened their strategic force with ICBMs. Hence,

2592-554: The Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet , which was the only rocket-powered, crewed military aircraft to see combat. To a lesser degree, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 , which had heavy armament specifically intended for anti-bomber missions, was also a specialized day interceptor. Night fighters and bomber destroyers are interceptors of the heavy type, although initially they were rarely referred to as such. In

2688-465: The United States Air Force (USAF) issued recommendations that the service organize a competition for a new interceptor scheduled to enter service in 1954; as such, the all-new design would initially be dubbed the "1954 Ultimate Interceptor". Four months later, on 4 February 1949, the USAF approved the recommendation and prepared to hold a corresponding competition during the following year. In November 1949,

2784-509: The Vietnam War as a bomber escort and even in the ground-attack role. The aircraft was supplemented by McDonnell F-101 Voodoos and, later on, by McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs . Over time, many F-102s were retrofitted with infrared search/tracking systems , radar warning receivers , transponders, backup artificial horizons , and modified fire-control systems. Throughout the mid-to-late 1960s, many USAF F-102s were transferred from

2880-408: The "Tub" because of its wider fuselage to accommodate its side-by-side twin seating arrangement. During the decades in which the F-102A was in service, several new wing designs were used to experiment with the application of increased conical camber to the wings. Ultimately, a design was selected that actually increased elevon area, reduced takeoff speed, improved the supersonic L/D ratio and increased

2976-477: The 1950s (and used with the American Cessna T-37 , British Hawker Hunter T.7 and English Electric Lightning T.4, among others), would require a redesign of the cockpit and a nose almost as wide as that of a Convair 340 commercial airliner. Development was put on hold despite being authorized on 16 April 1953 until issues with the fighter model were sufficiently addressed; the first firm order for

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger - Misplaced Pages Continue

3072-566: The 1954 deadline for service entry, thus was disqualified, making Convair the de facto winner. The development of three different designs has been considered to be too expensive to proceed with, thus only Convair was permitted to do so in November 1951. From an early stage, USAF officials had decided to use the Cook-Craigie Plan for the aircraft's manufacturing; under this concept, production tooling and facilities would be created while

3168-618: The B-58 Hustler bomber for the Strategic Air Command (SAC). The type continued to serve in large numbers with both Air Force and Air National Guard units well into the 1970s. George W. Bush , later President of the United States , flew the F-102 in the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group based at Ellington AFB in Houston, Texas as part of his Texas Air National Guard service from 1968 to 1972. The F-102 served in

3264-524: The F-102s was hit by an air-to-air missile, which did not explode immediately, but remained lodged in the aft end of the aircraft, causing stability problems. As the pilot reported the problem to his wingman, the wingman observed the damaged Delta Dagger explode in midair, killing the pilot. This was the only air-to-air loss for the F-102 during the Vietnam War. The other F-102 pilot fired AIM-4 missiles at

3360-476: The F-106 ended up serving as the primary USAF interceptor into the 1980s. As the F-106 was retired, intercept missions were assigned to the contemporary F-15 and F-16 fighters, among their other roles. The F-16, however, was originally designed for air superiority while evolving into a versatile multirole fighter. The F-15, with its Mach 2.5 maximum speed enabling it to intercept the fastest enemy aircraft (namely

3456-615: The Greek air force until 1977, when the F-102s were replaced by Mirage F1CG fighters. Turkish Air Force Beginning in 1968, approximately 50 F-102As and TF-102As were transferred to Turkey from USAF stocks. Before transfer to Turkey, they were overhauled by CASA in Seville. They were initially assigned to the 191st Filo (Squadron) based at Murted, replacing the F-84F Thunderstreaks previously assigned to this unit. This unit

3552-750: The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom as its primary interceptor from the mid-1970s, with the air defence variant (ADV) of the Panavia Tornado being introduced in the 1980s. The Tornado was eventually replaced with a multirole design, the Eurofighter Typhoon . The Shenyang J-8 is a high-speed, high-altitude Chinese-built single-seat interceptor. Initially designed in the early 1960s to counter US-built B-58 Hustler bombers, F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers and Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance planes, it still retains

3648-669: The MiG-25 Foxbat), is also not a pure interceptor as it has exceptional agility for dogfighting based upon the lessons learned from Vietnam; the F-15E Strike Eagle variant adds air interdiction while retaining the interception and air-to-air combat of other F-15s. Presently, the F-22 is the USA's latest combat aircraft that serves in part as an interceptor due to its Mach 2+ speed as well as supercruise capabilities, however it

3744-761: The RFP document's specification, a bidder may be required to decide upon project expectations, timetable, product design, and vendors. Other requested information may include basic corporate information and history, technical capability, product information. In United States government procurement , Federal Acquisition Regulation 15.203 covers requests for proposals, stating Requests for proposals (RFPs) are used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate Government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals. The FAR allows for evaluation of proposals, further discussions with bidders and invitation for submission of written final proposal revisions (FPRs), upon which

3840-673: The Soviet (now Russian) inventory is the MiG-31 "Foxhound". Improving on some of the flaws on the proceeding MiG-25, the MiG-31 has better low altitude and low speed performance, in addition to carrying an internal cannon. Russia, despite merging the PVO into the VVS, continues to maintain its dedicated MiG-31 interceptor fleet. In 1937, USAAC lieutenants Gordon P. Saville and Benjamin S. Kelsey devised

3936-534: The TF-102A was issued in July 1954, and a maiden flight made on 8 November 1955. The new nose introduced buffeting, the source of which was traced to the bulbous canopy. Vortex generators were added to the top of the canopy to prevent the buffet which had started at about Mach 0.72. The intake ducts were revised as the inlets were repositioned. Despite the many changes, the aircraft was combat-capable, although this variant

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger - Misplaced Pages Continue

4032-462: The UK it led to enormously powerful radars to improve detection time. The introduction of the first useful surface to air missiles in the 1950s obviated the need for fast reaction time interceptors as the missile could launch almost instantly. Air forces increasingly turned to much larger interceptor designs, with enough fuel for longer endurance, leaving the point-defense role to the missiles. This led to

4128-472: The USAF decided that the new aircraft would be built around a fire-control system (FCS). The FCS was to be designed before the airframe to ensure compatibility. The airframe and FCS together were called the weapon system. In January 1950, the USAF's Air Materiel Command issued request for proposals (RFPs) to 50 companies for the FCS, of which 18 responded. By May, the list was revised downward to 10. Meanwhile,

4224-544: The USAF's northernmost base, which permitted the interception of Soviet aircraft at a greater distance from the continental United States. Other overseas units, such as the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) and the 57th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron , based at Keflavik , Iceland , would similarly adopt the type and as such used the F-102 in the interceptor role through into the early 1970s until it

4320-570: The Vietnam War, flying fighter patrols and serving as bomber escorts. A total of 14 aircraft were lost in Vietnam: one to air-to-air combat, several to ground fire and the remainder to accidents. Initially, F-102 detachments began to be sent to bases in Southeast Asia in 1962 after radar contacts detected by ground radars were thought to possibly be North Vietnamese Vietnam People's Air Force (VPAF) Il-28 "Beagle" bombers – considered to be

4416-599: The abandonment of a number of short-range designs like the Avro Arrow and Convair F-102 in favor of much larger and longer-ranged designs like the North American F-108 and MiG-25 . In the 1950s and 1960’s during the Cold War , a strong interceptor force was crucial for the opposing superpowers as it was the best means to defend against an unexpected nuclear attack by strategic bombers . Hence, for

4512-470: The ability to 'sprint' at Mach 2+ speeds, and later versions can carry medium-range PL-12/SD-10 MRAAM missiles for interception purposes. The PLAAF/PLANAF currently still operates approximately 300 or so J-8s of various configurations. Several other countries also introduced interceptor designs, although in the 1950s–1960s several planned interceptors never came to fruition, with the expectation that missiles would replace bombers. The Argentine FMA I.Ae. 37

4608-547: The active duty Air Force to the Air National Guard , and, with the exception of those examples converted to unmanned QF-102 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) drones, the type was totally retired from operational service in 1976. Its principal successor in the interceptor role was the Mach 2-capable Convair F-106 Delta Dart , which was an extensive redesign of the F-102. On 8 October 1948, the board of senior officers of

4704-458: The aircraft themselves. They were first to introduce all-weather avionics , assuring successful operations during night, rain, snow, or fog. Countries that were strategically dependent on surface fleet, most notably US and UK, maintained also fleet defense fighters , such as the F-14 Tomcat . During the Cold War , an entire military service, not just an arm of the pre-existing air force,

4800-669: The aircraft's ceiling to 56,000 ft (17,069 m). A modification was required to the landing gear doors due to the wing redesign. By 1960, the Air Defense Command (ADC) had F-102 Delta Daggers in service. Throughout the 1960s, a considerable number of the ADC's TF-102s and F-102s were stationed at Perrin AFB , Texas, for the purpose of training new F-102 pilots. They also provided platform training on flight characteristics of delta-winged aircraft for pilots who were destined to fly

4896-697: The bombing raids. Rocket-boosted variants of both of Germany's jet fighters; the Me 262 in its "C" subtype series, all nicknamed "home protector" ( Heimatschützer , in four differing formats) and the planned He 162 E subtype, using one of the same BMW 003R turbojet/rocket "mixed-power" engine as the Me 262C-2b Heimatschützer II , but were never produced in quantity. In the initial stage of Cold War , bombers were expected to attack flying higher and faster, even at transonic speeds. Initial transonic and supersonic fighters had modest internal fuel tanks in their slim fuselages, but

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4992-631: The defending fighters. The Me 163 required an airbase, however, which were soon under constant attack. Following the Emergency Fighter Program , the Germans developed even odder designs, such as the Bachem Ba 349 Natter , which launched vertically and thus eliminated the need for an airbase. In general all these initial German designs proved difficult to operate, often becoming death traps for their pilots, and had little effect on

5088-436: The departing MiG-21s, but no hit was recorded. The F-102 was occasionally employed in the air-to-ground role with limited success, although neither the aircraft nor the training for its pilots were designed for that role. The 509th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron 's (FIS) Deuces arrived at Da Nang Air Base from Clark Air Base , Philippines, on 4 August 1964. The interceptor was equipped with 24 2.75 in (70 mm) FFARs in

5184-458: The design emphasis is on range and missile carrying capacity, which together translate into combat endurance, look-down/shoot-down radars good enough to detect and track fast moving interdictors against ground clutter , and the capability to provide guidance to air-to-air missiles (AAM) against these targets. High speed and acceleration was put into long-range and medium-range AAMs, and agility into short range dog fighting AAMs, rather than into

5280-583: The design, but although a Genie was test fired from a YF-102A in May 1956, it was never adopted. The F-102 received several major modifications during its operational lifetime, with most airframes being retrofitted with infra-red search and tracking systems, radar warning receivers , transponders, backup artificial horizons , and improvements to the fire control system . A proposed close-support version (never built) would have incorporated an internal Gatling gun , and an extra two hardpoints for bombs, supplementing

5376-464: The detection zone of early radar systems, time enough for interceptor fighters to start up, climb to altitude and engage the bombers. Ground controlled interception required constant contact between the interceptor and the ground until the bombers became visible to the pilots and nationwide networks like the Dowding system were built in the late 1930s to coordinate these efforts. During World War II

5472-540: The early Cold War era the combination of jet -powered bombers and nuclear weapons created air force demand for highly capable interceptors; it is in regards to this period that the term is perhaps most recognized and used. Cold War-era interceptors became increasingly distinct from their air superiority counterparts, with the former often sacrificing range, endurance, and maneuverability for speed, rate of climb , and armament dedicated to attacking large strategic bombers . Examples of classic interceptors of this era include

5568-405: The effectiveness of interceptor aircraft meant that bombers often needed to be escorted by long range fighter aircraft. Many aircraft were able to be fitted with Aircraft interception radar , further facilitating the interception of enemy aircraft. The introduction of jet power increased flight speeds from around 300 miles per hour (500 km/h) to around 600 miles per hour (1,000 km/h) in

5664-475: The event of a war between the Soviet Union and NATO. With the advent of low flying cruise-missiles and high-altitude AA-missiles the flight profile was changed, but regained the interceptor profile with the final version J 35J. Request for proposal A request for proposal ( RFP ) is a form of reverse auction that solicits a business proposal by an organisation interested in the procurement of

5760-407: The external fuel lines were detached. However, keeping QRA aircraft at this state of readiness was physically and mentally draining to the pilots and was expensive in terms of fuel. As an alternative, longer-range designs with extended loiter times were considered. These area defense interceptors or area defense fighters were in general larger designs intended to stay on lengthy patrol and protect

5856-429: The first time. The revised design quickly demonstrated that it could attain a speed of Mach 1.22 and a ceiling of 53,000 ft (16,154 m). These performance improvements were sufficient for the USAF to agree to procure the F-102; accordingly, a new production contract was signed during March 1954. On 24 June 1955, the first flight of a production standard F-102 occurred. From the 26th production aircraft onwards,

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5952-466: The fuselage bay doors; these could be used to good effect against various types of North Vietnamese targets in daylight. At night, it proved less dangerous to use heat-seeking Falcon missiles in conjunction with the F-102's nose-mounted IRST (Infrared Search & Track), thus it often performed nighttime harassment raids along the Ho Chi Minh Trail . Some F-102As were configured to accommodate

6048-481: The fuselage by 11 ft (3.35 m), being "pinched" at the midsection (dubbed the " Coke Bottle configuration"), with two large fairings on either side of the engine nozzle, with revised intakes and a new, narrower canopy. A more powerful model of the J57 was installed while the aircraft structure was also lightened. In parallel to this effort, the wing was also redesigned to be both thinner and wider. The leading edge

6144-653: The interceptor role until it received upgrades in the 1990s for ground attack. Both the fighter and the Phoenix missile were retired in 2006. The British Royal Air Force operated a supersonic day fighter, the English Electric Lightning , alongside the Gloster Javelin in the subsonic night/all-weather role . Efforts to replace the Javelin with a supersonic design under Operational Requirement F.155 came to naught. The UK operated its own, highly adapted version of

6240-598: The interceptor role. Day interceptors have been used in a defensive role since World War I , and are perhaps best known from major actions like the Battle of Britain , when the Supermarine Spitfire and Hawker Hurricane were part of a successful defensive strategy. However, dramatic improvements in both ground-based and airborne radar gave greater flexibility to existing fighters and few later designs were conceived as dedicated day interceptors. Exceptions include

6336-407: The interceptor role. The F-102C tactical attack model, equipped with several improvements, including a more powerful engine and Gatling gun, was proposed but not ultimately pursued. A total of 1,000 F-102s were built, both for the USAF and a handful of export customers, including the Hellenic Air Force and the Turkish Air Force . By the 1960s, USAF F-102s had participated in a limited capacity in

6432-453: The late 1940s. Its main purpose was to be the backbone of American air defences and to intercept approaching Soviet strategic bomber fleets (primarily the Tupolev Tu-95 ) during the Cold War . The aircraft was designed alongside a sophisticated fire-control system (FCS); however, a simplified unit had to be adopted due to development difficulties. It used an internal weapons bay to carry both guided missiles and rockets. On 23 October 1953,

6528-415: The less-powerful Westinghouse J40 turbojet . During early 1953, by which point construction of the first aircraft had reached an advanced stage, it had become clear that there were serious design challenges present, including wind tunnel testing that revealed early performance projections to have been overly optimistic. Furthermore, there had been sustained delays to both the Curtiss-Wright J67 engine,

6624-479: The only widely used examples designed after the 1960s being the Panavia Tornado ADV , Mikoyan MiG-25 , Mikoyan MiG-31 , and the Shenyang J-8 . The first interceptor squadrons were formed during World War I to defend London against attacks by Zeppelins and later against fixed-wing long-range bombers . Early units generally used aircraft withdrawn from front-line service, notably the Sopwith Pup . They were told about their target's location before take-off from

6720-436: The overall mission time, there were few ways to reduce this. During the Cold War in times of heightened tensions, quick reaction alert (QRA) aircraft were kept piloted, fully fueled and armed, with the engines running at idle on the runway ready to take off. The aircraft being kept topped up with fuel via hoses from underground fuel tanks. If a possible intruder was identified, the aircraft would be ready to take off as soon as

6816-419: The prototype YF-102 performed its maiden flight ; however, it was destroyed in an accident only nine days later. The second prototype allowed flight testing to resume three months later, but results were disappointing: as originally designed, the aircraft could not achieve Mach  1 supersonic flight . To improve its performance prior to quantity production commencing, the F-102 was redesigned, its fuselage

6912-537: The prototypes and F-102As. This aircraft was intended to be temporary, pending the development of the more advanced F-102B, which would employ the more advanced J67. The F-102B would later evolve to become the F-106A, dubbed the "Ultimate Interceptor". On 23 October 1953, the YF-102 prototype conducted its first flight from Edwards Air Force Base , piloted by Convair's chief test pilot Richard L. Johnson. Its flying career

7008-567: The radar". By flying terrain masking low-altitude nap-of-the-earth flight profiles the effective range, and therefore reaction time, of ground-based radar was limited to at best the radar horizon . In the case of ground radar systems this can be countered by placing radar systems on mountain tops to extend the radar horizon, or through placing high performance radars in interceptors or in AWACS aircraft used to direct point defense interceptors. As capabilities continued to improve – especially through

7104-515: The redesign having occurred at such an advanced stage of development. Yet, the overall changes made were so substantial that two-thirds of the roughly 30,000 tools created to manufacture the YF-102 were scrapped or modified before quantity production had even commenced. On 20 December 1954, the first revised aircraft, designated YF-102A , made its first flight only 118 days after work on the redesign had started. The next day, it exceeded Mach 1 for

7200-408: The requirements. During mid 1953, Convair concluded that it needed to take action to address the F-102's shortcomings to prevent its cancellation, and promptly embarked on a major redesign effort. It was decided to incorporate the recently discovered area rule , the application of which simultaneously simplified both production and maintenance of the aircraft. This redesign entailed the lengthening of

7296-404: The role merged with that of the heavy air superiority fighter . The interceptor mission is, by its nature, a difficult one. Consider the desire to protect a single target from attack by long-range bombers. The bombers have the advantage of being able to select the parameters of the mission – attack vector, speed and altitude. This results in an enormous area from which the attack can originate. In

7392-436: The single-engine Bell P-39 Airacobra and the twin-engine Lockheed P-38 Lightning . Both aircraft were successful during World War II in standard fighter roles, not specifically assigned to point defense against bombers. From 1946 to 1980 the United States maintained a dedicated Aerospace Defense Command , consisting primarily of dedicated interceptors. Many post-war designs were of limited performance, including designs like

7488-399: The three designs would be competitively reviewed, the best of which would lead to the awarding of a single production contract under the name Project MX-1554 . Prior to this requirement, Convair had performed considerable early research into delta-winged aircraft and had experimented with various different designs, two of which fell under the name P-92 . For the era, Convair's submitted design

7584-486: The time it takes for the bombers to cross the distance from first detection to being on their targets, the interceptor must be able to start, take off, climb to altitude, maneuver for attack and then attack the bomber. A dedicated interceptor aircraft sacrifices the capabilities of the air superiority fighter and multirole fighter (i.e., countering enemy fighter aircraft in air combat manoeuvring ), by tuning its performance for either fast climbs or high speeds. The result

7680-463: The two underwing pylons all production F-102s were fitted with for drop tanks (the use of which reduced the craft to subsonic performance). To alleviate this, bigger internal fuel tanks and an in-flight-refueling probe were fitted. In response to a USAF request for a specialized twin-seat trainer, Convair begun development of the TF-102A in April 1952. The side-by-side seating design, popularized in

7776-420: The widespread introduction of the jet engine and the adoption of high speed, low level flight profiles, the time available between detection and interception dropped. Most advanced point defence interceptors combined with long-range radars were struggling to keep the reaction time down enough to be effective. Fixed times, like the time needed for the pilot to climb into the cockpit, became an increasing portion of

7872-472: Was a prototype jet fighter developed during the 1950s. It never flew and was cancelled in 1960. The Canadian subsonic Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck served in numbers through 1950s. Its supersonic replacement, the CF-105 Arrow ("Avro Arrow"), was controversially cancelled in 1959. The Swedish Saab 35 Draken was specifically designed for intercepting aircraft passing Swedish airspace at high altitudes in

7968-417: Was best to award the contract to both companies, Hughes was chosen by Saville and his team on 2 October 1950. In June 1950, the requirement for the airframe was formally issued; during January 1951, six aircraft manufacturers submitted nine responses. On 2 July 1954, three of the responding companies, Convair, Republic , and Lockheed , were authorised to proceed with the building of a mockup. Upon completion,

8064-544: Was designated for deployment of interceptors. The aircraft of the Soviet Air Defence Forces (PVO-S) differed from those of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS) in that they were by no means small or crudely simple, but huge and refined with large, sophisticated radars; they could not take off from grass, only concrete runways; they could not be disassembled and shipped back to a maintenance center in

8160-601: Was designed primarily as a stealth air superiority fighter. In the 1950s, the United States Navy led an unsuccessful F6D Missileer project. Later it launched the development of a large F-111B fleet air defense fighter, but this project was cancelled too. Finally, the role was assigned to the F-14 Tomcat , carrying AIM-54 Phoenix missiles. Like the USAF's F-15, the USN's F-14 was also designed primarily as an air superiority (fighter-to-fighter combat) and F-14s served

8256-462: Was displaced by the arrival of newer fighter aircraft. Typical interceptions included Soviet long range reconnaissance flights and bomber patrols over the Atlantic Ocean along with various aircraft that were flying to and from Cuba . The F-102's official name, "Delta Dagger", was never used in common parlance, with the aircraft being universally known as the "Deuce". The TF-102 was known as

8352-522: Was for interceptors as the Commonwealth and American air forces pounded German targets night and day. As the bombing effort grew, notably in early 1944, the Luftwaffe introduced a rocket-powered design, the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet , in the very-short-range interceptor role. The engine allowed about 7 minutes of powered flight, but offered such tremendous performance that they could fly right by

8448-597: Was predictably slower, reaching only subsonic speeds in level flight. A total of 111 TF-102As were eventually manufactured. The numerous inherent design and technical limitations of the F-102 led to a proposed successor, initially known as the F-102B "Ultimate Interceptor". The improved design, in which the proposed Curtiss-Wright J67 jet engine was eventually replaced by a Pratt & Whitney J75 , underwent so many aerodynamic changes (including variable-geometry inlets) that it essentially became an entirely new aircraft and hence

8544-907: Was redesignated 142nd Filo in early 1973. In 1971, F-102s were also assigned to the 182nd Filo based at Diyarbakır, replacing the F-84Fs previously being flown by this unit. F-102s remained in service with these two squadrons until mid-1979, when they were replaced by the F-104G in the 142nd Filo and by the F-100C in the 182nd Filo. United States Air Force National Aeronautics and Space Administration Data from The Great Book of Fighters General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Interceptor aircraft For daytime operations, conventional light fighters have normally filled

8640-555: Was redesignated and produced as the F-106 Delta Dart. Convair would also use a delta wing design in the Mach ;2 class Convair B-58 Hustler bomber. In June 1956, operational use of the F-102A commenced, the first unit to be equipped with the type being the 327th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron , which was initially based at George Air Force Base . In June 1958, the 327th was redeployed to Thule Air Base on Greenland ,

8736-570: Was relatively unorthodox, not only in terms of the delta wing configuration but the decision to carry all munitions within an internal weapons bay to reduce drag ; despite this, Republic's design was even more radical, proposing to use ramjet propulsion to attain speeds in excess of Mach 3. Ultimately, Convair's design emerged as the front runner for the requirement, which was officially designated XF-102 . Lockheed had chosen to drop out to concentrate on other opportunities while Republic's design had been judged to involve too much technical risk to meet

8832-408: Was reprofiled with a conical droop, with the apex at the root, as to improve handling at low speeds. Because the droop remained within the shock cone of the leading edge, the drag rise at supersonic speeds was minimal. A second, inboard fence was also added at the time. A new canopy was also adopted while the tail was shifted slightly aft. The level of changes that could be implemented were restrained by

8928-493: Was reshaped in accordance with the area rule while a thinner and wider wing was also adopted. Flight testing demonstrated sufficient performance improvements for the USAF to be persuaded to permit its production; a new production contract was signed during March 1954. Following its entry to USAF service in 1956, the F-102 promptly replaced various subsonic fighter types, such as the Northrop F-89 Scorpion , in

9024-532: Was the first USAF fighter to be designed without a gun, instead relying on missiles as its primary armament. It had a three-segment internal weapons bay under the fuselage for air-to-air missiles . Initial armament was three pairs of GAR-1/2/3/4 ( Later re-designated as AIM-4 ) Falcon missiles, which included both infrared homing and semi-active radar homing variants. The doors of the two forward bays each had tubes for 12 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (for

9120-437: Was very brief as it was lost in an accident only nine days later during a failed attempt to reach Mach 1. The accident, which was caused by severe buffeting, seriously injured Johnson. The second aircraft flew on 11 January 1954, confirming a dismal performance. Transonic drag was much higher than expected, and the aircraft was limited to Mach 0.98 (i.e. subsonic), with a ceiling of 48,000 ft (14,630 m), far below

9216-506: Was withdrawn from U.S. service, while the last QF-102A / PQM-102B drone was expended in 1986. As of 2023, no F-102s remain in flyable condition, although many can be seen at museums or as permanent static displays as gate guardians at Air Force and Air National Guard installations. Hellenic Air Force In 1969, Greece acquired 24 of these aircraft for use by the 342nd All-Weather Squadron at Tanagra Air Base . 19 of them were single-seat F-102As, five were two-seat TF-102As. They served with

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