Does anyone think an F-106A upgraded to use the F100-PW-229A and a more modern missile dispenser coulda woulda shoulda been?

Internally it would of had room for a pair of Sidewinders and probably four AMRAAM with some energetic engineer imagination. The radar would of had to be upgraded, but the F-106 had good cabinet space for that sort of thing.

The engine is a little bit wider but its a ton lighter and the airflow is almost identical. It would of had better thrust and sfc in about every situation. Definitely would of put the Dart into a new class.

There were proposals to reengine the F-106, but I don’t know what engine they wanted to use. I think putting in a wider engine would be a huge problem. Then you would have to put on intakes that match the engine airflow needs. A high bypass turbofan like the F-100 is probably not the best choice for a delta winged high altitude intercepter. Turbofans work better at low altitude. The F-100 consumes a huge amount of fuel in afterburner. Thats tolerable for a short dogfight, but its a liability for an extended high mach intercept and chase. The F-106A was plenty fast, so for an intercepter role, I think its engine did a good job as it was. There may have been spare parts supply issues when they decided to retire the F-106, plus the cost of keeping another aircraft type in the inventory. As the supply of F-15s grew, we had lots of F-4 that could take over the mission of the F-106. The F-4 had better radar and missiles, but the F-106 did have the perfect airframe for the mission.

It is only since the Berlin Wall came down – and ruined the whole Defence industry – that the West has actually gained any significant lead against the Soviets.
If the wall hadn’t come down and Russia had continued with it’s old defence policy, it would be ahead still.
Some of the greatest scientists on the planet were involved in the Soviet Defence work, do you think they made products that would not do the job?
It was the west that was always chasing to get a product that would overmatch the latest Soviet threat. Russia kept making stuff, the West made something to beat it. Never the other way round.

What are you smoking? :rolleyes:

The F-4B entered service in 1961, an equivalent MiG-23 with SARH missiles didn’t start production until 1971.
The F-16A entered service in 1979, the MiG-29 didn’t begin to enter service until 1982. The F-15A was in service in 1976, the equivalent Su-27 entered service in 1987. The Soviet R-3 missile is a copy of the US AIM-9. I could go on and on…

The super carriers are apparently slated to have electromagnetic catapaults. As to them being becons or i would like to add a question, would the energy output by them be more detectable than say turbon jet engines on afterburn during take off?

If turbines were powered by unshielded electric currents and magnets they would put out Radio Frequency noise, but they are not. EM catapults must put out a huge RF signal if they are unshielded. Have you ever watched TV while someone ran a blender?

Also would be the physical and mental effect on say people with all that energy around.. IIRC I read some place that electromagnetics has a big effect on crop growth and places where they have maaahaaahooosive electric pylons the children are said to suffer from its effect.

I doubt it. People claimed for years that they caused cancer. This was studied to death, and they found no connection.

Egyptian Mirage 5s

Its kind of ironic that Israel placed an order for an aircraft design made to their particular specifications, and instead of getting it, they end up facing it in their enemy’s air force. 😮

And what about stealth? I’ll bet it puts out a huge radio signal if its not properly shielded. 😮

I think an F-16XL is better than an F-16 with conformal fuel tanks. I wish they built it and the F-15E. An F-16XL wouldn’t have added much of spare parts and logistics burden, being so similar to a vanilla F-16. Come to think of it, why didn’t the F-16XL replace the F-16C? They are always crying for more range…

I think that prior to the 1980’s, the Soviets could have rolled across western Europe if they had wanted to. By the end of the Cold War, NATO had built up enough with 4th generation fighters and Abrams tanks that we could have defeated the Soviets. Whether it would have gone nuclear is anybody’s guess. In theory, if NATO was being defeated, it would have used tactical nuclear weapons. That would have wiped out airpower on both sides. What happens after that I couldn’t say.