Convair F-102 Delta Dagger All-Weather Interceptor Family
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was the first operational U.S. delta-wing fighter and the world's first supersonic all-weather jet interceptor. Its original YF-102 prototype exposed severe transonic drag and pitch-up problems; area-rule redesign, revised inlets, and a more powerful engine produced the F-102A that formed a principal layer of North American air defense and later served with overseas air forces and the Air National Guard.
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Identity
- Aliases
- F-102 Delta DaggerF-102YF-102YF-102ATF-102ADeuce
- Family Name
- Convair F-102 Delta Dagger
- Full Name
- Convair F-102 Delta Dagger All-Weather Interceptor Family
- Roles
- militaryexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Crew Capacity
- 1
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was the first operational U.S. delta-wing fighter and the world's first supersonic all-weather jet interceptor. Its original YF-102 prototype exposed severe transonic drag and pitch-up problems; area-rule redesign, revised inlets, and a more powerful engine produced the F-102A that formed a principal layer of North American air defense and later served with overseas air forces and the Air National Guard.
- First Flight Year
- 1,953
- Propulsion Configurations
- Entries
- Count
- 1
- Placement
- fuselage
- Propulsion System
- Role
- main
- Stage
- airframe
- Variant Notes
- One Pratt & Whitney J57 afterburning turbojet for the F-102 interceptor family.
- Name
- F-102 single-engine J57 installation
- Notes
- NASA and the National Museum of the United States Air Force identify the Pratt & Whitney J57 as the F-102 powerplant; the canonical family-level J57 node is linked without inventing a dash-number variant.
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 8, 2026 at 01:41:26 UTC
- Updated Time
- August 14, 2026 at 22:10:03 UTC