Paint technicians at Robins AFB, Ga., re-sprayed an F-102 Delta Dagger interceptor, serial number 56-1151, in the authentic color scheme that it wore serving with the 95th Fighter Interceptor Squadron in the mid 1950s when it was based at now-JB Andrews, Md. After the paint work, technicians towed the F-102 earlier this month from Robins to the nearby Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins, Ga., for display. The F-102, which the museum acquired in 2009, previously spent 39 years on static display at Lackland AFB, Tex. Employed to defend US airspace from Soviet bombers, Convair’s F-102 was designed as an all-weather supersonic interceptor. From 1956 to 1977, the Warner Robin Air Logistics Center was responsible for maintaining the F-102’s avionics, weapons, and control systems. (Museum of Aviation release with photos of paint restoration) (For more, see Air Force Magazine’s Airpower Classics F-102 entry.)
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.