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.)
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.