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The F-106 (bane of Canadian nationalists everywhere) had a quite long and successful career as an interceptor. However, could it have been turned into an air superiority fighter or multirole aircraft? Consider the Following F-106 wing loading at MTOW: ~309 kg/m^2 F-4 wing loading at MTOW: ~569 kg/m^2 F-106 Thrust/Weight Ratio (At MTOW with full afterburner): ~.576 F-4 Thrust/Weight Ratio (At MTOW with full afterburner): ~.578 While this is a very cursory examination, the low wing loading of the F-106 indicates that it would have good turn performance. I have seen anecdotal evidence confirming this, although I have also heard that it lost energy very quickly in sustained turns (I have heard similar about the MiG-21, which also utilized a delta planform). One of the primary issues I see with turning the F-106 into an air superiority fighter was its weaponry. To put it charitably, the AIM-4's perfromance against maneuvering targets was ass. Most likely, modifications would be needed to enable carriage of the AIM-9. I have no experience on the matter, but I do not see any unsurmountable obstacles. As far as air-to-ground munitions go, the F-106 is somewhat lacking in payload compared to aircraft such as the Phantom. However, at least theoretically; Overall, while it wouldn't have been perfect, in a world where the Phantom doesn't exist, or isn't used by the USAF, the -106 could have been made into a passable multirole aircraft.