yasotay said:
Okay maybe you put an extra fuel tank in the bay and put four Sidewinder on the wind hardpoints. Was there not a weapon pylon for two Sidewinder that was put on the F-4?
FWIW,
As a theoretical design exercise this is a nice topic, but in the real world, frankly why bother? You could do this and then you'd have an F-106 that can carry 4 AIM-9s, but you're already got the F-4 which can do that (always could carry AIM-9)
plus carry 4 AIM-7.
The F-4 would also be more effective in the A2A role for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it didn't need the SAGE system for maximum effectiveness, a system that would have been difficult and expensive to bring to Vietnam. The F-106 was a good turner, being a pure delta and would have been extremely valuable for DACT back in the States, if USAF had been interested in that at the time.
I think the F-106 actually had an IR seeker, permitting passive tracking, not a full IRST as we know them today, the F-4B & C had one as well, but was dropped due to poor reliability out in the field. The F-106 kept theirs, possibly because they tended to regularly operate from more extensive facilities.
I suppose you could spend a lot of money and time to refit the F-106 with a bubble canopy (a fairly major redesign), but what would it gain that you didn't already have with other platforms? It would still be a single purpose aircraft lacking the ability to carry something that would be a major requirement during Vietnam.