f106-deltadart-pcam-03

Close-up of the nose of the F-106 Delta Dart, showing the spherical infrared seeker deployed. It looks like a shiny blue glass globe about the size of a cantaloupe, and it protrudes from the upper surface of the nose just forward of the windscreen.

The F-106 possessed an advanced (for its time) infrared (IR) seeker that was a key part of its missile targeting system. This photo shows it deployed, looking like a blue chrome globe just in front of the windscreen.