Like the F-80 before it, the F-94 was also one of the earlier jet fighters charged with protecting American airspace from Soviet bomber and fighter incursions. Many F-94 systems were kept on ready alert throughout the early production life of the aircraft for this very reason. The fact that Soviet forces had recently detonated their own nuclear bomb made the situation that much more perilous.
Seeing combat action in the Korean War, the F-94 performed acceptably, though it should be noted that the system did not exceed performance of the existing F-80 Shooting Star fighters in any way - despite its newer design and more powerful engine. By the end of the war, the system was already being replaced as a frontline alternative by more modern and capable fighters and strike aircraft. Where the F-94 did shine in the conflict, however, was in using its powerful radar in conjunction with night-fighting sorties, able to find, target and destroy enemy aircraft through instrument use only.
By the middle of the 1950's the stop-gap measure that was the F-94 was being retired in quantity, with several falling into US National Guard hands for home defense. The F-94 "C" system would become the ultimate version of the series, earning the sole nickname of "Starfire" (no other models of the series carried this designation except the "C" model until it was adopted for the whole family of aircraft over time).
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