Designed as a replacement for the P-61 night fighter of World War II vintage, the Northrop F-89 Scorpion was to carry an innovative mix of weaponry including nuclear rockets for air-to-air use. Of traditional early jet design, the Scorpion had straight wings with large wintip fuel tanks (which were removable), afterburning engines, and airborne intercept radar mounted in the nose giving it all-weather capability. Early variants suffered numerous structural failures which required further redesign after which the Scorpion became known for an eclectic array of weapons which replaced its original fixed machine guns with, folding-fin air rockets, AIM-4 Falcon anti-air missiles and, most impressively, the Genie unguided nuclear tipped rocked designed to counter the growing threat of Soviet bombers over North American airspace. The F-89 was retired from USAF service in 1960 and with ANG reserve units only until 1969.

First flight of the XF-89 took place on 16 August 1948 which entered service as the F-89A but only a limited number were built before production continued with the improved F-89B. The F-89C included yet more sturctural changes and more powerful engines but it was not until the F-89D that most of the design's deficiencies had been corrected. These featured a wide variety of armament including FFAR rockets and air-to-air missiles in the wingtip pods or nuclear weapons in the F-89J conversions.