Editing Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (section)

===Armament===
The basic armament of the F-104 was the {{convert|20|mm|abbr=on}} M61 Vulcan autocannon. As the first aircraft to carry the weapon, testing of the Starfighter revealed issues with the initial version of the M61: the [[Gatling gun|Gatling]]-mechanism cannon suffered problems with its [[linked ammunition]], being prone to misfeed and presenting a [[foreign object damage]] (FOD) hazard as discarded links were occasionally sucked into the engine. A linkless ammunition feed system was developed for the upgraded M61A1 installed in the F-104C; the M61A1 has subsequently been used by a wide variety of American combat aircraft.<ref name ="f_106_delta_dart_m61">{{cite web|url=https://www.f-106deltadart.com/weapons_20mm_cannon.htm|title=M61A1 GAU 4 20-MM Vulcan Cannon|access-date=12 July 2017}}</ref>

[[File:F-104 Waffenschacht.jpg|thumb|alt=F-104G with open weapons bay showing M61 cannon|Open weapons bay of a [[German Air Force]] F-104G exposing the [[M61 Vulcan|M61 cannon]]|left]]
The cannon, mounted in the lower part of the port fuselage, was fed by a 725-round drum behind the pilot's seat. With its firing rate of 6,000 rounds per minute, the cannon would empty the drum after just over seven seconds of continuous fire.<ref name="militaryfactory">{{cite web|url=http://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=113|title=Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Single-Seat High-Speed Fighter / Interceptor Aircraft|access-date=13 July 2017|date=18 June 2017}}</ref> The cannon was omitted in all the two-seat models and some single-seat versions including reconnaissance aircraft, with the gun bay and ammunition drum typically replaced by additional fuel tanks.<ref name="FrickerJackson1996p47">Fricker and Jackson 1996, p. 47.</ref>

Two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles could be carried on the wingtip stations, which could also be used for fuel tanks. The F-104C and later models added a centerline pylon and two underwing pylons for bombs, rocket pods, or fuel tanks; the centerline pylon could carry a [[nuclear weapon]].<ref name="militaryfactory"/> A "catamaran" launcher for two additional Sidewinders could be fitted under the forward fuselage, although the installation had minimal ground clearance and so rendered the seeker heads of the missiles vulnerable to ground debris. The two F-104S variants added a pair of fuselage pylons beneath the intakes for conventional bomb carriage and an additional pylon under each wing, for a total of nine.<ref name="the_aviationist">{{cite web|url=https://theaviationist.com/2009/04/21/f-104-versions-explained/|title=Italian F-104 versions explained|date=21 April 2009|access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref>

Early Starfighters were also capable of carrying and launching a single [[MB-1]] (AIR-2A Genie) rocket-powered nuclear missile using an extending trapeze launcher. This configuration was tested on a single aircraft but was not adopted for service use; however, NASA later used it for launching test rockets.<ref name="Davies2014p15">Davies 2014, p. 15.</ref>