 Although the F @-@ 4C was essentially identical to the Navy / Marine Corps F @-@ 4B in flight performance and carried the AIM @-@ 9 Sidewinder missiles , USAF @-@ tailored F @-@ 4Ds initially arrived in June 1967 equipped with AIM @-@ 4 Falcons . However , the Falcon , like its predecessors , was designed to shoot down heavy bombers flying straight and level . Its reliability proved no better than others and its complex firing sequence and limited seeker @-@ head cooling time made it virtually useless in combat against agile fighters . The F @-@ 4Ds reverted to using Sidewinders under the " Rivet Haste " program in early 1968 , and by 1972 the AIM @-@ <unk> @-@ 2 " Dogfight Sparrow " had become the preferred missile for USAF pilots . Like other Vietnam War Phantoms , the F @-@ 4Ds were urgently fitted with radar homing and warning ( <unk> ) antennas to detect the Soviet @-@ built S @-@ 75 Dvina SAMs . 
