Report: See The Results Of The Air Force's F-35 vs. F-16 Dogfight

[rangerrebew]

December 28, 2019

Report: See The Results Of The Air Force's F-35 vs. F-16 Dogfight

This is why the military trains.
by David Axe Follow @daxe on Twitter L
 

Key point: The F-35 can be sluggish compared to the F-16. Its pilots primarily train to fight long-range air battles using beyond-visual-range missiles.
 

The same week that U.S. Air Force F-35A stealth fighters dropped their first bombs in combat, F-35s from the same Utah base took part in a sprawling aerial war game involving dozens of warplanes flying more than 100 missions.

The exercise over Hill Air Force Base underscored the growing role of the F-35 in USAF training and operations. Despite the new fighter’s low readiness and the continuing debate over just how many of the radar-evading planes the Pentagon should buy and how fast, the F-35 is becoming more important by the day to the world’s biggest air force.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/report-see-results-air-forces-f-35-vs-f-16-dogfight-108926

[SZonian]

Ok, for the aviation rubes who still can't seem to grasp the difference between the two and why continually trying to compare them is idiotic or disingenuous.

I'm not going to get into all the nuances of what the F35 can do vs. the F16 and vice versa...simply talking about "dogfighting" capabilities.

F-16 - Designed and built from the ground up as a Fighter, eventually converted over to both A-A and A-G.

F-35 - Originally designed as a Strike aircraft...meaning it's primary role is A-G. In order to carry 2 x 2,000lb class weapons, its design is going to prohibit the type of maneuverability the F-16 enjoys. Simply, think of the F35 as an F117 replacement but on steroids and not one dimensional.

[PeteS in CA]

Would an F-16-grade/generation fighter get close enough to an F-35 for a dogfight to ensue?