Any F-35 Pilots out there want to contest this?

2015-07-01T11:50:29-04:00

I say upgrade the F-15 & F-16 airframes and keep them going along with the A-10!! All proven warfighters!!

Most sophisticated US stealth jet beaten in dogfight by plane from 70s

The U.S. military's new F-35 stealth jet was outperformed by the F-16 model in a dogfight over the Pacific Ocean, despite the fact it has already cost the military more than a trillion dollars to create.

Response by MAJ Bryan Zeski made Jul 1 at 2015 12:24 PM

2015-07-01T12:24:50-04:00

I think our problem is that we keep trying to FIELD the "next" generation of warplanes. We absolutely need to keep developing them and making them better, but right now, there is no need to have a fleet of them or to replace anything we have. We should take the money spent in purchasing them and put it back towards more research and development.

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Jul 1 at 2015 12:49 PM

2015-07-01T12:49:15-04:00

Aerodynamically, the F-35 is a pig compared to the F-16. F-35 pilots have begun calling it the "Super Guppy". The F-16 will keep beating it in dogfights, because dogfights are about turning radius, specific excess thrust, and wing loading (assuming equally capable pilots). If the F-35 hasn't killed the enemy fighter long before the merge (the first turn in a dogfight), it has failed, and deserves to be smoked.
But, in a real air-to-air fight between the F-35 and F-16, my money is on the F-35. weird, huh?