It wasn’t beaten by an F16.
It was beaten by a pilot who was better that day.
The F-35 is the world’s 1st aircraft to use $100 bills as chaff.
They’ve been banking, no pun intended, on BVR for a long, long time now.
Was either pilot transgender or gay?
AND the F-22 routinely smoked multiple F-15’s in the same type simulation.
What is going on?
What happened to F-22?
Uh, were the planes flying by themselves without pilots?
Won’t we reach a point where a human pilot isn’t needed?
Why would the Air Force show anybody the maximum capability of the F-35? I would guess that they aren’t going to lay out in plain view exactly what this plane can do. Let the Russians and Chinese find out for themselves when they decide to engage.
The F-16 is a 40 year old aircraft that is still one of the best tactical A-A (dogfighting) platforms in the world. 9G turns, guns and missiles, great visibility outside the cockpit. Hard to beat. The F-35 on the other hand is intended to serve multiple roles as tactical fighter/CAS/suppression of integrated air defense systems. etc., and may not perform visual BFM with the same competency as a Viper, but the F-35 is equipped to perform its A-A at well beyond LOS and never appear on an adversary’s fire control. The F-35 isn’t meant to be an air superiority fighter, that’s the roll the F-22 and F-15 fill. Just my $.02.
Active Duty ping.
It’s unfair to use the F-35 in any engagement it’s not designed for. For example, long distance, when it has to carry fuel tanks and loses stealth. Or close-in, when it’s lack of power betrays it. It is only supposed to be used for in-between missions. We just have to get an agreement from other side to fight wars on our terms.
We need the F15 silent eagle... heck, a silent Hornet would do wonders against the F35
ping
John Boyd laughs from the beyond.
When the F-16 was built it was touted for its force multiplication capability. The Air Force pitted 2 F-16s against 5 F-5s flown by pilots trained to imitate Russian tactics.
The F-16s didn’t do well at all.
I’ve worked for a USAF SPO. They exist to keep the military employed and funnel money to conglomerate weapons manufacturers. They don’t exist to create great weapons at low cost.
Refusing to buy the F-20 Tigershark was proof enough.
I’ve said from Day 1 that we will never see the F-35 Edsel in full production. We won’t. Maybe someone more enlightened than I regarding “stealth” could let me know how the Russians, Chinese, etc are doing reacting to it. Last I heard, the Russians had stealth beat with a new radar. (Sold it to Libya ?) It is only a matter of time.