[spetznaz]

Well, i have to concur that you were right in both cases. That the YF-17 was the USAF competition for the YF-16; and that the article was written some time ago.

However if you look at it, the YF-16 concept became the F-16; and the YF-17 concept became the F-18. And it actually was 'pushed' to the navy after the YF-16 won the contract since the navy was in need of a twin engined aircraft, and the people behind the YF-17 pressured the powers that be to 'persuade' the navy to take a rehashed YF-17, hence the F-18.

And as for the article i do not think the fact that it was not composed last month takes away from its significance. Actually it might even be of more impact today since the F-14s are closer to being totally replaced by SuperHornets than they were when this article initially hit the press!

It is still a viable topic that would be quite feasible if certain politics were put aside for the wellbeing of American pilots.

[Aaron_A]

Folks, the Russian Flanker series is the same generation as the F-15. While the top of the line Su-30/35/37XXX is still being developed by the Russians, we have been fielding the F-15E for quite a few years. Its even been through combat action. Wrt the F-18, yes its not the best replacement for the Tomcat. But this doesn't mean that it is a slouch...with top notch weapons, highly trained pilots and available force multipliers, it can match up with the planes we are likely to come across over the next decade. After that, the JSF should be ready to take over.