-16 SHOT DOWN F-35A AT RED FLAG
According to Business Insider Article, A detailed report detailed how the F-35 had lost in dogfights with F-16s
F-35A Lightning II is prove to be an invaluable asset during Red Flag 17-01, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) premier air combat exercise held at Nellis Air Force Base(AFB), Nevada. The F-35A is a fifth-generation, multi-role stealth fighter designed to gather, fuse, and distribute more information than any other fighter in history
However even though during exercises the air-to-air combat is typically left up to the Raptor, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that at Red Flag 17-01 the F-35As have been able to achieve an air-to-air kill ratio of 15 to 1 against aggressors jets.
Here’s why the F-35 once lost to F-16s, and how it made a stunning comeback
Essentially it came down to energy management in the early days of the F-35’s testing, according to the report. During a dogfight, jets have to manage extreme amounts of kinetic energy while making pinpoint turns and maneuvers. With smaller wings than some legacy fighters and an inferior thrust-to-weight ratio, the early F-35 pilots found it nearly impossible to engage with F-16s.
The report has since become a talking point for detractors of the F-35 program who say it’s too expensive and not capable. But according to retired US Marine Corps Maj. Dan Flatley, who helped design the training syllabus for F-35 dogfights, the F-35’s lackluster performance against legacy jets had more to do with old habits of the pilots and a weapons system in its infancy rather than anything wrong with the F-35 concept itself.
“When you first get in the F-35 and try to fight it visually, you immediately go back to everything you knew in your legacy fighter,” Flatley told Business Insider in a phone interview.
“If you try to fight it like a fighter it isn’t, you’re going to have terrible results,” Flatley said of the F-35. Like any new weapons system, the F-35 takes some getting used to. In 2015, F-35 pilots were pulled from other fighters and introduced to a plane that fundamentally reimagined aerial warfare. A learning curve had to be covered.
Unlike dogfighters from World War II, the F-35 mainly focuses on flying undetected while using its array of fused sensors to paint a clear picture of the threat environment for miles out and to engage with targets before they’re ever seen.
According to Business Insider Article, A detailed report detailed how the F-35 had lost in dogfights with F-16s
F-35A Lightning II is prove to be an invaluable asset during Red Flag 17-01, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) premier air combat exercise held at Nellis Air Force Base(AFB), Nevada. The F-35A is a fifth-generation, multi-role stealth fighter designed to gather, fuse, and distribute more information than any other fighter in history
However even though during exercises the air-to-air combat is typically left up to the Raptor, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that at Red Flag 17-01 the F-35As have been able to achieve an air-to-air kill ratio of 15 to 1 against aggressors jets.
Here’s why the F-35 once lost to F-16s, and how it made a stunning comeback
Essentially it came down to energy management in the early days of the F-35’s testing, according to the report. During a dogfight, jets have to manage extreme amounts of kinetic energy while making pinpoint turns and maneuvers. With smaller wings than some legacy fighters and an inferior thrust-to-weight ratio, the early F-35 pilots found it nearly impossible to engage with F-16s.
The report has since become a talking point for detractors of the F-35 program who say it’s too expensive and not capable. But according to retired US Marine Corps Maj. Dan Flatley, who helped design the training syllabus for F-35 dogfights, the F-35’s lackluster performance against legacy jets had more to do with old habits of the pilots and a weapons system in its infancy rather than anything wrong with the F-35 concept itself.
“When you first get in the F-35 and try to fight it visually, you immediately go back to everything you knew in your legacy fighter,” Flatley told Business Insider in a phone interview.
“If you try to fight it like a fighter it isn’t, you’re going to have terrible results,” Flatley said of the F-35. Like any new weapons system, the F-35 takes some getting used to. In 2015, F-35 pilots were pulled from other fighters and introduced to a plane that fundamentally reimagined aerial warfare. A learning curve had to be covered.
Unlike dogfighters from World War II, the F-35 mainly focuses on flying undetected while using its array of fused sensors to paint a clear picture of the threat environment for miles out and to engage with targets before they’re ever seen.
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