F-35s vs. F-16s: The Stealthy Jet with Advanced Sensors and Weapons Wins

Video Above: A Warrior Maven exclusive interview with US Air Force Maj. Gen. & Commander of the Air Force Research Lab, Heather Pringle

Editor Note: Article is being republished for viewer interest

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

More than five years ago, reports emerged citing Edwards Air Force Base Tests results of experiments in which F-16s were placed in air-to-air combat against F-35s to assess the ability of the much-discussed 5th-Generation fighter to dogfight.

Citing certain findings from an actual test, multiple news reports said results showed an F-16 actually “out-performed” an F-35 in a dogfight. The reports inspired a large amount of discussion, debate and uproar regarding the F-35. However, as can often the case, key contextual elements of the discussion were often missed in writings about the circumstance and the actual aircraft used in 2015.

F-35: Can it Dogfight?

Some asked the question ..”Can the F-35 truly dogfight?” “Does it need to be able to dogfight?” The answers to these questions are in fact quite clear. Yes it can dogfight but no it might not need to very often given the range, accuracy and fidelity of its sensors and on-board computer processing.

However, what about the actual merits of the question itself? How well can the F-35 dogfight? Would it truly be out-performed by an F-16? An Air Force pilot who was there at the time says the answer is clear. No.