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Can the F-35 Stealth Fighter Dogfight?

An F-35A Lightning II, assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing, at Hill Air Force Base, UT, flies in formation with a Belgian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon on Sept 10, 2022, Kleine Brogel Air Base, Belgium. The F-35 Demo Team consists of approximately 15 total Airmen to include the pilot and commander, pilot safety officers, superintendent, team chief, maintenance Airmen, aircrew flight equipment specialists, and public affairs personnel. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Barley).
An F-35A Lightning II, assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing, at Hill Air Force Base, UT, flies in formation with a Belgian Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon on Sept 10, 2022, Kleine Brogel Air Base, Belgium. The F-35 Demo Team consists of approximately 15 total Airmen to include the pilot and commander, pilot safety officers, superintendent, team chief, maintenance Airmen, aircrew flight equipment specialists, and public affairs personnel. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas Barley).

Summary and Key Points: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, renowned for its advanced computing, sensor fusion, and targeting accuracy, has faced controversy over its dogfighting capabilities for many years now.

Dutch F-35s and Polish MiG-29s train together over Poland as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission.

Dutch F-35s and Polish MiG-29s train together over Poland as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission

-A 2015 report suggested an F-16 outperformed an F-35 in air-to-air combat, but this comparison was flawed as it involved an F-35 variant not equipped for battle.

-The production-ready F-35 boasts superior sensing and targeting technologies, allowing it to engage enemies at standoff distances, potentially negating the need for close-range dogfighting.

-With a comprehensive weapons suite and advanced mission systems, the F-35 is well-positioned to dominate air-to-air engagements, leveraging its technological edge over older aircraft like the F-16.

F-35 Dogfighting Capabilities: Myth or Reality?

The F-35 is well known for its advanced computing, sensor fusion, long-range targeting accuracy, threat data library, and drone-like surveillance capacity.

But can it dogfight?

The F-35 Controversy That Won’t End

This seemingly loaded question has many layers and variables to consider, as the question has been raised numerous times.

As a multi-role fighter capable of a wide range of missions, some have questioned the ability of the jet to prevail in air-to-air combat against an advanced adversary.

Specifically, a report as far back as 2015 in War is Boring cited details from a report on a test dogfighting exercise in which an F-16 repeatedly out-performed and defeated an F-35 in multiple air-to-air combat engagements.

The War is Boring report, which claimed to cite findings and assessments from a test pilot involved in the exercises, generated a storm of controversial discussion about the future of the F-35 and its capabilities.

But, in the end, it was all for nothing, as a critical fact was missing that should put the issue to rest once and for all.

Not the Real F-35

There are tactical and technical things of great relevance to consider.

However, it first seems essential to explain the circumstance and provide specific context and details left out of the 2015 War is Boring report.

At the time, I remember connecting with the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office, which explained that the model F-35 involved in the exercise was a flight sciences testing model, which was not “not equipped with the weapons or software that allow the F-35 pilot to turn, aim a weapon with the helmet, and fire at an enemy without having to point the airplane at its target.” That is, as you can imagine, a vast difference from a fully combat-ready F-35.

OVER NEVADA -- An F-16C Fighting Falcon, assigned to the 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., heads out for a mission over the Nevada Test and Training Ranges during Red Flag 04-3 here Aug 20. More than 100 aircraft and 2,500 participants are involved in this exercise. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the U.S. Air Force and its allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Gruenwald)

OVER NEVADA — An F-16C Fighting Falcon, assigned to the 27th Fighter Wing, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., heads out for a mission over the Nevada Test and Training Ranges during Red Flag 04-3 here Aug 20. More than 100 aircraft and 2,500 participants are involved in this exercise. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the U.S. Air Force and its allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kevin Gruenwald)

The F-35 variant used in the exercise was called the AF-2 and, according to the Pentagon’s F–35 JPO, it was a model only intended to test “flying qualities,” not weapons or air-combat capability.

Therefore, comparing an F-16 against this “flight sciences” AF-2 variant makes no sense and does not in any way reflect what would happen in an encounter between an F-16 and a fully functioning production-quality F-35.

Somehow, this context was not included in the original 2015 article.

Sorry, Tom Cruise: The F-35 Might Not Ever Need to ‘Dogfight’

Given this context, it may not even make sense to raise the question of whether an F-16 can outperform an F-35 in a dogfight.

There are many other critical variables to consider. For instance, war games have for many years shown that the advanced sensing, targeting technology, and computer-enabled data processing are such that the aircraft’s long-range, high-resolution sensors enable the F-35 to see and destroy enemy targets and paradigm-changing ranges.

This means standoff distances where the attacking F-35 is not seen or discovered. This contingency was precisely what happened in an Air Force Red Flag wargame experiment in which a single F-35 could track and destroy an entire group of 4th-generation fighters from ranges where it was not itself seen or detected.

This suggests, therefore, that perhaps an F-35 may not “need” to dogfight as it will see and destroy enemy aircraft before dogfighting becomes a necessity. Available specs on both the F-16 and F-35 reveal that an F-16 does appear to be faster, with a listed speed of Mach 2.05, as compared to the F-35’s max speed of Mach 1.6. At the same time, thrust-to-weight ratios, which reflect acceleration and aerial maneuverability, are somewhat comparable.

F-16 Fighter from U.S. Air Force

Lt. Col. Thomas Wolfe, the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group deputy commander, performs preflight checks on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Feb. 1, 2016. The 421st EFS, based out of Bagram Airfield, is the only dedicated fighter squadron in the country and continuously supports Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and the NATO Resolute Support missions. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rau)

The F-35 has a 1.07 thrust/weight ratio, compared to a slightly higher 1.24 for the F-16. What is not reflected in available specs to a large degree, however, is the massive difference in mission systems, weapons capacity, targeting, and computing, which likely separates the two aircraft.

With a larger weapons envelope and far superior targeting technology and weapons guidance systems, an F-35 would seem well-positioned to destroy an F-16.

Author Expertise and Biography

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

Kris Osborn
Written By

Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven - Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University

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