Not as obvious as you think. Many people think it's an F-15.
I don't get it. Isn't the Navy worried about a scenario where enemy F/A-whatevers could come and try to **** up our ships?
I don't get it. Isn't the Navy worried about a scenario where enemy F/A-whatevers could come and try to **** up our ships?
Defending the carrier is a different animal... namely because it's out over water and surrounded by a bunch of Aegis-type ships.
That was the sound of the knife going in even deeper.
I sometimes wonder if Billthrill is laughing as he starts a thread like this...
Wasn't this the idea of the Tomcat? Are tactics changing now that it's retired?
Also, from what I've gathered from several sketchy online readings, it sounds like the F-15 probably beats the F-18 overall as a fighter.
I could have been really mean and dropped this one first.
And then I asked myself: "Self, why are pilots with vastly superior knowledge and experience refraining from posting specifics on this topic?" I'm being brutal, but there is something to be said for actually knowing what an APG-65/73 is actually capable of. I've used the damn things, and I'm still not sure exactly...With regard to the F-15 vs. F/A-18 debate... I second what nittany said... alot of it depends on the pilot. Many probably say that its superior because of its BVR capability and the fact that the F/A-18s APG-65 radar was inferior to the F-15s APG-70. HOWEVER, Most legacy F/A-18s now have APG-73s ... so thats no longer the issue as far as I know.
However, in general the hornet is a more nimble fighter that can turn inside an eagle... The F-15 has the power advantage, and if the pilot uses that properly he'll be able to avoid being trapped in a slow fight with the hornet. Being slow vs. a hornet is a bad place to be... the F/A-18 has extremely good low-speed handling.... Even the F-16 pilots that I've talked to avoid taking it slow with a hornet..
IMHO its the pilot thats the main determining factor though... each aircraft has its strengths and weaknesses. The Mig-15 could out-perform the F-86 in many ways, and had a more beefy powerplant... but our pilots were better trained and maintained a kill ratio of better than 10:1 for the duration of the war.... all boils down to training.
Perhaps you're more clever than we all give you credit for.I sometimes wonder if Billthrill is laughing as he starts a thread like this...