[Night Stalker]

Well the FA-18 came from the same contract bid line as the F-16. But since the Air Force and Navy had slightly different requirements, two machines rolled off the line. It is sturdier than the F-16, but not as agile. It is currently going through upgrades.

The AIM-54 Phoenix missle is a long range weapon. In this day of joint operations and given the wide proliferation of US, French, British, and Soviet technology, long range combat is frowned upon. Even with sophisicated IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) systems, you really can not tell whether that MIG or Tornado is the enemy or that F-16 is a friend. And no, IFF transponders are not shared, they are very closely guared (until the SIGINT guys on either side cracks them).The US uses the AAMRAM which is a med range weapon. Both the French and Russians have a comprable missle, all are "fire and forget".

Also, the question you ask is the age old arms vs armor. They both evolve together. So as missile tech gets better, so does ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) (and in turn ECCM - counter countermeasures). So yes, dog fighting is a very valuable skill - even if all you are trying to do is to evade that nasty missile homing in you.

[ 01-21-2003, 01:52 PM: Message edited by: Night Stalker ]