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Originally Posted by Wildcat
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Well, maybe the F-22 is 2nd best now, but it still doesn't turn as tight as the F16. Nevertheless, even with fuel tanks on the F16 is extremely maneuverable and has no problem reaching +6g's with fuel tanks on.
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But I don't think that matters much to strategists at the moment. The emphasis these days seems to be - for better or worse - on tactical delivery of guided munitions (air to ground), not so much on dogfighting (air to air), based on the type of threats the US appears to face. Arguably, at the moment there's no other air force in the world that could go toe to toe with the USAF for air superiority, whereas there are plenty of threats from command and control bunkers, SAM sites, WMD labs, etc. - ground installations. Again, it's about the prevailing doctrine - sometimes it favors planes with more dedicated roles, others it favors multi-role planes.
Of course this is just my armchair speculation, but I think it would be interesting to see some sort of comparison between sorties and type of aircraft used in the First Gulf War and sorties/type of aircraft used so far in the Second. The First one marked a turning point in U.S. air strategy - it's been all about "smart bombs" ever since.