The fateful test took place on Jan. 14, 2015, apparently within the Sea Test Range over the Pacific Ocean near Edwards Air Force Base in California. The single-seat F-35A with the designation “AF-02” — one of the older JSFs in the Air Force — took off alongside a two-seat F-16D Block 40, one of the types of planes the F-35 is supposed to replace.

And the F-35 lost by almost every measure.

user-inactivated:

I assumed that dogfights these days ended with independent missiles like AIM-120, AIM-54 Phoenix, and AIM-7 Sparrow firing miles before planes could even get close to visual range for dogfighting.


posted 3220 days ago