I started in fighters - the F-4 - as the world of dogfighting was ending. We had AIM-9Ps that needed to be fired from behind, and AIM-7Es that as often as not came off the rail and went ballistic.
The new missiles are very reliable. They work from any aspect. They can be fired when your plane is not pointed at the other plane. In short, this is neither 1965 nor 1985. It is STUPID to pretend otherwise.
It is like insisting someone has to get down to 100 feet to bomb a target accurately, when modern targeting pods and bombs make hits more likely (and fratricide less likely) from high altitude.
If you don’t understand how technology has changed over the last 50 years, you shouldn’t be designing and buying planes. I have a book that predicts the F-15 will become the biggest failure in the history of fighters...how did THAT turn out?
LOL! Exactly!
I heard from two other Vietnam Phantom Pilots it was like a flying brick.
Although they were probably bias since they flew other fighters (Crusader and a Tomcat)?
I’ve always admired the F-4.