F-16 Replacement

[Fuchs]

Until missiles become hittiles and have 100% Pk (never going to happen in my opinion) there is always the possibility of having to close with the enemy, maneuver to a position of advantage, and kill him with WVR weapons - BFM.

Missiles ARE the primary WVR weapon/munition. Autocannons have a very small role nowadays.

You don't need to manoeuvre into a position of advantage if you can shoot a missile in every direction, even while turning.

[Cliff]

Missiles ARE the primary WVR weapon/munition. Autocannons have a very small role nowadays.

You don't need to manoeuvre into a position of advantage if you can shoot a missile in every direction, even while turning.

Fuchs-

Agree that missiles have improved in maneuverability.

I disagree about the gun... the gun can't be jammed by enemy EW, decoyed by flares, or spoofed by an IR jammer... It is much more reliable than your average missile. And it's Pk is pretty decent. Not to mention it is very precise...

Finally, the gun is important for air to ground work, as you can be extremely precise on where your bullets are impacting. I'm sure there's a lot of folks here who are glad the F-15E, F-16, and F-18 have guns...

Even with missiles, you still have to put yourself in a position to employ. Missiles are not a magic death ray (though we may see lasers on fighters soon!), and still need to be put within a certain min/max range to have a chance of success.

In my 1700+ hours of flying fighters, I have found the gun to be a pretty useful thing to have- even if you do have an all-aspect missile. The gun is not minimized, at least not in the US military...

"A fighter without a gun is like an airplane without a wing." -Brig Gen Robin Olds

V/R,

Cliff