F-16 vs F-18: Which one is better in Air Combat?

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon vs McDonnell Douglas F-18 Hornet – which one would win in an aerial battle? These two aircraft are among the most dependable and deadly in the US arsenal, and have helped win wars, defend ships and redefine the technological prowess that is American innovation. Despite their similarities, the F-16 and F-18 have a number of differences, and it’s these that’ll reveal which aircraft is superior.

#militarynews #fighterjet #f16fightingfalcon

[lucax]

I'm certain that the best F-16 pilot would be the best F-18 pilot simply by outrating the Super Hornet before losing air speed. The initial advantage the F-16 has is too great for pilots who understand fully well what they're doing with it. There's a fine reason the Air Force doesn't use F-18's instead of their old yet updated F-15's and F-16's.

[mariusceregutiu]

instantaneous turn rate

F-16C Fighting Falcon 26 deg/sec
F/A-18C Hornet 18.5 deg/sec
F/A-18E Super Hornet 18.0 deg/sec


sustained turn rate

F-16C Fighting Falcon 18 deg/sec
F/A-18C Hornet 12.3 deg/sec
F/A-18E Super Hornet 11.6 deg/sec

[tommysonnier]

At slow speed the F-18 has the advantage with higher angle of attack also known as single turn. At higher speed The F-16 has the advantage with more turning degrees per second also known as a 2 turn. It boils down to the pilot's skill at using the strengths of their jet and the weakness of their opponent's jet against them. The merge is important. The F-18 will attempt to out manouver the F-16 early and get it slow. The F-16 will want to stay fast and outrate the F-18 in a 2 circle fight.

[lvthtxusa]

The Hornet is a bomber that can dogfight, and the Viper is a fighter that can bomb, , , , Still comes down to the pilot and the advantages of each plane in a dogfight....

[reddragon]

Combat now is all about situational awareness. Who has the better avionics nowadays is the key.

[basedinstinct]

The F16 was my favorite for a very long time but I have to say the F18 is the superior aircraft and the best multirole fighter/attack aircraft ever made. It's more versatile and just as aesthetically pleasing if not more so.

[flexyco]

I stopped this video because of the voice. I'd rather read an article.

[ahmetemirozgan]

in my opinion the f-16 will beat the f-18 in an air-to-air combat, but the f-18 will be superior to the f-16 in air-to-ground bombing or similar work.

[salsalsalsal]

I think in a dog fight no plane can defeat f16 without canard or thrust vectoring

[emilhorinek]

F -18 is the best multirole fighter/attack aircraft :) Emilio from Slovakia

[mansurazeez]

Remember the F-16 is an air superiority fighter since day one but the F-18 was designed as an attack aircraft with fighter capability operating on an aircraft carrier. Both planes can do dogfights with the F-16 has the upper hand being lighter and more maneuverable. But with an experienced fighter pilot at the controls of the F-18 it can be a dangerous adversary to the F-16! It all depends on the situation of the encounter, pilot's competency and aircraft mission profile.

[BGF]

The F-18C has a better E/M diagram, which can be useful in BFM; however, the F-16 has more useful combat performance, IMHO. It’s ability to retain and gain energy at higher G-loads, is a huge advantage. Also, a combat loaded F-16 will break Mach easily, whereas a loaded F-18 will struggle. This is important for breaking contact. All of that said, being single-engine over hostile territory or 100s of miles away from a carrier, isn’t a good feeling.

[mikebuck]

F-16 beats Hornet. However, Super Hornet beats F-16

[otanguma]

Both have advantages over the other, depending on how they maneuver against one another.

[futurenow]

Don't forget, the F-18 is built for carrier landing and take offf

[jimdigitalvideo]

The F-16 is a slightly better dogfighter, but it does depend on the pilots and the situation. But if it's which is the better aircraft, then it's a very hard question. The main advantage of the F-18 is "multi-role capability". The F-16, at least when it was first designed, was just built for air-to-air combat. Its other abilities were added later. The F-18, right from the start, was designed for multi-role. It has air-to-air, air-to-ground, reconnaissance, can operate from an aircraft carrier and more. Not to mention it was designed for replacing several other aircraft. The Hornet is the workhorse. Although the F-16's abilities have grown over time, so has the F-18's. The multi-role capability and the fact is has 2 engines are why some countries, including Australia, chose it over the F-16 back in the 80's. The F-18 is so capable, that when it came time to replace it, they came up with the Super Hornet. All they had to do was modernize it for the 21st century.

[monzoola]

What is wrong with the ai narrating this lol they need to turn the emotion in its voice down

[Fonky_S]

The Viper it’s better plane for a plane vs plane combat, the F18 it’s better in air to ground missions, can operate in aircraft carriers and can flight with just one engine, but the F16 It’s faster, the combat radius it’s major and the turn rate it’s better.

This is true, and every pilot of a F18 knows this fact, but the F18 can do a lot of things the F16 can’t.

[shannonshepard]

The question is which is better in air combat. The F16 is the best at performing this comparison. That doesn’t mean that the F18 isn’t a bad jet.

[Universal_exports]

I am a huge fan of Navy Planes back to World War II, especially the Tomcat after nameless franchises, but I was able to pull off moves you could only imagine in the F16Viper. It sincerely fit like a glove when I mapped the controls in terms of Dogfighting and it can bomb too.