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Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021) by jandrewrogers on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @02:45AM (#34607657)
Dogfighting has been over for advanced militaries for a couple decades now. It isn’t the 1970s. The BVR kill probabilities are approaching unity.
Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021) by trashtester on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @03:51AM (#34608081)
I agree with your main sentiment. There are niches for WVR combat, though, such as in mountainous terrain or in areas with massive amounts of SAM assets.

The enemy COULD pop out from just behind the mountain/hill in front of you, and force you to have to resort to short ranged (FOX 2) missiles or even guns.

Still, though, this is not enough to prioritize extreme agility over stealth today. The F35 is more than agile enough for the few times this occurs, especially if there is a wingman around.

Re:Why Finland Selected the F-35A (2021) by Nocturium on Wednesday February 01, 2023 @10:31AM (#34611866)
That's true if you assume the only things that fly are enemies unless they're identified as friendlies. That's not always the case.

I remember reading an interview with a pilot who flew in the Iraq war after major hostilities were over. He described a situation, iirc, where he got a radar contact. He notified his superiors (can't remember the exact term he used) and they said they no friendlies should be flying there. It was ok for him to shoot it down. Something felt off and decided to try to id the plane first. It turned out to be a civilian plane carrying contractors or dignitaries (can't remember which).

I can try to find the article again if necessary. The main point is that there are some cases where you do need to "ask questions first" (ie. id the plane) and then shoot.