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From: tighe@hydra.convex.com (Mike Tighe)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: F-14 vs F-15
Message-ID: <1991Jan24.035146.21888@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 24 Jan 91 03:51:46 GMT
Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker)
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
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From: tighe@hydra.convex.com (Mike Tighe)
>From: kjn@hrmso.att.com (Kenneth J Novak)
>> From: zam@athena.mit.edu (Nor Aazizam Mohd Aasif)
 
>> My friend and I were discussing about the US jet fighters and we finally
>> came down to debating whether the F-14 is better than the F-15(E).  My
>> opinion is besides the F-117 stealth fighter, there is nothing more
>> devastating and powerful in the sky than the F-14.
 
John Weeks has already covered this "apples to oranges" so I will pass.
 
>> My only reasoning is that the F-14 is the only jet fighter that is able to
>> carry the Phoenix missiles with their range over 100 miles,
 
> This is a MAJOR factor in A-A combat.
 
No, the major factor in A/A is experience. This is documented in a variety
of studies. A 100 mile missile is not all that useful against another
fighter, and historically, US pilots are usually not allowed to shoot at
planes that they have not visually identified.
 
>> while the F-15 is only equipped with Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles,
>> which in my opinion, are inferior to the Phoenix missiles.
 
> Inferior in range NOT accuracy.
 
Different missiles for different missions. The Phoenix is long range, the
Sparrow medium range, and the Sidewinder is short range.
 
> The F-14s track record is good largely due to the Pheonix missle.  They can
> lock and fire on a target LONG before it's in range to fire back at you.
> "As for tight maneuvering, it's a pig." (quoted)
 
The F-14 does not have a track record with the Phoenix missile. All US F-14
kills have been made with either the Sidewinder (3 firings, 3 kills), or
the Sparrow (3 firings, 1 kill).
 
Now for my questions. Can anyone document the A/A engagements that the US
has had so far in this war? I would like to know the US plane, the Iraqi
plane and the weapon used. Dates, pilots (if released) would be nice also.
 
Also, does anyone have the names of the F-14 pilots that killed the Mig's
near Libya in early January 1989? Their names were not immediately released
for security reasons, and I never followed up on getting them.
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