Title: Military Technology: What is the best fighter jet for air-to-air combat? - Quora
Headings: Military Technology:
What is the best fighter jet for air-to-air combat?

Military Technology: What is the best fighter jet for air-to-air combat?
Content: My group (The 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group) was responsible for supporting evaluation tests for various Air Force weapons and weapons systems, and I was able to interact with various U.S. Air Force and foreign fighter pilots on a regular basis. As an aviator myself, I maintained much interest in the capabilities of the new jet. I had the opportunity on a few occasions to ask the pilots, most of whom were current U.S. Air Force F-15 and F-16 pilots, what they thought of the F-22, which had only been operational for a few years at that time. These guys had the opportunity to either fly the F-22, or fly against it in mock battles, and they would go into deep discussion regarding its capabilities, which often seemed a bit like a sales pitch to me. However, when I asked the question “How would you fight an F-22,” their tone and approach to the question changed. I remember vividly how one pilot answered the question. He paused, as if deep in thought, and said: “ One on one, it's really hard to fight one, and if you don't have a visual on them, you're dead before you're even aware you're in a fight” (a ‘visual’ is when you can actually see your adversary). Mock battles between four or five F-15s and a single F-22 were often completely one-sided - in favor of the F-22. Tests have shown too that swapping pilots between the F-22s and the F-15s had little or no effect on the F-22's battle dominance.