The Boeing-built jets are the first of what could be as many as 144 new fighters to supplement older models of the F-15, which took to the skies in 1972 and have maintained an astonishing string of 104 air-to-air kills and zero losses. The F-15 may have seemed destined to collect dust with other Cold War relics, but the twin-engine aerial powerhouse has proven too capable to retire.
McDonnell Douglas built the F-15 from hard lessons learned from the Vietnam War, when fighters such as the F-4 Phantom were designed with the assumption that the increased range allotted by air-to-air missiles had rendered dogfighting obsolete. P-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre pilots left the Korean War with an impressive 13:1 kill ratio; in Vietnam, however, F-4 pilots, who lacked guns for close-range air combat and the maneuverability found in smaller, more nimble fighters, managed an abysmal 1.5:1 kill ratio.
Denne historien er fra November/December 2021-utgaven av Popular Mechanics South Africa.
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Denne historien er fra November/December 2021-utgaven av Popular Mechanics South Africa.
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Can a retired rocket engine take us to Mars?
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