Comments by "Chef Chaudard" (@chefchaudard3580) on "“Flying Flatiron”; The Javelin, Last of the Gloster Aircraft" video.

What I’ve heard is that exercises tend to Favour the F-35 : the F-16 is considered as « shot down » as soon as the missile is « launched » (virtually) by the F-35. In reality, a F-35 with its bay open is not stealthy anymore. Meaning that a F-16 can, in theory, detect it, launch its own missile and try to evade the incoming one. Stealth is probably a big advantage, but fights would not be as single sided in real life.
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@joshpetersen5968 good point. what I meant is that aircraft’s are rarely flying alone, except for exercises for safety reasons. If a F-35 is discovered, even briefly, even if the targeted aircraft does not shoot back, another one can, if the cover is well organized. It is possible that F-35s will draw the first blood, but the battle can turn into a mess if the F-35s are known to be around. Specially if they have to manœuvre and present another aspect ratio, less stealthy than their front. My point is that this will boil down to tactics and will not be as single sided as exercises show.
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@joshpetersen5968 I agree, drones are probably the way to go. But how old will be the F-16s when they are fielded? There is so much you can do with an airframe designed 60 years ago (it is already 50 years old). Maybe it will be (once more) updated nonetheless, with a better radar, an optical sensor, better jammers, missiles, ECM… The major advantages of the F-35 against the F-16 is that it is stealthy and it is bigger, with more onboard power, leaving more room for improvements. I don’t think, however, that the F-16 would be a sitting duck in an actual fight against the F-35, nor that some improvements would not make the gap between them even thinner for a time. It is true, however, that the F-16 is at the end of its development curve : if some improvements are maybe possible, it is true only for a time.
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