America’s F 16 vs Russia’s MiG 29 - Which would win?
Channel: Top World
Date: 2021-05-03

America’s F-16 vs Russia’s MiG 29 - Which would win?
F-16 and MiG-29 were designed in order to achieve different goals. F-16 was designed to be a cost effective, light multirole jet that could be a support to more superior F-15 Eagle. Whereas, the MiG-29 is a typical air-superiority fighter jet. For MiG-29 designers range and avionics were not as crucial as powerful engines, high altitude flights, rate of climb, speed and the ability to take off from really shabby runways. We thought it would be interesting to compare these two legendary fighter jets, and determine which would most likely win in a hypothetical dogfight in this video.

1. Specifications
Let’s have a look at some specs first.
F-16 was first introduced in 1978. 4,600 F-16's have been built so far with per unit cost of $ 35 m. Operated by crew of 1 the Aircraft’s empty weight is 18,900 lb, and maximum take-off weight is 42,300 pounds. The jet is powered by a single engine producing 28,600 pounds of thrust. With maximum range of 2,620 miles, the aircraft can gain top speed of 1,320 mph. The fighter jet comes with 9 Hardpoints in addition to a 20 mm rotary cannon. The combat radius of the aircraft is 340 miles.
On the other hand, MIG 29 was first rolled out in 1982. Around 1600 MIG 29s are being operated by Russian Air Force and other countries. At present per-unit cost of the latest variant is around $23.7M. Operated by a crew of 1, the aircraft comes in at weight of 24,250 lb with maximum take-off weight around 44,100 pounds. The Jet is powered by 2 turbofan engines generating 36,684 pounds of thrust combined. With maximum range of 888 miles, the jet can reach at top speed of 1,490 mph. The fighter jet is fitted with 7 Hardpoints in addition to a 30 mm cannon. The combat radius of the aircraft is 441 miles.

2. Maneuverability
The most important factor in deciding a dogfight is maneuverability; the maximum rate and radius of turn. To maximize its maneuverability F-16 was intentionally designed to be aerodynamically unstable…
In contrast, MiG-29 has superior turning rates and super maneuverability. This was achieved with advanced aerodynamics. The tail of MiG-29 is positioned to take advantage of the four vortices by the wing and fuselage….

3. Power & Speed
F16 is powered by single General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofans engine, which produces 28,600 pounds of thrust. The aircraft can fly at top speed of Mach 2…
 
On the other hand, a major driver of the MiG 29 performance is its 2 afterburning turbofan engines generating around 36,684 pounds of thrust….

4. Radar & Avionics
F-16 is equipped with latest APG-68 radar which enables all-weather targeting with high resolution detection and imaging. The latest variant is fitted with glass cockpit, upgraded mission computer…
Whereas, MIG 29 is equipped with latest radar which is equivalent of F 16s APG-68 with similar range and air-to-ground modes. All variants of MiG-29 included an optical locator system mounted on top of the nose… 

5. Firepower
The F-16 has 9 hard points and can be armed with a range of air-to-air missiles, including Aim-9 Side winder, Magic II, aim-7, Sky Flash and aim-120. The high off bore sight, infrared Air to air missiles such as aim-9X, Python IV, aim-132 and IRIS-T can also be fitted. The aircraft also supports the integration a range of AGM anti-ship missiles and AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground tactical missile…
On the other hand, The MiG-29 fighter is equipped with seven external weapon hardpoints. The aircraft can carry up to 2 R-27 air-to-air medium-range missiles, 6 R-73 and R-60 air-to-air short range missiles, 4 pods of S-5, S-8, S-24..


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