Shadow Viper

[Splitpin]

Nice to have a couple of these roaring around the place this weekend.

[simonh]

Nice shot. Usually the CO of the unit has the shadow unit marking on the fin.

[hasegawa]

Developed shortly after the Vietnam War to hunt MiG 21bis and MiG 23, it is now scrap metal. You'd better carve razor blades out of her. The old buckets that Ukraine is supposed to get at some point were built and flown in the early 80s. It is worthless, but only an irritant for the Russians because they could carry the B61. The livery was introduced in the mid-80s, as far as I know, and the flashy and colorful symbols are gone except for propaganda events to recruit young talent.. So it fits our times better..

[deaneb]

Developed shortly after the Vietnam War to hunt MiG 21bis and MiG 23, it is now scrap metal. You'd better carve razor blades out of her. The old buckets that Ukraine is supposed to get at some point were built and flown in the early 80s. It is worthless, but only an irritant for the Russians because they could carry the B61. The livery was introduced in the mid-80s, as far as I know, and the flashy and colorful symbols are gone except for propaganda events to recruit young talent.. So it fits our times better..

I was talking to a retired F-16 pilot on the weekend. The current F-16s are nothing like the 80's models. Tech has come a long way, and these are very capable and potent aircraft.

[hasegawa]

Completely correct, but today's jack-of-all-trades are good at many things but excellent at nothing.
I'm going out on a limb now, and I'm aware of it. The aerodynamic concept from 1980 didn't get any better even when stuffed with electronics.
The Rafale, the Thypoon or the Gripen could be better, with the Russian models we may find out soon, since the Russians will also hunt Ukrainian F-16s over Polish and Romanian airspace until take-off or landing, regardless of whether it is NATO or not. Guess NATO won't deliver the old timers that have flown out, but rather F-16C Block 50/52 or 60 and will try to cover it up.