08/18/2025
Why does the US Navy have F-16 training aircraft? 🇺🇲
Because that SOB is the hardest plane I ever my had to fight in my entire career (stealth notwithstanding). As a point defense fighter, there’s no comparison.
So why, in the Navy, do we have these aircraft? Because they’re that good! They can simulate everything from a post WWII jet to the best the opposition has to offer. We use them to simulate the bad guys.
Of course it has an acronym, DACT (dissimilar aircraft training), but what it means is that we’re always training against our enemy. The F-16 can act like more of our opponents…that’s it. You want a high, fast flier (HFF) they can do it. HFF are words that make an entire strike package’s hair stand on end. You want someone who can execute an ambush…they can do it. How about a scramble from an airbase? Yep, they can simulate different states of readiness as well as the loadouts expected.
Oh, did I forget to mention they’re cheap?
Look, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Hornet. I built every Revvel model they had. I even hand carved one out of an oak limb we cut down when I was 11 (I was stupid and didn’t know there were softer woods). When I got the chance to fly one, it was even better than I imagined. I am a Hornet driver to the depths of my soul. But the freaking Viper! Probably the best fighter ever built. 🇺🇲