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US Air Force & US Navy Fighter Jets Engage In Dogfight; F-15 Eagle Battled F/A-18 Super Hornet In Mock Drills

Actor Tom Cruise kicked off a friendly interservice clash between the US Navy and the US Air Force (USAF) in 2018 when he announced that the production of his film Top Gun: Maverick had begun.

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Cruise shared a promotional picture on Twitter featuring ‘Maverick’ (the callsign of Tom Cruise’s character in the movie) looking at a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet with the phrase “Feel the Need” superimposed on it.

The USAF responded to this tweet, saying, “If Maverick had a need for speed, he’d hop into one of our F-15E Strike Eagles! #DYK: They have a top speed of 1,875 miles per hour.”

This stirred an entertaining exchange between the USAF and US Navy, which went back and forth, with even the Air Force Space Command jumping into the debate, highlighting the 6000 miles-per-hour velocity of its space-launch vehicles.

It appears that the older USAF F-15C Eagle variant may have settled this feud on behalf of the F-15E Strike Eagle, at least for the time being, by scoring a kill against a F/A-18F Super Hornet, piloted by an elite TOPGUN pilot in a recent mock fight.

Fighter pilots from the 194th Fighter Squadron (194th FS) 144th Fighter Wing, California Air National Guard, based at Fresno Air National Guard Base, California, challenged US Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN) students during their graduation capstone event held in November 2022 at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada.

Fighter pilots and airframes from across the US military are invited to oppose the TOPGUN students during their capstone events, which comprise simulated one-on-one combat engagements, as per the press release issued by the 144th Fighter Wing on December 29, 2022.

“Our unit was honored to be invited to participate with these elite Navy pilots. These partnerships provide unique and valuable flying opportunities for everyone involved,” said Lt. Col. David Allamandola, 194th FS pilot.

F-15 Eagle Vs F/A-18F Super Hornet

The 194th FS is equipped with the F-15 Eagle, which replaced the F-16, the unit’s previous aircraft, in 2013. Apart from the F-15s, this year’s graduating TOPGUN pilots flew against F-16s, F-35s, and F-18s during the event.

“It is important to train with other branches frequently,” US Air National Guard Capt. Dane Ruhnau, 194th FS pilot said. “When the fight happens, we will need to execute as a joint force to be successful against a near-peer adversary.”




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A US Air Force F-15C Eagle fighter jet assigned to the 144th Fighter Wing painted to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the wing’s 194th Fighter squadron, October 6, 2018 (USAF)

Ruhnau was one of the five 194th FS pilots who participated in the event and was able to score a kill against a F/A-18F

“You don’t know what airframe you’re fighting until you arrive at the merge. At the merge, you must visually identify your counterpart and adjust your plan according to what you see. In my engagement, I merged with a F/A-18F Super Hornet. I knew he would have the advantage in low-speed maneuvering, and I would have the advantage in power,” Ruhnau said.

‘Merge’ refers to a very close, neutral pass made by opposing aircraft when they first meet in an air-to-air engagement, generally heading in opposite directions.




A F/A-18F Super Hornet landed aboard the USS Nimitz on December 4, 2022. (US Navy)

The F-15 Eagle is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-100 turbofan engines, each producing around 23000-25000 pounds of thrust (with afterburners), providing a very high thrust-to-weight ratio (TWR) of about 1.19 according to some open sources.

By comparison, the F/A-18F Super Hornet is powered by two General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans, reportedly producing 22,000 pounds of thrust each (with an afterburner), providing a TWR of only around 1.09.

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