Here's an interesting report I've come across. Apparently the US's Airforce has had a bit of a budget cut and so as a result the F16 'Fighter' aircraft are no longer permitted to 'fight' anything newer than a Mig 21 or Mig 23.
"But the brass only wanted the 1990s-vintage Block 50s tangling with “second- and third-generation adversaries”—meaning 50-year-old MiG-21 designs and MiG-23s from 1970s, respectively. Apparently, more modern MiG-29s and Su-27s were too dangerous for the Block 50s, if the American planes’ pilots were mostly focusing their training on attacking defenses on the ground.
Instead, ACC’s F-15Cs and F-22s would fly ahead to fight the MiG-29s and Su-27s. Based on that assumption, the generals also dialed back air-to-air training for F-15E fighter-bombers and older Block 30 and Block 40 F-16s."
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/american-f-16s-arent-supposed-to-dogfight-mig-29s-and-su-27s-7e974b11d217?sr_source=lift_outbrain
Which is a bit interesting if the US is relying on the F22, Why ?
Although the German officers acknowledged that the Eurofighter can't match the F-22's beyond-visual-range capabilities, in close combat that two aircraft were "evenly matched." "To tell you the truth, the Raptor is not built for air combat; you build the Raptor for other purposes," Lt. Col. Marc "Turbo" Gruene said, according to the magazine.
The remarks may strike at the heart of the F-22's much-hyped claims of air superiority, but they also may not mean much strategically (it's not likely that German Eurofighters will be facing American F-22s in combat anytime soon). Ed Timperlake, a former Marine fighter pilot, says the points raised by the article are "totally expected." Critics, he says, once leveled the same criticisms against the F-15, which now has an "over-100-to-zip kill ratio."
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/planes-uavs/should-you-believe-the-f-22-doom-and-gloom-11248461
The good news for the US is "At the same time, the Raptor has done extremely well in exercises against F-15s, with reported kill ratios of up to 108:0 during Exercise Northern Edge 2006."
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/f-22-raptor-capabilities-and-controversies-019069/
So, at least you can shoot down your own aircraft.........
Meanwhile, in the real world "US destroyer “Donald Cook” with cruise missiles “Tomahawk” entered the neutral waters of the Black Sea on April 10. The purpose was a demonstration of force and intimidation in connection with the position of Russia in Ukraine and Crimea. The appearance of American warships in these waters is in contradiction of the Montreux Convention about the nature and duration of stay in the Black Sea by the military ships of countries not washed by this sea.
In response, Russia sent an unarmed bomber Su- 24 to fly around the U.S. destroyer. However, experts say that this plane was equipped with the latest Russian electronic warfare complex. According to this version, “Aegis” spotted from afar the approaching aircraft, and sounded alarm. Everything went normally, American radars calculated the speed of the approaching target. And suddenly all the screens went blank. “Aegis” was not working any more, and the rockets could not get target information. Meanwhile, Su-24 flew over the deck of the destroyer, did battle turn and simulated missile attack on the target. Then it turned and repeated the maneuver. And did so 12 times.
Apparently, all efforts to revive the “Aegis” and provide target information for the defence failed. Russia’s reaction to military pressure from the United States was profoundly calm, feels the Russian political scientist Pavel Zolotarev:"
Lets hope that this calms the US down from it's "Lets Nukem" policy.
Meanwhile, NZ's strike aircraft are completely unaffected by this Russian development and stand prepared to defend the Motherland......
We've just disguised them as this.
And, they earn money till we're attacked !