629:. They wanted to lower the top speed of the plane to Mach 1.6 since the variable-geometry intake necessary for higher speeds imposed a weight penalty on the plane. The lower top speed trade-off would allow the Red Bird to excel everywhere else: cost, range and maneuverability. Top speed was relatively less important since warplanes spent very little time at their highest speeds: dogfighting is done at subsonic speeds and the time leading up to a dogfight is often done at
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69:
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171:
232:. Project Forecast, a 1963 Air Force attempt to identify future weapons trends, stated that a counter-air defense must be able to destroy aircraft at long ranges using advanced weapon systems. The Air Force felt that these needs would be filled for the next twenty years by missile-armed variants of the
605:
As the
Fighter Mafia attracted considerable controversy, the actual extent of their contribution to U.S. fighter design is a matter of debate. The F-15 was the first jet plane in the USAF's history that was designed with maneuverability specifications in mind thanks to Boyd's E-M theory. The Fighter
306:
in 1967, the ADF was dropped in order to urgently focus work on the F-15. The F-15, originally a lighter aircraft, grew in size and weight as it attempted to match the inflated performance estimates of the MiG-25. While Boyd's contributions to the F-15 were significant, he felt that it was still a
641:
argued that sneaking up on an unaware opponent was the most important criterion of a good fighter, the LWF's small size would also make it less visible to the eye. A faster supersonic cruising speed would make it more difficult for enemies to sneak up from behind. While conventional wisdom at the
431:
was issued to industry for a 20,000-pound fighter to complement the F-15. In the resulting fighter competition, the USAF would select the YF-16 over the YF-17. The F-16 would become a versatile, multi-role fighter. However, the losing aircraft, the YF-17, would go on to provide the basis for the
650:
Hillaker, the F-16's chief designer, commented: "If I had realized at the time that the airplane would have been used as a multimission, primarily an air-to-surface airplane as it is used now, I would have designed it differently." Hillaker later did design a dedicated air-to-ground oriented,
322:
formed the core of the "Fighter Mafia" which worked behind the scenes in the late 1960s to pursue a lightweight fighter as an alternative to the F-15. The group strongly believed that an ideal fighter should not include any of the radar-guided missile systems, active radar or rudimentary
646:
capability as the Air Force saddled the F-16 with multi-mission equipment, air-to-ground features, and an active radar. Whereas the prototype YF-16 "whipped" other airplanes in dogfights, the production version was less maneuverable and performed worse in air-to-air combat.
374:
In 1969, under the guise that the Navy was developing a small, high-performance Navy aircraft, Riccioni won $ 149,000 to fund the "Study to
Validate the Integration of Advanced Energy-Maneuverability Theory with Trade-Off Analysis". This money was split between
636:
In light of the Mafia's disappointment with the F-15, the lightweight fighter was supposed to be the air-to-air superiority fighter that they wanted. Compared to the Red Bird concept, the LWF would cost even less. As the Mafia's civilian associate member
610:(found in the F-15 and F-16) since it would allow the pilot more visibility to avoid being surprised, or to have better situational awareness in dogfights. However, not all of the Fighter Mafia's ideas were implemented.
346:
Design focus on high technology and planes that could go "higher, faster, and farther" increased costs and decreased effectiveness. The group's view was that cheaper designs would have been more effective.
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Critics argue that the F-15 and F-16 succeeded because they moved away from the
Fighter Mafia's ideas, seeing significant export success because they were multi-role aircraft with
27:
officers and civilian defense analysts who, in the 1960s and 1970s, advocated for fighter design criteria in opposition to those of the design boards of the time, and the use of
383:
to build the embodiment of Boyd's E-M theory – a small, low-drag, low-weight, pure air-to-air fighter with no bomb racks. Northrop demanded and received $ 100,000 to design the
275:, and losing the fight more often than expected. Heavy and poorly maneuverable fighters originally imagined by the F-X program would be even worse off in these situations.
1259:
290:, demonstrated that the F-111 would be poorly suited to the role of fighter. The Air Force F-X proposal was quietly rewritten to reflect his findings, dropping a heavy
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339:
over that of fighter (whose acolytes still occupied the upper command positions of the Air Force), and dubbed himself the "godfather". Their assertions included:
294:
from the design, lowering the gross weight from 60,000+ pounds to slightly below 40,000, and decreasing the top speed from Mach 2.7 to 2.3–2.5. The result was the
625:". The Mafia promoted what they called the "Red Bird" concept, that is a design that would lower weight by stripping the plane of extraneous equipment such as
729:) and did not achieve any kills as a fighter pilot. Riccioni had seen no combat before he was assigned to the Pentagon. Sprey has been characterized as "a
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The
Fighter Mafia have been criticized for their lack of combat experience and aeronautical expertise. Only Boyd had brief air combat experience (in the
302:. Starting in 1965, the Air Force had pursued a low-priority study of the Advanced Day Fighter (ADF), a 25,000-pound design. After they learned of the
39:
in designing fighter aircraft. The Mafia influenced the specifications for the F-X Program and went on to independently develop specifications for the
323:
ground-attack capability that found their way into the F-15. Riccioni coined the nickname, a joke on his
Italian heritage that harkened back to the "
423:'s "Total Package Procurement Concept" where analysis and quantification was done on paper. The 1972 fiscal year budget assigned $ 12 million for
48:
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far more often than U.S. air combat tacticians had envisioned. In spite of a huge technical superiority on paper and some very successful
189:
51:. The group's nickname, a professional jest coined by Everest Riccioni, an Air Force member of Italian heritage, was a rejoinder to the "
659:, that also greatly outperformed both the YF-16 and the production F-16 in fields such as range and speed. However, it lost in the USAF
349:
The bureaucracy of the Air Force was corrupt, allegedly dishonestly testing weapons before buying them and deploying them in the field.
722:). They argue that criticism of the F-35 from surviving members of the Fighter Mafia (and defense reform movement) is thus unfounded.
642:
time considered twin engines to be safer, the F-16 challenged that view with a single-engine design. However, production F-16s lacked
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298:, an aircraft that was far superior in maneuverability to the F-111 fighter variants. The Air Force had also been studying a lighter
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administration in 1969 and were tasked with whipping the military purchasing system into shape. This was in response to
Senator
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designed the purely air superiority day fighter prototype YF-16, which won the LWF contest but then turned into the multi-role
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Contemporary Air Force generals established poor criteria for combat effectiveness that ignored historical combat data.
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Multi-role and multi-mission capability plane designs were fundamentally compromised compared to specialized designs.
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387:; General Dynamics, eager to redeem its debacle with the F-111, received the remainder to develop Hillaker's own
328:
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announced a budget of $ 200 million to be spent on prototypes from all the services branches. Defense
Secretary
809:
Colonel
Everest E. "Rich" Riccioni USAF (ret.) passed away on April 15 in Monument, Colorado, at the age of 91.
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263:), unreliable missiles and a wide variety of other problems conspired to make air-to-air combat devolve into
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that states a
Knowledge (XXG) editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.
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that states a
Knowledge (XXG) editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.
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missiles. The "Red Bird" concept designed by the Fighter Mafia included no radar, no sophisticated
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like the F-15 and F-16 will fare poorly in a "high-threat" environment because they lack
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were in the process of acquiring large, heavy fighters designed primarily to fight with
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with no gun. Their F-X Program fighter acquisition program, initially merged into the
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aces, the F-4s found themselves fighting at close quarters with the Soviet-designed
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that preferred a twin-engine versus single-engine fighter and strike aircraft.
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missiles. By comparison, the F-16 includes sophisticated avionics systems,
900:"Rediscovering Air Superiority: Vietnam, the F-X, and the 'Fighter Mafia'"
1000:"Combat Effectiveness Considerations In Designing Close Support Fighters"
680:
287:
264:
730:
478: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
432:
subsequent development and acquisition of the aircraft carrier-capable
93: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
656:
303:
272:
1072:"The Revolt of the Majors: How the Air Force Changed After Vietnam"
1246:(Legacy of the Fighter Mafia) "Military Aviation History", YouTube
1094:"Comparing the Effectiveness of Air-to-Air Fighters: F-86 to F-18"
1032:"Promise and Reality: Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air-To-Air Combat"
388:
384:
703:
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The Fighter Mafia's preference was for an aircraft dedicated to
412:
255:" concept was not ready for real combat conditions. Restrictive
1159:"F-35: Pierre Sprey vs (ret.) Lt Col David 'Chip' Berke debate"
549:
447:
428:
164:
62:
318:, test pilot Col. Everest Riccioni and aeronautical engineer
415:. Packard was interested in the idea of prototyping weapons
244:(which developed the F-111), was written along those lines.
667:, in part due to the latter's lower cost and twin engines.
411:
issuing reports critical of the high costs of the F-15 and
419:
sending them into production, given issues stemming from
733:
with an engineering degree but no military experience".
570:
185:
1187:. Edwards Air Force Base. January 1999. Archived from
1265:
20th-century history of the United States Air Force
936:"Evaluating Weapons: Sorting the Good from the Bad"
870:Boyd: the fighter pilot who changed the art of war
867:
825:
663:competition to a new F-15 model, the 15-hardpoint
391:. In the summer of 1971, deputy defense secretary
1244:Weaponization of Nostalgia: The F-15 & F-16
331:in the 1930s whose ideas led to the primacy of
1125:"F-16XL: Why America Didn't Get the Best F-16"
8:
1222:"John Boyd, USAF Retired, Father of the F16"
893:
891:
1070:Michel III, Marshall L (15 December 2006).
1074:(Doctoral dissertation). Auburn University
909:. United States: Air force. Archived from
352:The focus of the USAF should have been on
1226:Code One: An Airpower Projection Magazine
1209:Code One: An Airpower Projection Magazine
1065:
1063:
1061:
1059:
819:
817:
593:Learn how and when to remove this message
538:Learn how and when to remove this message
370:Beyond-visual range combat was a fantasy.
208:Learn how and when to remove this message
153:Learn how and when to remove this message
1260:1969 establishments in the United States
752:"The Outrageous Adolescence of the F-16"
356:and the use of combined arms to support
861:
859:
857:
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683:, and was armed only with a cannon and
565:is written like an argumentative essay
310:Boyd, defense analysts Jacob Ramirez,
259:(ROE), limitations in communications (
180:is written like an argumentative essay
1205:"Harry Hillaker — Father of the F-16"
874:. New York: Little, Brown, & Co.
7:
929:
927:
769:
767:
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476:adding citations to reliable sources
91:adding citations to reliable sources
1220:Hillaker, Harry (April–July 1997).
828:F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story
37:energy-maneuverability (E-M) theory
14:
1275:Organizations established in 1969
621:. The motto was "not a pound for
1169:from the original on 2021-12-21.
1030:Higby, Patrick (30 March 2005).
794:"Member of Fighter Mafia Passes"
554:
452:
314:, Matt Gorr, Reno Kneevers, and
169:
67:
16:American military advocacy group
1139:"F-35 Managing the Battlespace"
1099:. Pogo archives. Archived from
1037:. Pogo archives. Archived from
1005:. Pogo archives. Archived from
973:. Pogo archives. Archived from
941:. Pogo archives. Archived from
798:Project On Government Oversight
463:needs additional citations for
78:needs additional citations for
1203:Hehs, Eric (April–July 1991).
776:"F-16 Designer Harry Hillaker"
425:Lightweight Fighter prototypes
251:demonstrated that the entire "
1:
905:Air & Space Power Journal
655:YF-16 derivative, dubbed the
280:energy–maneuverability theory
23:was a controversial group of
1092:Sprey, Pierre (April 1982).
968:"Notes on Close Air Support"
774:Hehs, Eric (15 April 1991).
403:had entered office with the
907:– Chronicles Online Journal
824:Jenkins, Dennis R. (2000).
269:beyond-visual-range missile
1293:
966:Sprey, Pierre (May 1974).
708:fourth-generation fighters
832:. New York: McGraw-Hill.
661:Enhanced Tactical Fighter
427:. On January 6, 1971, an
329:Air Corps Tactical School
756:Air & Space Magazine
716:fifth-generation fighter
1270:Aerial warfare strategy
699:radar-guided missiles.
220:In the 1960s, both the
25:United States Air Force
1232:on September 17, 2007.
866:Coram, Robert (2002).
573:by rewriting it in an
436:for the U.S. Navy and
284:air combat maneuvering
188:by rewriting it in an
1185:"The 'Fighter Mafia'"
1215:on February 2, 2007.
472:improve this article
335:aircraft performing
327:", theorists at the
87:improve this article
49:F-16 Fighting Falcon
43:(LWF). Mafia member
41:Light Weight Fighter
1127:. 27 December 2021.
714:and other advanced
677:active radar homing
606:Mafia argued for a
257:rules of engagement
230:air-to-air missiles
750:Bjorkman, Eileen.
718:features (such as
712:stealth technology
702:Proponents of the
691:radar, as well as
665:F-15E Strike Eagle
619:multi-role fighter
575:encyclopedic style
286:in the context of
247:Combat during the
190:encyclopedic style
33:Thomas P. Christie
1044:on 7 January 2019
898:Cunningham, Jim.
780:Code One Magazine
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354:close air support
337:strategic bombing
278:Boyd's work with
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1228:. Archived from
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1211:. Archived from
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1191:on March 6, 2005
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461:This section
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434:F/A-18 Hornet
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21:Fighter Mafia
1230:the original
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1193:. Retrieved
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1178:Bibliography
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800:. 2015-05-06
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627:active radar
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494:
482:
470:Please help
465:verification
462:
416:
397:Melvin Laird
373:
360:rather than
333:heavy bomber
325:Bomber Mafia
312:Tom Christie
309:
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85:Please help
80:verification
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53:Bomber Mafia
20:
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1048:17 December
706:argue that
644:supercruise
583:August 2024
528:August 2024
316:Chuck Myers
300:day fighter
288:dogfighting
249:Vietnam War
242:TFX Program
198:August 2024
143:August 2024
1254:Categories
1195:2006-08-10
1110:2023-09-12
1078:2013-05-26
1016:2017-12-17
984:2018-01-12
952:2017-12-17
917:2006-08-10
804:2021-03-16
737:References
731:dilettante
727:Korean War
498:newspapers
296:F-15 Eagle
292:swing-wing
113:newspapers
689:AN/APG-66
671:Criticism
653:hardpoint
265:dogfights
253:Missileer
226:U.S. Navy
29:John Boyd
1167:Archived
1163:You Tube
681:avionics
421:McNamara
377:Northrop
569:Please
512:scholar
184:Please
127:scholar
59:History
878:
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657:F-16XL
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444:Legacy
417:before
304:MiG-25
273:MiG-21
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978:(PDF)
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519:JSTOR
505:books
405:Nixon
389:YF-16
385:YF-17
134:JSTOR
120:books
1050:2017
876:ISBN
834:ISBN
704:F-35
695:and
491:news
413:F-14
379:and
236:and
224:and
106:news
31:and
19:The
651:17-
474:by
429:RFP
261:IFF
89:by
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