Actually, Both the F16 and the MIG29 are very capable. In terms
of performance, the MIG29 may emerge victorious most of the
time.
Why? The MIG29 is highky agile and can withstand very high Gs even
with full load of weapons. Look at its wings and you will
understand that the designer took effort on designing a strong,
large and powerful airframe. Its wings is thick and wide, like the
F15's. Its powered by 2 engines etc. These features allows it to
perform the world-known Cobra manoeuvre. If you put an F16 and a
MIG29 on a one-to-one combat, the MIG29 would win most of the time.
I said most because this largely depends on the pilot. In a
dogfight, the MIG29 can beat the F16 flat. But, the problem is that
colse combat or dogfights willl never take place in the modern
aerial warfare. What takes place is either you are fired before you
can see your enemy or you fire at your enemy before you can see
him. This capability needs a large radar, modern avionics and
systems incorporated into the cocpit and of course, the weapon. If
you take a look in the cockpit of the MIG29, you will see that the
control panels are old, so old-fasioned that it looks like what you
will see in the MIG15 of the Korean War! As for the F16C, you will
see colour multi-mode displays, radar screen etc. If not in a colse
combat situation, the F16C will emerge victorious. Why? Bigger
radar, much bigger than the MIG29. Modern systems, equipments and
avionics, ability to fire the AMRAAM which in fact, is a better
missile than the Adder. If, with the help of the E2C, the range at
which the AMRAAM can be fired to a target would even be
greater.
The MIG29 is a design of the cold war, where close air combat is
still the method of acheiving air victory, but when comes to the
modern aerial awrfare, few can beat the F16C.
