On Sun, 30 May 2004 23:43:31 GMT, Robey Price
wrote:

After an exhausting session with Victoria's Secret Police, Guy Alcala
confessed the following:

This is from memory so don't treat it as gospel, but IIRC the AESA
version for the F-16C was credited with a range (look-down IIRR) of
between 70-80nm, with the exact figure classified; the standard APG-68
was credited with a range about 1/3rd of that against the same target, or
23.3 - 26.7nm.

Just to add to that...also from memory...in the F-16A, 15+ years ago I
recall the gouge for radar contacts of F-15s/F-4s at a nominal 32nm,
an F-18 just inside 30nm, and an F-16 at 26nm.

The F-22 radar spec was quoted as something like
115nm, but was again doing somewhat better, IIRC somewhere in the
125-140nm range. If you're looking head-on at a Buff, 747 or Bear, you
can obviously do a lot better. ISTR there were lookdown detections made
by F-15Cs during DS on 'dirty' (tanks, armament underwing) fighters, of
at least 60nm and maybe 80nm (can't remember, and too lazy to pull out
the magazine with the account).

A buddy that flew Mudhens in DS told me a funny story. After the
fighting stopped they were in a 2-ship CAP NE of Baghdad near the Iran
border. AWACS vectored them W on a contact coming out of Syria (or
Jordan). The Mudhens went "buster" toward the contact at 180 degrees
aspect in a race to get the contact before a 4-ship of F-16As (that
were pimping AWACS to give them the trade). AWACS informed the Mudhens
they had about minute before the Vipers would get the intercept unless
the MHs could take a "judy." My bud had his WSO put the range scale to
their Max (180nm or 200nm sticks in my noggin)

I'll bet those are the buttons I recall seeing in the cockpit of a
F-14A. The highest one was 200. Interestingly enough in Aerospace
Projects Review there is a photo of the mockup of the XF-103 and it
has a similar set of buttons the highest of which is 200 miles.