However, the hornet's radar is currently half-broken (TWS freezes, unreliable STT locks and dogfight modes, sometimes it gets stuck, sometimes it just stops working and reslotting is required, etc.). Hornet has one additional screen, and they're all a bit bigger, which is nice. So, basically, 6 amraams (or 4 amraams and 2 sidewinders) are more than enough for the viper to obliterate anything in its path. and even then, the viper is still faster. In order to compete with the viper in terms of agility and speed, the hornet can't carry any pylons under the wings (and needs to be down to ~50% fuel or less), which means 2 amraams + 2 sidewinders max. basically, it's only good for fighting AI, any experienced viper pilot will make short work of it. Viper can carry up to 6 missiles, whereas the hornet can carry a maximum of 12.īut don't let these meaningless numbers fool you, in practical terms, a hornet carrying 12 missiles can't go supersonic and has trouble making tight turns. In terms of air to air weapon capacity, hornet wins as well. Still, I think the hornet will remain top dog in terms of air to ground, after both modules are finished. Gives it the ability to carry 6 mavericks (hornet can only carry up to 4), and can also use cbu-97 cluster bombs (and the like), which the hornet can't. However, the viper can mount triple racks, which is a big deal. Hornet can carry more ordinance overall, and right now it has a much wider and fun selection. Hornet might be able to achieve higher AoA at low speed, but viper is still a deadly opponent in a dogfight / WVR (even more so with the bubble canopy, which grants the pilot total visibility). (Amraams reach farther, incoming missiles are easier to defeat and hornets simply can't catch up or run away in most cases) Viper is considerably faster, which gives it quite a lot of advantage over the hornet.
![dcs world f16 dcs world f16](https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/upload/resize_cache/iblock/e31/350_500_1/DCS_F-16C_700x1000_v1.jpg)
If air to air is what you mainly enjoy doing right now, I recommend that you get the viper. In terms of preferred fighting style, speed/manuverability, weapon applications, sensors, range ect ect.Īs i can only afford one of them (waiting on sales for that too) i want to weigh the two up and make the right choice! Originally posted by Dragon of the West:however i was more looking for a side by side comparison of what each plane will offer in its final state. As it stands, it has quite a bit of functionality and it is at a stage where the whole "you can learn stuff as it comes out" thing actually makes a bit more sense than it did some years back.
![dcs world f16 dcs world f16](https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/upload/iblock/ed3/3.jpg)
They have been working hard on it and it is coming along pretty steadily. It will eventually be in better shape but ED is currently putting focus on getting the (much older) F/A-18C complete before putting a bunch of focus on the F-16. It is still missing a good chunk of its basic functionality and much of its weapon, sensor, and navigation systems. The F-16 is still very much in the earlier stages of early access. If anyone tries to tell you to get a simpler aircraft that is "good for beginners" or anything like that, ignore them and just get the plane that is most likely to excite you and keep you interested. Well, as SSerponi76 and I tend to say a lot on this forum, you really should pick the aircraft that grabs your interest the most.