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caesium-55 · 1 month

Text

—seven days. [ vi.iii ]

pairing: max verstappen x manager! reader.

summary: as the third time world champion, max verstappen's manager, you function on the belief that whatever max verstappen wanted, max verstappen shall get. but this time, after four years of working as his manager, you can't give him what he wants anymore and that was to stay.

author's note: updating bc i love yall. lol jk i dont want to study for my engineering management long quiz yet. sum1 yell at me to start studying or smth.

tags: @whatamidoingwithmylife-ramdom @eugene-emt-roe @bellezaycafe @barnestatic @theseerbetweenus @wcnorris @notyouraveragemochii @lpab @vildetry06 @a-beaverhausen @formula1mount @loloekie @alucardsdaddyissues @juky-ps @cassianswh0reeee @devotedlycrookeddonut @amberpanda99 @supermaxv1 @evie-119 @spideylovin @harianaswhore @formulaal

masterlist.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2021 is a little dramatic in Max’s opinion. Some would say controversial. A lot of restarts. The issue with the safety car. Hamilton and Verstappen goes neck to neck. 369.5 points to 369.5. In the end, Verstappen overtakes Hamilton and wins the 2021 World Drivers' Championship.

The team celebrates with him after winning and in the sea of Red Bull employees, Max searches for you.

He won! Max Verstappen won! He’s a WDC now! He finally made truth of the world he told you in 2019.

Kelly appears and kisses him square on the lips. Max sees you in his peripheral vision, pulling your ball cap lower on your face before turning around and leaving. He wants to call you but Kelly keeps him in place.

Max visits your hotel room later, all happy and he holds the canned bottle of beer to you when you open the door.

“I’m not the sour loser anymore.”

You smile at him and Max feels like he’s on top of the podium again.

“Told ya you’ll be champion one day. Congrats, champ. Very happy for you.”

Champ.

Max decides that he likes Champ over every name you call him.

2022

you: go to fucking sleep u degenerate gamer

you: its 3 in the morning you have a race at 8

max: youre not my mother

you: i am ur manager u ass

you: and i have ur mom’s cell no

you: i will fucking call her if ur stream doesn't turn offline in ten seconds

you: 10…

max: you wouldnt dare

you: 9…

He moves into a penthouse at the beginning of the year and purchases a jet, Dassault Falcon 900EX, to make the traveling easier. Flying commercial absolutely sucks, even first class.

When he mentions the money he spent; the penthouse rental cost, the price of the jet plus maintenance of the private plane service, you have stood up and went to the balcony to stare at the Monaco scenery to gather your thoughts. Max laughs as he watches your brain overheat. He tells security that you’re to be given an immediate pass into the building and his penthouse without the need of going through the strict security checks. He gives you a keycard that you barely use because you knock on the door every single time you come by. A month later, Kelly and Penelope move in and this is the beginning of the little family charade.

“What are you doing?”

“Is it not obvious?” you gesture to the iPad in your hand. “Readin’ a Lestappen fic in AO3.”

Max’s brows furrow.

“Lestappen?”

“The ship name between you and Charles. Lestappen. Leclerc, Verstappen, Lestappen,” you say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world and he’s stupid for even asking, waving your hand in a complicated flourish. “It’s good. Top-tier literature. Want me to send you the link?”

Max’s nose scrunches, “So there are people who ship me and Charles?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Romantically?”

You nod, “Want the link?”

“Absolutely not.”

You shrug your shoulders.

“Your loss.”

Max wins P1 (as things should be) in Austin, Hamilton P2, and Leclerc P3. The team holds a private drinking party in the hotel bar. Max sits with Leclerc, whom he has invited, and Lando, who came with Daniel, and Daniel because he’s Daniel and he still gets a free pass in Red Bull parties even though he’s in McLaren now.

Daniel passes him a bottle of Heineken and Max searches for the bottle opener on the table but it's nowhere. He reaches for you, who sits on the neighboring table with the PR team. Max grabs the hem of your polo shirt sleeve and tugs slightly to get your attention. He opens his mouth to ask if you’ve seen the bottle opener but you got to moving, not even giving Max the chance to speak.

Without even interrupting your conversation with the PR people or even breaking eye contact with the person who is talking animatedly, you take the beer bottle from Max’s hand, toss a hand towel on top of it, then you use your teeth to remove the cap. It opens with a loud click. You wipe the rim of the bottle, pocketing the bottle cap, before returning the Heineken to Max.

Max looks at the Heineken bottle in his hand.

You know, Sophie, Max’s mother, always say that there's a certain type of intimacy existing when two people are able to communicate without the use of words. People associate intimacy with bare skins and basking in the fragility and vulnerability of a person, but intimacy goes deeper than mere nakedness and showing all the bare parts of you to the other person. Intimacy comes hand in hand with truth. When you admit your truth to the other person, that's intimacy. Her knowing his truth, his needs, without him telling her. That's another kind. If that's not the purest form of love then he does not know what is.

Charles pats his shoulder to pull him to reality.

At that moment, Max decides he’s an asshole because he just realized that he likes his manager after she opens his beer bottle and he has a fucking girlfriend now.

Max wins WDC for the second year in a row. Leclerc is at second and Perez at third. He’s on the top of the fucking world. Everything feels right now that he’s standing at the top.

His eyes search for you in the crowd but he doesn't find you. Only Kelly. He kisses Kelly, celebrates with the team, and visits you in your hotel room later with a cold can of beer in hand. It's a little past midnight, his watch tells him. You open the door seconds after Max knocks.

“Have you talked to Horner?” you ask, accepting the beer and opening it. The loud click when you open it feels satisfying in his ears.

You’ve changed out of the Red Bull polo now and instead, you wear a black shirt.

“No,” Max shakes his head.

“When will you?”

“Soon.”

That's the only truth he can offer. Because the bigger truth is this: Max doesn't want you going anywhere, not even the engineering team who works closely with him. He only wants you here, beside him, behind him, at all times.

One more year. One more year and he's going to tell Christian to move you to the engineering team. One more year to have you and he’ll let you go.

(That's what he told himself last year, too.)

“Okay,” you nod and it relieves Max that you’re not arguing with him about it. “Congrats, Champ.”

You don't fly with him to Monaco. You don't fly with the team either. Instead, you fly to Texas immediately straight from Abu Dhabi. Max calls you once in the middle of break to greet you happy holidays and you mail him his gift—a clay keychain figure of him. He adds it to his keys, sitting right next to the beaded keychain you gave him back in 2020 and a bottle opener keychain in 2021.

2023

“Should I break up with Kelly?”

Your head snaps up at a speed that should be considered a hazard, stunned. You give Max a look that can be translated as: Did the g-force finally catch up to your brain?

“What prompted this?” you question, slowly setting Max’s laptop aside. You’re working on fixing his laptop’s wifi connection while he’s getting his makeup done for the Heineken ad filming. Once the makeup artist deemed him done and left the room, he immediately took the chance to ask the question.

“Nothing,” he lies.

“I’ll throw away your laptop if you don't tell me the truth,” you threaten.

“It's just—” Max pauses. His mouth feels dry. He licks his lips before continuing, “It’s just… I don't know how to explain it. It feels like I don't love Kelly anymore.”

I think I love you, [Name].

“Aight,” you grab a monoblock chair and drag it until it's right beside Max’s chair and plop your ass down. You sigh deeply before your face schools into complete seriousness. “Can't believe I’m the one givin’ you this talk. Uh, Max, you see, in a relationship, you typically experience this period called the honeymoon phase.”

Max nods slowly. He doesn't know where you're trying to get at but he clings on each word that leaves your mouth.

“The honeymoon phase can last anywhere from months to years and when it's done, the strong feelings and infatuation you have for Kelly decreases and that's natural. This is the stage where your bond with Kelly is strengthened,” you explain. “It's not all sunshine and rainbows. It can get boring. But the love is still there. It's just…well, less intense than before.”

He wants to ask if this happened to you and Leo as well, but he bites his tongue and says a different thing instead, “You give advice like a relationship guru.”

“Baby, I have a long list of ex-lovers. Kelly’s your first girlfriend. You don't have a say.”

Your birthday is near. Daniel shares to Max that he’s buying you a new ball cap this year, signed by your favorite professional billiard player. Max needs to give you something better.

He thinks about the things you like. He makes a list. It's a short one.

Beer

A spot in the engineering team.

Your family

He cannot give number three. He cannot give what you already have. He can give you number two but he doesn't want to. He doesn't want you to be anything other than his manager. He can give you number one but it'll be very lame of him if he gives you beer for your birthday. What is better than Daniel’s gift? What would you like more than a ballcap?

Max calls his sister that evening.

“Shoes,” she says. “Oh wait, that's a little hard. You might get her shoe size wrong.”

“She’s size 7. In Euro, 37,” Max states a little too quickly and a little too sure.

“How did you know her shoe size?” Victoria wonders.

“I don't know. I just watch her feet?”

“So, you estimated her shoe size by watching her feet like a creep?”

“I watch her feet a normal amount, Victoria,” Max insists.

“Max, I can't even tell my husband’s shoe size even if I stare at his feet for hours.”

“Maybe you just suck at estimating measurements.”

Max ends up getting the shoes with Victoria’s help. Victoria gets too irritated with him midway because he is too indecisive. He thinks all the shoes that’s displayed do not suit you.

It's not even this difficult when he’s picking shoes to give Kelly. Normally, he just asks the saleswoman to show him the most expensive or the latest in their stock and he buys it, instructs the storespeople to wrap it up and make sure the brand shows because Kelly likes it when the brand is big and bright and attention-grabbing.

“If you think nothing’s pretty enough then go get a custom made shoe,” she advises and then sighs in exasperation. Victoria shakes her head at him. It's not supposed to be a serious suggestion but Max takes it to heart.

Instead of black, Max goes for white. You rarely go in white clothing but when you do, you become so beautiful that Max has to stop himself from kneeling down in front of you and risking everything.

It has pearls and diamonds and satin. All beautiful things that reminded Max of you. Max wants, no, needs to see you put them on. He’s the one who puts it in a box. White-colored with peach stickers and a peach-colored ribbon.

Max plans to give them to you after he wins the Miami Grand Prix. But your family arrives just as he’s about to retrieve it from his driver’s room.

Max meets your family. A family that consists of happy parents and three brothers. You are your family’s unica hija.

Julio [Last Name], your father, is a big man and his accent is thicker than yours and he doesn't call you by your name, only the most affectionate-sounding mija. He reminds Max of a giant teddy bear. A giant teddy bear who crushes rocks for a living.

Your mother, on the other hand, is a stern-looking woman. Sally, her name was. She’s short, compared to you and her sons and her husband.

You have three brothers. One older—you call him Damiano. Two younger—Rafael and Dominic. You are more your mother than your father, Max notices. Appearance-wise anyway. Damiano, too. Sharp-looking, both of you. Your sharpness makes you look charming whereas your Damiano’s sharpness makes him look intimidating. Your two younger brothers are carbon copies of your father, a little round and with kinder looking features.

“Papa, Mama, Bro one, two, and three, this is Max,” you introduce him, smiling widely and you're doing that smile where you’re showing too much gums and your eyes are shaped like crescents. Happiness looks good on you.

He lets out an oof sound when your father engulfs him in a hug. Max hears you exclaim: “Papa!”

Max laughs and waves his hand to tell you that the hug is fine and is very much welcomed.

“Congratulations, Maxwell!” Julio claps Max’s shoulders.

“Papa, please,” you shake your head at your father’s antics. “It's just Max.”

“Ya want to join us for [Name]’s birthday?” Julio invites. Max catches your eyes. You mouth a no but Max shrugs and says, “Sure.”

Max joins the family dinner. It's held in a Mexican restaurant somewhere downtown. Originally, your family reserved a table for ten. But Max has gone ahead and reserved the entire restaurant by paying upfront. You slap Max’s hand but Max laughs and says, “Happy Birthday [Name].”

Over dinner, Maxs learns that Rafael, Dominic, and Damiano are the biggest motosport fans so they all talk about Formula One and occasionally MotoGP. He finds out that they're a big fan of Marc Marquéz. Max tells them that he knows Marc personally and shares his experiences with the man. He promises to send them the man’s signatures. You tell him that he doesn't have to. He tells you that it's his pleasure.

Max listens in attentively as Julio narrates his amazing tales about his work experience. You laugh at the surprised Pikachu face Max makes when Julio is telling the entire table about the creepy call he responded to just the other month. You and your mother occasionally join in on the conversation but are more comfortable with listening to the boys.

Later, you stand up to excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. Max stands from the table five minutes after you leave. He’s drunk too much soda so now he needs to take a piss.

“Are you okay?” Max asks as he catches you reapplying a layer of lipstick—a shade of nude rose—on the sink in front of the washroom.

You hold the lipstick in one hand but the other is holding your right arm, palm covering the word MANAGER printed on the sleeve of your Red Bull polo shirt like it's something to be ashamed about.

“Yeah.” A lie.

The rest of the night goes the way Max wants it. He almost wishes it won't end.

Kelly waits for him in his hotel room. She gives him a gift for winning P1. The shoe box in Max’s backpack remains untouched.

He’s got every country except Singapore, Saudi, and Azerbaijan under his belt. His third WDC is secure even if he loses Abu Dhabi, but Max is selfish. He still wants a P1 in Abu Dhabi so he fights and fights until no one can catch up because of how fast he was.

Kelly comes with him this time to watch him race and support him because it's the final race of the season and she also knows that Max is going to win WDC this year. P is over at her father right now so it's just the two of them.

“Babe!” Max looks up from his laptop. Kelly comes running in and Max’s eyes widened, horrified, when she sees that Kelly is holding it.

The white shoes.

Max stands abruptly. The laptop in his lap falls to the floor and shatters. He curses and crouches down to pick it up and save what he can save. When he looks up, Kelly is sitting on the bed now and is trying the shoes on. Max shoves the damaged laptop aside and strides towards her. He’ll deal with the laptop later.

“That's not—”

“Oh?” Kelly’s face morphs in confusion. “It doesn't fit.”

Kelly chuckles yet it sounds empty and dread pools in Max’s stomach.

“You bought me shoes many times already. There’s no way you’ll get my shoe size wrong.”

Max takes the shoes from her hand quickly and he puts them back carefully in the box.

“That's not for me,” Kelly states.

“It’s not for you,” Max echoes.

“Then who’s it for, Babe?”

Max doesn't answer. Instead, he avoids her gaze.

“Max Emilian Verstappen, who’s the shoes for?” Kelly is seething now.

For the first time in their two nearly three year long relationship, Max and Kelly get into a screaming argument. They get into arguments as all couples do, but never ones with screaming and crying and too much anger in one room.

“I can't go on like this anymore,” Kelly cries. “I can't. I let it go when you made me wait because you celebrated her birthday with her family. I let it go when you made her that crochet bag. I let it go when you bought a billiard table and brought it into our home because she likes playing billiards—”

“I tried breaking up with you!” Max roars and he sees Kelly flinch. “And you told me not to. You used Penelope so I wouldn't break up with you—”

“Do not even say my daughter's name—”

“It's true!” Max throws his hands in the air like a man gone mad. “I told you in fucking July that I think I’m losing feelings for you! You told me to not break up with you because Penelope already thinks of me as her father and it’ll break her heart if I kick you out of my house! I am NOT her father, Kel, her father’s Daniil! You only want me because I can give you everything you want! Money, pride, and a fucking father figure for your child!”

Kelly strikes his cheek. Sharp, fast, and strong. Max remains still in shock and stares ahead.

Kelly has officially become the second person in this world who has raised a hand at Max.

“I hate you,” Kelly utters it with so much intensity. “I hate you. We’re done.”

She leaves quickly.

Max’s phone buzzes.

you: hey champ. race is on in an hour n a half. u good to go?

max: yeah

max: i’ll be there soon

you: i’ll wait for u

max: you always do

Max races with the guilt that he's a cheating asshole. His mother will not be proud of it once she learns that her son has dated a girl and idiotically realized that he’s in love with his manager halfway through the relationship.

Despite the emotional turmoil that swirling inside him, Max takes P1 and becomes a third-time WDC. He celebrates with the team. You excuse yourself, saying you have something important to do, and Max doesn't bother asking you to stay because he knows he’ll visit you in your hotel room later with a cold can of beer. It’s become your ritual now.

He drinks with Daniel, Yuki, and Checo. Five bottles in, he spills everything. He pukes. It tastes disgusting. His world turns into a hazy blur. You came to his rescue because that's what you always do.

Max is so dumb for taking so long in realizing that he's in love with you. It's always been you. You and your dumb considerate attitude and your snarky personality and your crude mouth. He never realized how horrifyingly enormous his desire for you is until its right there in front of him with its mouth wide open, ready to swallow him whole.

you: landed

you: thanks for the jet

you: talk soon gotta get to papa 1st

max: ok

max: stay safe

max: your dad will be alright dont worry

you: i hope so

It has been seven days since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, three days since you left Monaco, two days since your last conversation in Instagram, and a day before Max flies to Belgium to celebrate the holidays with his mother and sister and his sister’s family.

max: are you okay?

max: just landed in belgium

max: mum and vic says hi

max: hey it's been a week now

max: is your dad okay?

max: im worried

max: call me soon please

max: happy holidays

max: or merry christmas

max: whatever you celebrate there in america

max: yeah i greeted a little too early

max: you didn't answer my call

max: im friends with logan now by the way

max: we talk at times

max: im trying to get him into sim racing

max: maybe it'll help him improve

max: happy holidays

max: i called your cell

max: you know christian just told me something funny

max: he sent an email this morning with a list of candidates for my 2024 manager

max: he said you resigned

max: very funny

max: please tell me you didn't

#max verstappen x reader #f1 x reader #formula 1 #formula one #max verstappen #max verstappen x you #f1 imagines #manager!reader #mv33 x reader #mv1 #mv1 x reader #mv33

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usafphantom2 · 1 month

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Can the old but powerful F-16 surpass Russia's most advanced Su-35 fighter?

While the F-16s piloted by Ukraine prepare to duel against the Russian Su-35s, this will be a conflict between Western and Russian views on how a fighter should be.

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 24/03/2024 - 23:41in Military, War Zones

In the skies of Ukraine, one of the most dramatic fighter duels in decades is taking shape between an aged but highly powerful Western jet and one of Russia's most advanced fighters: the battle of the F-16 Fighting Falcon against the Sukhoi Su-35. Who has the best chance of winning a fight?

This will be more than a fighter confrontation. It will be a battle of philosophies between the Russian conception of fighters optimized for air combat, versus the Western conception of jets equally adept at air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.

It is also a battle between the old and the new. The F-16s that Ukraine will receive were designed in the 1970s, although they have been heavily updated over the years. However, desperate to replace its ever-dinquering fleet of Soviet-era Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters, Ukraine will be pleased to receive 45 or more used F-16s from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, which are replacing their Falcons with F-35 stealth fighters. With Ukrainian pilots currently being trained in the US and other countries, the first F-16s piloted by Ukrainians will be able to fly in the middle of this year.

F-16 vs. Su-35: in numbers

F-16

Span: 9.45 meters

Length: 15.03 meters

Height: 5.09 meters

Weight: 8,495 kg without fuel

Speed: 2,414 km/h (Mach 2 at altitude)

Combat range (F-16A/B): 925 kilometers

Cost: $63 million for the latest F-16V model

Su-35

Span: 15.3 meters

Length: 21.9 meters

Height: 5.9 meters

Weight: 18,400 kg without fuel

Maximum speed: 2,414 km/h (Mach 2.25 in altitude)

Combat range: approx. 1,600 kilometers

Cost: US$ 85 million (estimated)

The Su-35 made its combat debut during Russia's intervention in 2016 in Syria. But the war in Ukraine marks the true baptism of fire of the Su-35 against an opponent equipped with modern fighters and anti-aircraft missiles.

Comparing the F-16 to the Su-35 is not easy. The F-16 is a fourth-generation aircraft that entered service in the late 1970s alongside the F-15 Eagle and the Soviet Su-27 and MiG-29. The Su-35 is considered part of the 4.5 generation, which are fourth-generation upgraded fighters that were introduced in the late 1990s, including the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and MiG-35.

"This is not a criticism of the F-16," said Brynn Tannehill, a defense expert and former U.S. Navy aviator, "but it was designed in the 1970s."

Anyway, the risks could not be greater. Although fighters manufactured in the US and Russia have been hurting since the Korean War in 1950, the next confrontation in the skies of Ukraine will be vital. Russian air power has performed poorly, despite numerical and technological superiority in Ukraine, but recent air attacks using glider bombs have devastated the Ukrainian defenses. To stop the constant Russian bombing and launch a successful counter-offensive, Ukraine will have to at least challenge air control and ideally be able to launch its own air strikes.

Viper and Flanker

The F-16 Fighting Falcon (commonly known as "Viper" and occasionally as "Lawn Dart") was conceived out of shame. During the Vietnam War, the most powerful nation in the world failed to dominate the small air force of North Vietnam. One of the reasons was that the U.S. military was using aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom - a powerful but heavy fighter, originally designed to intercept Soviet bombers instead of agile MiGs in air combat.

This stimulated a controversial group of innovators - the legendary "fighter mafia" - to convince the U.S. Air Force that it needed a small, light and relatively cheap fighter that could perform dogfights, instead of relying on long-range air-to-air missiles, as the F-4 had. The result was one of the most prolific modern jets, with more than 4,600 built since 1976, used by 25 countries and growing. He also saw more combat than most current fighters, especially by the U.S. and Israeli air forces.

"It's a good aircraft in practically everything, but it's not the best in anything."

The Viper is about 15 meters long, 10 meters long and weighs about 10 tons. It can reach a speed of Mach 2 (double the speed of sound), is highly maneuverable and is armed with a 20 mm cannon, as well as 11 hardpoints to transport weapons and lenable tanks, as well as pods to block radars and identify ground targets for accurately guided ammunition. Its exact weaponry in Ukrainian hands will depend on the ammunition that the US and Europe agree to send, but the F-16 is equally formidable in air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. In addition to the air-to-air missiles guided by medium-range AIM-120 radar and the AIM-9 Sidewinder heat-guided missiles, it can carry JDAM glider pumps, HARM anti-radiation missiles and probably European long-range missiles, such as the Storm Shadow from Great Britain. The advanced medium-range air-to-air missile AIM-120, or AMRAAM, is particularly important. Unlike Ukraine's current radar-guided air-to-air missiles, which require the launch aircraft to continuously keep the radar fixed on the target, the AMRAAM has a "shot and forget" on-board radar that locks autonomously on the target.

But versatility in all things means less capacity in anything. “You can use the F-16 for air-to-air combat, but it's not as good as an F-15′′,” says Tannehill. “You can use it for approximate air support, but it's not as good as an A-10. It can perform ground attacks, but it's not as good as an F-15E Strike Eagle. ... It's a good aircraft in practically everything, but it's not the best at all."

The Su-35 also has a complicated story. It is a descendant of the Su-27 of the late 1970s (NATO codename: "Flanker"), an aircraft of air superiority designed for air-to-air combat. It was intended to be the Soviet response to the F-15: just look at the two twin-engine aircraft to see that they have more in common than the F-15 has with the single-engine F-16.

The Su-35 was conceived in the early 1980s as a more maneuverable version of the Su-27 Flanker (hence the Su-35 being known as "Flanker-E" or "Super Flanker"). After Sukhoi tried several prototypes under the Soviet and then Russian governments, the current Su-35 took shape in the early 2000s as an improved Su-27 with some air-to-ground capacity that makes it more similar to fighter-bombers such as the F-16.

The Su-35 simply surpasses the F-16. With a length of 22 meters and a wingspan of 15 meters, the Su-35 is about 50% larger than the F-16; with more than 18 tons, it has almost twice the weight of the Viper. The Su-35 is armed with a 30 mm cannon, as well as a dozen hardpoints capable of launching a series of air-to-air and air-to-ground ammunition. What is of particular concern to Ukraine and the West are its R-37 and R-77 long-range radar air-to-air missiles, which are "shir and forget" missiles and which can hit Ukrainian aircraft out of range of Ukrainian aviation.

To complicate things is the variety of aircraft involved. There are many variants of the half-century-old F-16, including several "blocks" of U.S. Air Force Vipers, as well as country-specific models for nations like Israel. The latest version is the F-16 Block 70, with an APG-83 AESA radar, an updated engine and conformal fuel tanks.

But the Danish and Dutch F-16s promised to Ukraine are models of the Cold War. They are F-16 MLU (Mid Life Update) models, which are European F-16A/Bs from the late 1970s that were updated in the mid-1990s with features such as an improved AN/APG-66(V)2 radar (an older non-AESA sensor), GPS navigation and the ability to launch AIM-120 missiles. It is reasonable to assume that they are inferior to the most recent Vipers, but much superior to the F-16s of the Cold War era.

"With the Mid-Life update, what you should keep in mind is that these aircraft have been continuously updated with software that allows them to use modern weapons," explains Tannehill.

The Su-35 is more maneuverable, but that won't help

Usually, a smaller vehicle is more maneuverable than a larger vehicle. But for jet fighters, it's not that simple. There are a variety of technical factors, such as alar load (advantage: F-16) and thrust-weight ratio for fast acceleration (advantage: Su-35).

What is remarkable is that the Su-35 is considered "supermanoeuverable", largely because it uses thrust vectorization, which employs directionable nozzles to direct the thrust of the motor. Using a capacity found in only a few aircraft - including the F-22 and the Su-30MKI - the Su-35 can perform the spectacular "Sobra maneuver", where the fighter slows down abruptly and stays in the tail, forcing an enemy aircraft behind to overtake by speed.

Although impressive in air shows, the Cobra maneuver also deprives an aircraft of speed and energy, which is not good in air combat. But the real problem is that, although maneuverability was a problem in World War II or the Vietnam War, it is not an important factor in modern air combat. If today's jets go into combat, it is probably because one or both sides made a mistake or did not have the technical capacity for an attack out of visual range. The tendency is that modern fighters, such as the F-35, act as aerial snipers that stealther their prey with a long-range air-to-air missile that the target does not even detect until it is too late.

"What really matters is your radar, your range, your [network] connectivity and how unobservable [stealth] you are," says Tannehill. "The radar determines when you see the other guy. The range allows you to determine when you can shoot. Stealth allows you to get closer."

In fact, this has been the standard in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Fearing advanced ground-to-air missiles, such as the Russian S-400 and the US Patriot, both Russian and Ukrainian aircraft remained on their respective sides of the front line, instead of penetrating enemy airspace. Even if the Su-35 is really supermaneuvrable - which has not yet been proven in real combat - the war in Ukraine did not provide an opportunity to demonstrate this characteristic.

The Su-35 is the best sniper

Unfortunately for Ukraine, the Su-35 is deadly in air combat beyond visual range, as well as in air combat. First, the Su-35 can locate the F-16 before the Viper detects the Flanker-E; the Su-35's Irbis-E radar can detect air targets up to 400 kilometers (249 miles) away, according to its manufacturer, Tikhomirov.

Irbis is not very modern. It is a passive electronic scanning (PESA) system, which uses a single transmitter/receiver to emit a single beam on a single frequency through multiple antennas. This allows the radar beam to be electronically directed to different directions, without the need to mechanically rotate the antennas. This is not as advanced as the AESA radars used in many Western fighters - including the latest models F-16 Block 70 and Block 72 - which use multiple transmitters to emit multiple signals at multiple frequencies simultaneously.

EFSA radars can track multiple targets and are less susceptible to interference. However, Ukraine is not receiving F-16s equipped with EFSA. The AN/APG-66(V)2 radar of the F-16 MLU is a pulse doppler system with mechanically directed antennas that offer slower scanning at one frequency at a time. "The pulse-doppler is part of the 1980s crop," says Tannehill.

In addition, the Su-35 radar is more powerful. It has 5 kilowatts of power compared to only 770 watts of the AN/APG-66(V)2, says Tannehill. "I'm not saying he can see five times farther or ten times farther, but he can see much further than an APG-66."

As if the upper radar were not enough, the Su-35 has - on paper - better missiles. The R-37 has an estimated target detection range of 400 kilometers (249 miles), while the R-77-1 has a range of 110 kilometers (68 miles). These active "shoot and forget" guided missiles hit the neighborhood of their target and then use their own radar on board to hit the target.

The effectiveness of these missiles at such extreme distances is questionable, but against the oldest planes in Ukraine, the Su-35 has been lethal. The Su-35 and Su-30SM, flying safely behind the Russian lines at 30,000 feet, are focusing on Ukrainian jets with their Irbis radar and then firing R-37 and R-77-1 missiles. Ukrainian fighters are armed with Soviet-era R-27 missiles, with a range of about 80 kilometers. These weapons from the early 1980s use semi-active radar that requires the launcher aircraft to continuously illuminate the target with a radar beam.

“Ukrainian pilots confirm that Russia's Su-30SM and Su-35S completely outperform the fighters of the Ukrainian Air Force on a technical level,” according to a November 2022 report by the British think tank Royal United Services Institute. “Throughout the war, Russian fighters have often managed to lock the radar and launch R-77-1 missiles against Ukrainian fighters more than 100 kilometers [62 miles] away. Even if these shots have a low probability of slaughter, they force Ukrainian pilots to be on the defensive or run the risk of being hit while still very out of their effective range, and some of these long-range shots hit the target."

The US agreed to arm Ukraine's F-16s with the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile AIM-120, first deployed in 1991. Although the U.S. Air Force website lists the range of the AMRAAM as more than 20 miles, it is estimated that the latest AIM-120D has a range of about 160 kilometers, which would surpass the R-77, but not the R-37. The Ukrainian government said in September 2023 that its AMRAAMs would have a range of about 160 to 180 kilometers (99 to 112 miles), which points to the AIM-120D.

Final Verdict

The result of a long-range missile duel between Flanker-E and Viper will depend on many factors, including the quality of airborne blockers and baits, how well these fighters are integrated into radars and ground missiles, and coordination between the Su-35s fighters and Russian A50 airborne radar aircraft.

And there are still other factors that may not become evident until the combat is started. Equipped with the standard NATO Link 16 data link, the F-16 probably has a higher network capacity than the Su-35. This will make it easier for the Vipers to coordinate with other air and ground platforms, including receiving early alerts and targeting data from other sensors. Although advanced Russian aircraft also have data links, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been plagued by unreliable communication systems and a strict command and control.

Even if they were at a disadvantage and in smaller numbers, the Ukrainian F-16s could fly low to avoid radar detection amid the confusion on the ground and then use sensor data from other platforms to launch an AIM-120 against Russian aircraft. “Russians can find out in the hardest way how good the datalink plus AMRAAM is,” says Tannehill.

Or maybe the Ukrainian F-16s try to avoid air combat whenever possible. Instead, they can be considered more valuable as air-to-ground platforms, launching HARM anti-radiation missiles against Russian air defense radars, and cruise missiles and glider bombs against bridges, supply depots and command posts.

For Russia, the threat posed by the Su-35 will keep the F-16s under control. The duel between two of the most competent fighters in the world can end in a draw.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Tags: Military AviationF-16 Fighting FalconSu-35 FlankerWar Zones - Russia/Ukraine

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Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.