"Best Fighter Aircraft of the 1990s" Topic

We've come to the end of the century of my decade a day of the best fighter aircraft of the 20th Century. This time, I focus on the 1990s and specifically those aircraft operational in the years 1990 to 1999. This was the decade of the Gulf War and the climax of the conflict in the Balkans. There was considerable air combat happening in this decade but it was a transitory time for fighter aircraft design and development.

The criteria, once again, are up to you. You get to pick the aircraft and you get to pick why. It can be based on data, or just opinion if you like. The only rule is that it has to be operational in the decade.

If you want to comment on previous decades they are here:

1980s- TMP link
1970s- TMP link
1960s- TMP link
1950s- TMP link
1940s- TMP link
1930s- TMP link
1920s- TMP link
1910s- TMP link

A number of aircraft were in development during this time but not yet operational within the decade. You had the F-22, which would dominate the 2000s and beyond, the Eurofighter Typhoon, which is one of the most agile dog fighters ever developed, and the Rafale, a modern fighter to rival the Eurofighter (and a Naval fighter to boot) and give France a capable modern fighter. None of these aircraft made it to operation in the decade.

The aircraft I pick for the 1990s is the F16C Fighting Falcon (that everyone calls the Viper). The original F16A was conceived of as a simple dogfighter without any of the bells and whistles. It went operational only able to fire Sidewinders (the Aim-120 was added later) and with very minimal air to ground capability. The C is the culmination of the F16 vision as a true fighter/bomber, equally good at WVR and BVR fights as well as being a capable precision bomber, SEAD and DEAD platform. It was ubiquitous during the conflicts of the 1990s and remains a front line top of the line 4.5 generation fighter to this day.

Honorable mentions go the SAAB Gripen. The Gripen-A proved the culmination of SAABs knowledge of aircraft design and became the low cost alternative to the F16 for customers who wanted a modern Western fighter for less money but no compromises. It served also as the basis for the Gripen-E, which is finally now becoming operational.

The other major fighter to go operational was the F-18 E/F/G Super Hornet, which, in the wake of the cancellation of the A-12 program and the early retirement of the F14 became the major fighter of the US Navy. It was sold as a simple upgrade but in fact only shared 20% of the original airframe with the earlier F-18 A/B/C/D legacy platform.

What is your pick for the best fighter aircraft of the 1990s and why?

F 16. But I'm biased….

F-15 Eagle or the F/A-18 Hornet.

On paper, another Russian surprise, the Sukhoi SU30-MK at 1203.

Of course accuracy of unclassified data on very current aircraft and missiles is very suspect!