A Soviet MiG-21 Fishbed aircraft flies overhead during an airshow near Krasnoyarsk in December 2015. The Vietnam War saw repeated clashes between the MiG-21 Fishbed and the US-made F-4 Phantom, the premier American jet of the Vietnam era. (Shutterstock/Kharchenko Vladimir)

The F-4 Phantom and MiG-21 Fishbed Fought the Defining Air Battles of Vietnam

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The F-4 Phantom was a far larger and more powerful aircraft than the MiG-21, but highly restrictive US rules of engagement worked to negate its advantages in combat.

By the time of the Vietnam War, within-visual-range (WVR) engagements—better known as “dogfighting”—was waning as a form of aerial combat. Innovations in technology, notably improving radars and the development of increasingly long-range missiles, meant that a growing share of air-to-air combat took place beyond visual range (BVR).

New aircraft were designed around this reality. The F-4 Phantom II, arguably the United States’ premier fighter jet of the Vietnam era, was initially designed without a cannon. And in fights against the North Vietnamese Air Force, particularly its Soviet-supplied MiG-21 Fishbed fighter jets, the F-4 acquitted itself well despite its lack of close-range armaments.

Though the F-4 and the MiG-21 fulfilled essentially the........

© The National Interest