KenV wrote:

>>" Navy fighters routinely have just enough fuel to get to the target, complete the mission, egress, and then go "feet wet" (plus some reserves) on the assumption that they can hit a tanker once back over water.  In any event fighters very seldom tank just before getting to the target area and NEVER tank to max fuel just before going into the target area.

Obviously you don't know much about F-16 operation. Fuel is a major limfactor. You can't plan to the last drop !! Your fuel usage during the mission will greatly depend on the amount of engagements you will encounter. More fuel = more options.
What is your background?

KenV wrote:

Beyond that, most external fuel tanks today are not "drop" tanks as used in WW2 fighters.  They are much more complex and not intended to be jettisonned in combat.

What tanks are you refering to? We are talking about the F16 here and both the centerline and wing tanks are intended for drop if you get into a visual fight with an equal adversary.

KenV wrote:

My point exactly.  DACM is designed to AVOID a merge, get you to the target, and get you there with all your weapons.  DACM requires AGGRESSIVE flying with high bank angles, high AOA, and lots of loading and unloading.  My point was that aggressive manuevers are NOT reserved for dog fighting.  And further, you do not want to enter a defended target area with an aircraft anywhere near max weight, and in fact, you want to be as light as you possibly can be and still get your mission accomplished and survive.

Weight in that respect is not going to be the major a lim factor for the F16 in DACM. More so the limitations of the external stores.

KenV wrote:

The whole mind set of "I can always drop my load" indicates very poor planning because that kind of planning means I am planning to lose.

We are talking about a scenario gone wrong here where you get to a visual merge and in that situation it would be the correct thing to do. Of course we agree that you should avoid putting yourself in that situation, but filling an F16 with fuel is not going to make it more likely that a visual merge will happen because you are restricted in your DACM - Quite the contrary. There is no such thing as too much gas in an F16