There were some mods made to the F-15E too... I read General Dynamics' public brag pamphlet about what they did to the vipers during Afghanistan and except for the targeting pod some reserve/guard units were using which is better than LANTIRN, the rest of the mods just brought the F-16 INS up to the same level as the F-15E INS. Then toss in data link for everyone...
Although I can't comment on why that targeting pod is so amazing, the info has been published in several places. I THINK the capabilities Thunder is talking about is related to the targeting pod because it is the result of decades of feedback on what pilots want/need in a targeting pod.
I'll share one story I got from an unclassified PR document General Dynamics sent out. A few Reserve vipers were flying around in a hunter-killer role with NVG's and their newfangled targeting pod, and at one point they thought they could see some glimmer of light from a valley. They could only see it from one angle though, and it was very faint. Long story short, they put 500 lb LGBs into a small camp consisting of 2 camoflaged canvas tents, one covering the bad guys and a single candle or flashlight, the other one covering an artillery piece. They were waiting to ambush anyone who popped up in the area. There was almost zero thermal signature and they targeted it off of about a foot of barrel sticking out the end of the canvas and a single small light THROUGH CANVAS. That's badass regardless of whether you're in an F-16 or F-15E. Some of the other exploits of this F-16 unit were even better and they have multiple "saves" of ground forces credited to them, but I don't have the details or the pamphlet with me.
My comment about the block 50s was to point out that the 391st knows the capabilities of the block 50 very well because the 389th is also at Mt Home with the 391st and they train together on a regular basis. The F-16 mods were pretty significant, but we still have to face some facts:
The F-16 can't:
Loiter as long
Carry as many bombs, both iron or precision guided
Carry the GBU 15
Carry the GBU 28
Carry the AGM-130
Carry the data link pod required for GBU-15/130
Carry as much of an Air to Air load while carrying bombs and tanks
Although it wasn't needed in Afghanistan, the F-16 also still can't safely do low-altitude night/all weather PGM deliveries.
The F-16 is a great aircraft, but it is quite literally half the airplane an F-15E is. That's great in a dogfight, crummy when you gotta blow up stuff on the ground or loiter awhile. We all really need the new targeting pod because it is a very large step forward, but that's not specific to any one aircraft type. Same goes for NVGs, data link, GPS, and any other goodness coming our way.
I read in aviation week that a bunch of money was allocated to fighter aircraft upgrades, so hopefully we'll jump up to at least 1980's technology in some of our systems. To counter threats out there TODAY, we need a new radar, new targeting pod, a new jammer, and some sort of multi-spectrum close-range seeker jammer (think R2D2 with a laser pointer). Maybe we'll get some of it soon.
The article made some digs at the F-16's and truthfully, the viper guys also did great over Afghanistan. I thought it was funny how the article slams the viper just a bit without going too far past the 10% rule
