Ok, one thing, the F-15 can also accelerate while climbing vertically. It has almost 50,000 lbs of thrust and an empty weight of 32,000 lbs. It can carry just over 13,000 lbs of fuel internally, add the two and you can see that the thrust to weight ratio is 1.11, meaning it can accelerate vertically with full fuel. F-16 thrust to weight ratio is right around 1.1 also so it can accelerate upwards as well.
As far as combat goes, the US has never lost an F-15 in combat. Ever.
Israel uses F-15s that are very similar to the US's if not the same. They have lost some I believe, but not nearly as many as they have shot down. I remember hearing about an Israeli F-15 that had on entire wing shot off and it still made it back for a "safe" landing.
The United State's F-15s have a perfect combat record and the mass majority of those kills were against MiG-21's and MiG-29s during the past Iraq wars.
Air-to-air, the F-15C has the power and armament to take almost anything down. The APG-63 radar can track targets from hundreds of miles away and once in range, the F-15 can fire AMRAAMs from almost 50 miles away to take out targets. The latest version of the R-77 AA missile has a range that is close to that of an AMRAAM so it would be hard to say what would win there. I think the combination of US pilot training, AWACS, and the ability of F-15s to work together could take out many different airborne threats.
As for the best multi-role aircraft. Talk to anyone who knows, nothing can beat the F-15E. It can carry A2G weapons that others can't and it is equipped with the newest LANTIRN and FLIR systems as well as the capability to drop JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munitions (GPS guided bombs)) weapons giving it the capability to strike anywhere in the world in any weather, at any time of the day. I'm not saying the F-16 can't do this, the F-15E can just do it from farther away, faster and with less workload on the pilot. Once the JSOW (Joint Stand Off Weapon) is in service, US pilots will be able to attack targets from hundreds of miles away with pinpoint accuracy. The F-15E can do all this and it even has very similar air-to-air capabilities as an F-15C.
I think overall the F-15 is one of the best all around fighters in the world today until the F/A-22 enters service. One F/A-22 went up against a group of 5 F-15s in an exercise and the F/A-22 was able to kill the 5 F-15s before the F-15s even knew he was out there.
Thanks for reading and sorry if I offended anyone with my opinions but my opinions are just that, opinions. However, the facts stated above are facts and I base my opinions on those facts so feel free to argue with me about anything.
