Engines,
I think we're violently in agreement. The SHAR force did incredibly well in the Falklands and always held their end up well in exercises - which is what I meant when I said
it was a mediocre airframe ... it succeeded because of the sheer quality of the crews, good training and tactics, and SOME good kit.
(which is similar to your statement [QUOTE]...it was never a world class fighter as far as basic aerodynamic performance went - but with outstanding pilots, great ground crews ...the FA2's radar/missile integration was another triumph [QUOTE])
So yes, credit to the SHAR and those that flew/maintained/developed it - it achieved fantastic results
for what it was. However, think what those same people could have done with F-18s or similar, always assuming we had the carriers to fly them off and the capacity to support them....
The SHAR force were a fantastic outfit and punched well above their wieght - but I still don't think that made the aircraft itself "the best BVR fighter in the world".