So how do you account for the comments of the test pilot when he bemoaned the close-in (dogfighting) performance of his aircraft compared to the F-16?
There are LOTS of test pilots who place turn performance above all else. Same thing happened in mid 30s Japan. They emphasized turn performance above all else for the Zero. It worked brilliantly, until the allied fighter jocks figured out how to fly against it.
So, you're aware of this but a senior Lockheed Martin/USAF test pilot with previous operational experience of the F-15E Strike Eagle isn't?