What features turn a fighter plane into a turn fighter or an energy fighter?

Question

I heard these terms thrown around in fighter jet communities alot, and I have a basic understanding of what the differences are (I.E turn fighters are able to turn tighter while energy fighters preserve kinetic energy while turning). But I’m still not sure what characteristics inherent in the plane turns a plane into a turn fighter vs an energy fighter. For example, the F/A-18 and F-14 and Su-27 are all considered turn fighters, while the F-16 and F-15 are energy fighters, but they’re all so different in size and design.

In: Engineering

Answer 1

If flying is anything like driving, as we come up to an intersection and we need to make a right turn, an F-16 would drift around the curb while an F-18 would brake to shave off some speed, turn, then accelerate.

We want able to slow down significantly without stalling (turn fighters) and we want to be able to gtfo right after deploying smart weapons (energy fighter).