Is it all in computer hardware and software, or have we learned more about aerodynamics, material science, and engine construction between say, the F16 and the F35 Lightning II.
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It’s actually a mix of it all!
As an example, when designing these highly advanced aircraft, engineers will use computers and mathematical models to optimize the designs for various things.
Aerodynamics is one thing they will try to optimize for. They want aerodynamic drag to be as low as possible for as wide a range of airspeeds as possible. Simulating aerodynamics is very computationally heavy, so as computers get faster at doing calculations and the algorithms they use improve, so does the result improve.
Materials science improvements could for example improve the composite materials used for the fuselage and wings.
Engine design is also constantly improving. The efficiency gets better, the power gets higher. A huge part of this is because the process of designing something as complex as a fighter jet is largely iterative and builds on all the ground work laid before it. This means that they will constantly design, test, redesign, test more, and redesign more.
The engineers will constantly be learning new things and applying them to new designs. This process happens all over, all the time – which can accumulate into an overall better design in the end.
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