Why are swing-wing fighter jets obsolete?
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Variable-sweep wing are very good at what they do. Allow the plane to have increased maneuverability and efficiency in both high and low speed.
The problem is that, the modern fighter doesn’t necessarily need that increased maneuverability at low speed. No matter how cool it is, dogfights are a thing of the past. Missile technology have improve a lot and are not just too dominant and they shaped the tactics of pilots. Missile also made anti-air defense extremely difficult to fight over, staying as far as possible of heavy anti-air defense is extremely important. Flying at low-speed would be extremely risky anywhere where air dominance isn’t already acquired.
Stealth is becoming a major factor in fighter design and well for that you need specific shape. A variable sweep-wing would just be extremely inferior to current design in term of stealth. Stealth is not just about staying invisible, but also making it harder for the enemy to lock on you and shoot you down.
Some people talk about moving parts are vulnerable, added weight are complicity. They are right that those things exist, but they are not a factor in why sweep wing are not longer used. If sweep wing were providing an important capability, the designer would just work with the added weight and complexity. Look at the F-35B, the fan is extremely vulnerable, add a lot of weight and is complex, but it provide the F-35B with an advantageous capacity that made those drawback worth it. The advantage of sweep-wing are just not worth it in the current battlefield.
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