Which fighter is truly the best? From the F-35 and Rafale to the J-20, Su-57 and JF-17, this TSB Insight examines what the world’s leading combat aircraft actually do best—and why there is no single winner.

Slovakia now has all 14 of its ordered F-16 Block 70 fighters inside the programme. But a complete fleet is not yet the same thing as a complete capability. The real test now is whether aircraft, crews, maintainers, infrastructure and procedures can be turned into sustained sovereign air power.