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Dissimilar air combat training was introduced into US air combat training after combat experience in Vietnam. Traditionally, pilots would train against similar aircraft for training, so pilots of F-8s would seldom train against F-4 Phantoms, and almost never against A-4 Skyhawks. Combat was usually between very large and powerful US fighters such as the F-4 Phantom and smaller, more nimble subsonic Soviet MiG-17, MiG-19 and the supersonic MiG-21. US pilots in USAF F-105 Thunderchiefs were barely able to exceed parity, and pilots in Phantoms and Crusaders were not able to achieve the hugely lopsided win/loss ratio achieved over Korea, and had received very little air combat training since most air combat doctrine since the late 1950s centered around delivering nuclear weapons over Europe, or firing missiles at beyond visual range at bombers, not daylight dogfighting, which was thought to be obsolete in the missile age. The primary US fighter used against North Vietnamese MiGs, the F-4 Phantom, did not even have an internal gun until installed on late Air Force F-4E models. Rules of engagement did not even permit beyond-visual-range firing of missiles. Radar-guided Sparrows rarely worked, and the short range Sidewinder was ineffective in many dogfighting maneuvering situations.

It was found that Phantom training against other Phantoms did not reflect the reality of a target that was smaller, smokeless, and more agile. A large target with a smoking exhaust like the Phantom can be seen much farther away than a small smokeless one, while some have nicknamed the F-15 Eagle the "flying tennis court" because of its large visual signature. Ever since the Flying Tigers, aerial tacticians have advocated exploiting known differences in aircraft to maximize one's own advantages while minimizing the disadvantages of one's own platform, thus neutralizing the superior maneuverability and climbing speed of, for example, a Zero compared to the rugged, fast-diving and powerfully armed P-40 Tomahawk.

For this reason, the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School adopted the nimble subsonic A-4 Skyhawk to simulate subsonic Soviet fighters, while the F-5E Tiger simulated the supersonic MiG-21 Fishbed fighter. Both the Skyhawk and Tiger were used in the 1986 film Top Gun.

The A-4 Skyhawk has since been replaced by the T-45 Goshawk, a navalized British Hawk trainer. F-16s have been used to simulate later generation Soviet fighters such as the MiG-29. The now-retired F-14 Tomcat was also used in various paint schemes to simulate Iranian F-14s, as well as the large Soviet Flanker. The Air Force has reportedly also used actual captured or purchased Soviet fighters on occasion. Some have complained that not enough new instructor pilots are being trained, and that the maintenance situation on many aircraft, especially the Tomcat was very poor.