Editing Day fighter (section)

==Post-war==
As the size and weight of night-fighting equipment remained considerable in comparison to airframe size and engine power, the day fighter remained a part of front-line air forces into the 1960s. In the immediate post-war era, designs like the [[North American F-86 Sabre]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150224020629/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2297 "North American F-86 (Day-Fighter A, E and F Models)"].</ref> [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15]] and [[Hawker Hunter]] typified the day-fighter role. These were followed by similar [[supersonic]] designs in the early 1960s, including the [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]] and [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21]].

However, as the size of basic fighters grew, along with their engine power, the relative cost of carrying night-fighting equipment fell until most designs carried such equipment. Lightweight fighters without full night equipment such as the [[F-5 Freedom Fighter|F-5 Freedom Fighter/Tiger II]] are still used by nations that lack the money to acquire advanced fighter aircraft.

The last of the purpose-designed day fighters were the original American [[General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon]] and the [[Northrop YF-17]] that competed for the [[Lightweight Fighter]] contract, which had the goal of providing the USAF with an inexpensive day fighter that could be purchased in great numbers to establish air superiority. The designs originated in a mid-1960s effort known as the "Advanced Day Fighter". After winning the contract the F-16 quickly matured into a much more capable multi-role aircraft and can no longer be considered a day fighter. Likewise, the YF-17 evolved into the much larger [[McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet]] and [[Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet]], which is used in the 2010s by the United States Navy as the primary all-weather combat aircraft.