[JohnBooty]

I'm just an armchair nerd but I think it's safe to say that BVR was really in its infancy back then in terms of radar, stealth, missiles, etc. The technology simply was not there for an effective BVR fighter.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/reboot/more-sixty-years-la...

    "The Air Force didn’t realize those early missiles 
    were terrible.

    Studies showed that 45 percent of Vietnam-era 
    AIM-7s and 37 percent of AIM-9s failed to either 
    launch or lock on, and after evasive maneuvers, 
    the probability of achieving a kill fell to eight 
    percent and 15 percent for the two types, 
    respectively"

Missiles are ridiculously lethal and maneuverable now. They can thrust vector, be fired from crazy angles, etc.