Play Israel instead
If you like F-16s play Israel, their F-16s have access to derby which I prefer over the aim-120 but you will lose on range. You also get the best 13.3 F-16, the F-16D, it’s heavier and draggier than the F-16A but about the same or slightly higher power to weight due to the stronger engine, 180CMs and HMD. Turn performance is about 5% worse, which is not that bad.
Their F-15I is also an upgrade over the US F-15E since it has more CMs
And it’s a VERY short grind.
Shortest cheap grind: Sakeen !!! in arcade !!! (laughably bad in AirRB) > Spitfire Mk.IX (CW)(good) > Meteor NF.13(good) > A-4H(very good) > Ayit(OP consider talisman) > 11.3 Kurnass (okish) > F-16D(very good) > Grind whatever you want next
Planes not mentioned, I suggest skipping, just buy as required to unlock next tiers.
Play japan instead
Another option is the F-2A in Japan, although not exactly an F-16, and the slow speeds severely limit its performance since it’s not much faster than an F-18, but you get nicer missiles.
Although the AAM-4 pulls better than the aim-120, it would fare better with more short-range optimized missiles. Like the F-18, it gets paired with missiles that aren’t very optimized for short range, which don’t couple well with the slow airframe and playstyle.
Japan also gets the best 13.7 F-15C if you like eagles, Its lighter and with better missiles
Play china instead
The chinese 13.7 J-10A plays and feels like an F-16 with better radar and a much better loadout. PL-12s are essentially Derbys with more range. And in china you also get the F-16 MLU at 13.3 which is an ADF with extra CMs, quite decent for 13.3 but you are still locked to aim-120 so you can’t be very aggressive.
Also the JF-17 is a squadron vehicle that kinda looks and feels like a slower but more manouverable F-16. Only 4 fox3 missiles but with 2 of the best gatewidth IRCCM missiles in game. The SD-10 fox3 missile is a PL-12, which is great, a bit less range than aim-120 but derby like manouverability, sadly the lack of HDM won’t help to use those to their full effect in HOBS jousting.
USA sucks. Don’t touch
No point in playing anything over 12.3. The fun ends at the F-16A/F-18A (these 2 aren’t amazing either by any means). Every other option above that is outclassed by other stuff to the point that it feels unbalanced, although nothing can be done without adding more BRs for decompression.