BalkanBattler

Sure thing, here is the quote Here is a Swiss F-5E evaluating 4x Sidewinders Yes, the F-5E could and was shipped from factory with the ability to air refuel. Some operators chose not to buy this, and so the switches were not included for example. Same with the JATO for example - you can see the mounting lugs for 4x JATO bottles on the F-5E remastered version, but the switch is not in the cockpit. That is ok, because the Swiss did not use JATO bottles. But this is a good example - the Jet is capable, it was designed to use it, it just depends on whether the operator paid for the feature. Mavericks as well - this was a factory feature sold to the Saudi's - not added-in after-the-fact. This is a common misconception. There is a very common misconception that these features were always "bolted on" after the sale. This is true sometimes, as in the Brazilian F-5's. However, it is not true for other export F-5's. Again, the example of the Saudi F-5's is pertinent here - they shipped from the factory with the right display, armament panels, and fuel panels to run AGM-65, Fuel probe, and JATO. Source: Northrop F-5, Jon Lake and Robert Hewson, World Airpower Journal, Vol 25, 1996. No. It was not always done after-the-fact. See above. As part of the Peace Hawk sale, "These two aircraft (F-SEs) [...] were delivered from production in December 1976" with the upgrades. Again - the point which I am trying very hard to make perfectly clear is that Northrop was able to and did deliver F-5's with all of the "features" directly from production. This is just one example. PEACE HAWK: A CASE STUDY OF A FOREIGN MILITARY SALES PROGRAM AND ITS MANAGEMENT Harry T. Drury, III, Captain, USAF Peter J. Glenboski, Jr., Captain, USAF I would be happy to pay for an upgrade that includes Mavs and a probe for example. I can't fault Belsimtek for making a barebones USAF Red Flag Jet. I can be disappointed that ED decided to model an F-5N, call it an F-5E, lie about "re-building the cockpit from scratch", missing the dual radios and INS due to "lack of data" (even though I provided data in the wishlist) deleting my posts when they went viral on reddit, and then re-instating them after telling me to include a link to my source (my bad). lol!

Like you, I have wondered this and I have asked, and have not been answered in these forums. However, we have a direct quote from Wags stating that as of the re-master, this is now the F-5 that was purchased by the US Navy in 2006. Meaning, it is no longer an F-5E-3 operated by the USAF. In fact, all references to F-5E **3** have been removed from the store page of both the original and remastered module. Swiss F-5's did carry Sidewinders under the wings, although never operationally. Hence the request from abitar above. I personally would have preferred an F-5E that best represents the default capabilities that Northrop designed and shipped from factory, like the refueling probe, mavericks, INS, dual radios, etc. Despite some prevailing mis-understanding on the internet, Northrop engineered the F-5E for export with these functions. It's just that some operators did not purchase the whole package. The best representation of an F-5E as designed by Northrop is the F-5E sold to the Saudi's. It included the removable fuel probe, INS, mavericks, JATO, and even AGM-45 Shrike capability. Alas

We have a US Navy F-5N purchased bac from the Swiss in 2006 in DCS, according to Wags, which did/does carry the AIM-9L/M.

Hey Nineline, just following up on this. Now that we have a Swiss/Swiss Buyback F-5 as per Wags, will the AIM-9L/M's be included with the module? Thank you - BB

+1 I have experienced the same issue specifically with the MiG-21

They could just create an upgrade path, and re-bundle it with the re-master. So Remaster + Upgrade is now $30 (basically a new module at this point) If you already bought the remaster, the upgrade is $10. Something like that. I would be ok with that, I want the F-5E with everything Northrop shipped from factory. We don't want the specific air interceptor version we sold to the Swiss... which is missing the capabilities that Northrop designed and built and sold into the F-5E It's like if Heatblur decided to make the F-4A instead of the F-4E. Why the heck would we want that one specific model that was rarely used? We would want the -E in comparison because it has more capability and better represents the capability of the airplane and was more widely used. The Saudi F-5E was used in the Gulf War - it's the version that was actually used on the maps that we have.

Honestly, me too. Mavericks Detachable Probe 4x Sidewinders INS These things would be worth an upgrade (not just a remaster). BTW - all of these were part of export F-5E's. The Saudi F-5E's had all four and AGM-45 SHRIKE capability in DIRECT mode.

Thank you for reaching out to me to let me know why! As mentioned in the PM, here is the source for the curious https://www.esscoaircraft.com/products/northrop-aircraft-inc-f-5e-1974-flight-manual?srsltid=AfmBOoqJjZPkv8BB2f9rr9eUgyUkh92EOCW9OuX6iIM77VQgmlbeDcCJ

My post with the relevant documentation was deleted by the moderators today.

No one is accusing you of keeping a secret, it's all chill here! We are all super excited to hear that the NAVY Phantom is still planned and that you have begun prep work

Thanks, hoping to fly this bird with the right missiles given that's what Wags said this module is now

bump

This is MEGA great news! Congratulations on this exciting step!!! Any word on a variant you are leaning to, is it still J/S? Woohoo! Go Navy!!

Have we mentioned recently how much we love you guys? Seriously thank you for the multiple versions of the Mirage F-1. This is the bar to which all other DCS modules should be compared. Love that you are considering multiple variants for the 104!

Recently, ED announced that they are using a revolutionary new technology called Photogrammetry for their upcoming MiG-29 full fidelity module. Given that the remastered F-5E cockpit is the same mesh as the old one and does not fit into the external model, I would like to request that ED re-build the F-5E cockpit to modern standards, scaled true to life compared to the real thing. Here are a few reasons why: ED's other cockpits are amazing. You could 1:1 replace an instrument in the F-18 or F-16 cockpits with a 3D scanned real life equivalent, and it would fit. They're amazing. The same cannot be said for the F-5 - all of the panels are incorrectly shaped in length and width and height at random intervals which are not consistent with the real pit. For example, the width of the main front panel is wrong compared to a real F-5E (I have the measurements for this panel and many others). This does not meet ED's own standards. The Cockpit is where DCS players spend 99% of their time when flying. While the external model is nice and helps you sell more modules, the cockpit is where players actually sit once they have given you the money. By scanning a real cockpit, you can finally be morally correct when you deny peoples requests for features we can finally agree on a single F-5E version. As it stands, our DCS franken-jet does not represent a single F-5E that ever existed, with that radio and lack of INS, it's not a Swiss F-5E, and with that RWR it is not a USAF F-5E-3. So you can finally pick one and be right. Mixed reality: with the increasing popularity of the Quest 3 with color passthrough, mixed reality builders are having a field day with DCS. This helps DCS gain popularity online as people see what is probably the coolest flight combat sim experience ever! This is great with the F-16 and F-18 etc - but the F-5E cockpit does not line up with the real life jet, so this leads to a problem: Do you build a cockpit based on the real dimensions, or based on the DCS cockpit? Why do you have to choose, shouldn't they be the same? Look at projects like Authentekit, or the WinWing F-18 MFD's, there is an appetite for accurate 1:1 cockpits. This is impossible with the F-5E because the cockpit is not 1:1 to real life.