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Do you happen to know what all ordnance the TER can carry 3 of in this configuration? Is it just the Mk-82s or can we triple rack other bombs and rocket pods as well? It's interesting to me that they decided to use vertical spacing to get enough clearance for the sidewinders instead of just spacing the missile rails farther out.

Just for clarification that was all at the same time? 4 Sidewinders, 4 Sparrows, and 24 Mk-82's like this?

You see, that's the real trick now isn't it. Nobody but the devs has flown it. It has been flown in DCS as far back as December of 2019 when this video was released and more recently I assume at least some of the shots from the DCS 2023 and Beyond video were flown by human pilots so someone at ED has probably flown it enough to get footage.

The joke or actual 2 weeks? The joke stage is always in effect. They released 4 new screenshots yesterday, not exactly the big unveiling we're supposed to get in the lead up to release.

MiG-17F owned by Randy Ball. Got to see this one fly formation with two other MiG-17's at an airshow a couple years ago.

The AS had the R-3S, but the F we're getting doesn't

Everything I've heard from their website and Facebook from them has made it seem like they weren't even going to ask ED for 3rd party status until they had a pretty good start on it. With the FM bascially complete at ~95% and all the modelling work completed and ready for texturing/optimization, I don't expect it will take very long for them to finish it. That doesn't mean this year, but I certainly don't expect it to take as long as some of the other yet to release modules. Also, here's the loadout chart from their Facebook for anyone who hasn't seen it. They're including some Egyptian loadouts that give the MiG-17 rockets and extra pylons.

Q: Will there be a Navy F-4? A: Yes! Our Phantom journey only begins with the -E. However, owing to the complexity of the work and investment of time and effort, it will not be included in the DCS: F-4E product. We’re instead choosing to focus on providing the most content rich F-4E we possibly can, and then set our sights on further telling the legendary story of the F-4.

Yeah, that's the info given on the Discord was only two bombs on the pylon with Sidewinders loaded and ground clearance was assumed the issue. The main question is, was loading 3 bombs done operationally depsite not being approved by the manual.

More screenshots from the HB Facebook!

That would be why I said it shows a line TO the radar. Guess I should have clarified that. Line to the radar station or aircraft it senses, not a line on the aircraft radar screen.

Yeah, my limited understanding of the early RWRs in the F-4 (and also Early F-14A that hasn't released yet) is that they show an azimuth line to the radar and use tones instead of icons to tell the flight crew what radar it is. It will be interesting to have to learn the difference in sound between the different radars to determine if it's a SAM or aircraft and then what kind.

They've already said they are doing that.

There's skins for the supercarrier. Some just change the deck color/weathering and others change the numbers so you can have ships like the Nimitz or Eisenhower.

Year of the Phantom

Yeah, I hope it's not a long preorder. Maybe they are waiting until it's actually finished and ready for release before starting the hype train or a preorder.

They still have a month left, the end of June will mark that 6 month period. Still, I do wonder what the hangup is. I would love more info from HB, but at the same time I think just dropping it into an Open beta update and only telling us the day of would be a nice change of pace. Keep us guessing.

Pretty much the only thing I've heard is that Jester V2 is designed to be easy to move between modules and or into new ones. This will cut down on integration times for yet to be released aircraft such as the F-4 and A-6. Other than that, I have no idea.

I don't expect it before June anyways because May is almost done complete with an open beta update and we usually only get one big open beta patch each month.

That's not what I said at all. I said if ED has a release schedule and as Cobra said there will be gaps between releases, then depending on how long the delay takes, other modules will most likely be affected. Does ED not want the F-15E to be released? Story I heard was the delay from June to July was ED and not Razbam so ED could do the same to the F-4 if they find something unsatisfactory with their end of the update. I like you, am waiting for the F-4 and have not bought the F-15 so I'm anxious for the F-4 reveal to come and hoping I don't have to wait until fall to get my hands on it although that's looking more likely with each passing week... Luckily, I have the A-6 AI and hopefully the early F-14 to look forward to over the summer if the F-4 comes late in the year. Exactly. There will be gaps between the releases. Obviously the F-15E release and development does not affect Heatblur's development or the F-4E, but you can't say on one hand that there will be a gap between releases and then also say one does not affect the other. You can't have a gap between releases if one product gets delayed into an overlapping release window with the other. Hopefully we get some news soon or at least some more screenshots of what they've been working on.

No, but ED does. If ED decides to delay a module or make a release schedule so modules are not released at the same time, there's nothing a 3rd party can do to change that decision since DCS releases are controlled by ED. I feel like everybody who says "but it's a different module and has nothing to do with other module" forgets this. ED has final say on releases. So if ED has decided to not release multiple modules at the same time, the F-15E delay WILL affect the F-4 if it is ready before the F-15 but is slotted for release after the Eagle.

Yes, although if you want default B skins on the A you will have to dig through the game files and copy them into the A's livery folder. What speed and altitude was the tanker at? Your loadout will also effect your throttle position when flying formation or tanking. As you can see here, I am at MIL power with 2 bags, 2x GBU-10, LANTIRN, 2x SUU-25 flare pods, 1x Sparrow, and 2x Sidewinders at 20,000 feet. It was a struggle to regain speed without using AB, but I was well above 200 kts at MIL power so I'm unsure what your issue was. It must have something to do with the new A flight model because I remember 290 KIAS to be a good speed for both F-14's to tank at, but I was struggling to keep up. I will be decreasing the tanker speed by 10-15 knots on this mission so I don't have to sit on the stops. Also, the A will get compressor stalls if you get into the exhaust of the S-3. I compressor stalled both engines when I got to high and close and drifted down through it on my way back to proper position. The A has the exact same loadout options as the B and can indeed mount the LANTIRN pod as seen in the screenshot above. When we get the early A (this summer maybe?), it might not be able to use LANTIRN, but we don't yet have a weapons list for it.

Most of the fighting was West of El Alamein as far as I know, but I'm far from an expert. I did manage to find some photos of US dirt airstrips in North Africa, but I'm not sure where they are from. Looks like mostly tents for buildings and the aircaft just parked on hard packed dirt and sand. I would assume this would be pretty standard for the various Allied landing grounds some of which were probably in the Sinai map area although I couldn't tell you where. Here's an RAF Blenheim parked at a base. Could be anywhere in the Med region though. Might be Malta so it probably doesn't help here. I think it'd be great if you guys did something for the DCS WWII community with a little bit of the North Africa region or whatever fits your current map plan. It would be a nice change from the England/France area we have right now. Sorry I couldn't be more help, but hopefully it helped at least a little.

Because it's not ready? OnReTech has had excellent communication so far so they will let us know when it's ready for release. Not every DCS module does preorders either.