MiG21bisFishbedL

I'm probably descended from the Aztecs to some degree. I just need some hearts, boys, let's do this.

Fancy. We're in the 21st century, now, boys! I can't wait to give this one a spin.

It's the truth, since that's what they're doing. Whether you like it or not is irrelevant. I'm not a fan of it, either, but it is what it is. Mag3 is pretty tiny.

It might as well have involved Red Green. There was no "program" as I recall it, but rather they depended on US-provided nukes. The CF-104's job until 1970, as brem pointed out, was a nuclear strike platform for the RCAF. They were to scream in, at treetop level, toss bomb their nukes, then try to get home. They were optimized for the role to the degree that they even removed the M61 to replace it with an extra fuel tank. Come 1970s, the Canadian Armed Forces has a lot of doctrinal changes, the CF-104s became conventional ground attack aircraft and even regained their gun. They also had some limited air intercept capacity, although I'm unsure if squadrons ever received any Sidewinders.

Do you not think we have? All we can do is establish there's a decent enough market for a particular airframe so that prospective 3rd part developers can take it into consideration. That's just opening the door, not even the first step. The first step would be finding not just adequate materials to work from, but also access to an example. I'm a big warbird guy IRL, but I'm completely unaware of any MiG-25s who are accessible to let us geeks crawl around all over as pictures are taken and scans made. I'd be very surprised if there aren't, I'm just not aware of any. And then it just goes from there. I'm assuming we don't have any developers with the time or will that have ready access to such an example.

If we wanted to be brutally honest, we could just that the MiG-25's greatest contribution was giving TsAGI the ability to develop the methodology and facilities to eventually create the MiG-29.

I want to fist bump the other person who voted Yak-38.

That's what I imagine it will take. I think we'd be looking at $70, honestly. I'm not sure we'd be able to get the Southeast Asian theatre without really pushing the tech of DCS to another level, so that's what I'd say be prepared to do. I am, at the very least.

They'll have to forgive me, I'm pretty eager to hear any bit of news on the J-8.

Calling it a "Vietnam" map would be a poor reflection upon the theatre itself. We're talking about an internecine conflict involving not just the Peoples Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Vietnam, but also Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos in very big ways. The only way to effectively do this would be to model the whole region. Having multiple maps just won't cut it. It'll be quite the challenge for ED, too, but if you ask me? It's the kind of challenge one takes up to improve and thus makes it worth it. So, be prepared to pay quite a premium.

So, wildcard suggestion for a theatre: The Arctic circle during the Cold War. NORAD. Give me a gigantic mess of interceptors; F-101s, F-102As, F-106s, CF-100s, give them all to me. I want all of them.

Wow, I was expecting something really bad.

Yeah, but I'd hope you employer would be picking up that tab, just sayin'.

At some point, most combat aircraft become a degree of Frankenstein. It's inavoidable as airframes age and need to keep up with modern demands. So, I embrace it. If the Peace Pearl is all we can get because of security concerns, so be it. It's also a proper interceptor, I am so down for that. I love these dedicated interceptors. If only we could get an F-102A, F-106A, or Su-15.

I prefer to call it 'Hans.'

Apparently a PP might have conducted a test flight or two, but realistically? It's still a J-8II of some form, an airframe that has seen a respectable service career. The only change is, of course, the use of domestic avionics in the production examples.

CF-104s with the Vinten VICON recce pod; 4 70mm cameras. Having a photo-reconnaissance mission set in DCS would be way, way, way too much fun. Well, for me, it would be.

So, F-104G F-104A with the -19 CF-104. With an instant sunrise. LET'S GO

Pretty much. It was derived from the G, but it had some notable changes. The CF-104 was Canada's big punch as they were organized into reconnaissance and nuclear strike squadrons as opposed to interceptor squadrons. At the time, that job would have fallen to the CF-100 Canuck and CF-101 Voodoo. Of note, are the initial omission of the gun in favor of more fuel storage and a NASARR R-24A in lieu of the F-15A-41B. The R-24 only had A2G capability at the start of the CF-104's life while the 104G's F-15A-41B had both air-to-ground and air-to-air capability. This was because the RCAF used its CF-104s as both recce and nuclear strike platforms. With changes to Canadian military and foreign policy in the late '60s, the CF-104s we reorganized into conventional attack squadrons. With that, they got their guns at the very least. Some sources I find state that the R-24A was upgraded to include an air-to-air mode, but I can't verify that. I'm pretty sure they never carried the AIM-9, but I'm almost certain they had the capacity.

This. This is what I want. What were the F-104S's derived from? A/C's or G's?

The most likely option: The F-105G as the Spanish flew it and it saw quite a wide spread proliferation across the world. The Patrician option: The F-104A. The option I'd take because I know it'd make a lot of people salty with me: CF-104.

Thanks for that clarification. The loss of the gun isn't too unusual. The Canadian CF-104s didn't have guns, initially. Their radars were A2G, as well. They removed the gun for additional tank space for longer range, but the Canadians used their Starfighters as recce and nuclear strike until (I could be wrong, if a Canuck or Starfighter obsessive wants to correct me, please do) starting in 1970 when they were converted into recce and ground attack, then just purely ground attack.