Tirak

I was under the distinct impression it was confirmed to be Block I which does not have refueling probe.

They have a few more hours...

Actually the original post references the AH-1Z, not the AH-1W.

Airforce F-4s weren't carrier capable.

So is this capability planned as part of the module now officially, and is it expected at early access launch or not expected until after the early access development cycle is under way? I need to update my chart.

And why exactly can a pilot with a side stick not limp home to ditch by a carrier? I fly side stick style and it's much more comfortable and not particularly hard to 'fly' using the off hand with the sort of accuracy needed simply to get near a carrier group to bail. Landing on a carrier wouldn't be an option if you flew center stick anyway so I'm not really seeing your argument from a redundancy standpoint.

I'm struggling to think of a scenario where the pilot's aircraft would have sustained a hit that would have broken his arm and would not be instructed to ditch rather than try and put down on the carrier.

On servers like Blue Flag it will be a game changer no question. An airframe that literally can move the war on its own will be a huge deal.

Excellent to hear. :thumbup:

If RAZBAM were to do any Skyhawk, the M would be the best one, they've already spent the time making the DMT.

Both the JF-17 And SU-25T will have access to high end ARMs. On Blue the F-4E will have access to mid tier ARMs, as it is not an F-4G, and the F-18 will have access to high tier ARMs. The Sidearms on the Harrier are too short ranged to be considered viable for regular SEAD operations. On the idea of carriers, I view them as a destructible home base asset, sorry that I wasn't overly clear on that point. If possible it would be amazing to have carriers move to the front, as takeoff and landing will be suitable skill barriers to them being spammed. That does however pose a problem of advanced fighters being available on the frontline, an ability not matched by most Red aircraft.

The F-4E we're recieving is the most modern one that served in the USAF, so it's not a vietnam vintage aircraft. She'll have access to Sparrow missiles in greater quantities than the Mirage, in addition to her AIM-9 loadout. A powerful radar and a dedicated officer means that the F-4 outperforms the Mirage handily until the merge, and even then, because it's a 'modern' F-4 with a slatted wing, she will be able to handle herself, especially with her monstrous amount of thrust able to sprint to make distance. It's not as bad a matchup as you might imagine. The real reason I was hesitant to match the two is because the F-4 is going to be a very effective ground attack aircraft, allowing her to employ laser guided bombs with Pave Track and a large selection of guided missiles and potentially ARMs as well.

Honestly in the long run I'm strongly against mirrored aircraft. In the short run it's unavoidable, but looking at the supposed anticipated 2018 list that some folks are taking as gospel, we can get rid of the mirror matchups by matching roles and providing some advantages to each side that should help balance out. FC3 [TABLE]Red|Blue|Role|Location SU-27/33|F-15C|Air Superiority|Home Bases Only/Carriers SU-25A|A-10A|Close Air Support|Home Bases Only MiG-29|N/A|Air Superiority|Home Bases Only[/TABLE]We sadly will never get away from the Flaming Cliffs 3 modules, they're too prevalent and too much of a gateway for new players who are just getting into DCS to ever completely count out. We should however, disincentivize using them. Yes they're easy, yes they're highly effective, but if you want to use them, you're going to have to use them from one of the rear line bases. This should make using them less desirable as long as you have a more advanced aircraft in your reserve. I have left one exception to this list, the 25T, as it must perform as a counterpart elsewhere. Air Superiority [TABLE]Red|Blue|Location F-14A|F-14B|Home Bases Only Mirage 2000C|F-4E|Midline Bases and Limited Frontline Bases MiG-21Bis|F-5E|All Airbases MiG-19|N/A|All Airbases[/TABLE]The cock of the walk will no doubt be the powerful and flexible F-14s, and given that both the A and B variants will be available, they should be split between Red and Blue as they provide a capability completely unrivaled by any other aircraft thanks to the Phoenix. It should be noted however, Blue F-14s are superior dogfighters, however Blue has fewer options in this category as a whole. Nevertheless, the aircraft should only be available at home bases, as the amount of firepower they provide is significant that spending time and effort to bring it to the front should be the price for its awesome capabilities. I somewhat hesitated to match the Mirage 2000 and the F-4E Phantom in this category, however given the era of Phantom we are receiving, I believe it is justified. The Mirage is a superior dogfighter and has an easier to use radar. The Phantom brings more firepower to the table and a more powerful radar. Strictly speaking, the Phantom is more of a Multirole in the version we are getting, however for the purposes of ease of organization of the direct matchups, I placed it in the Air Superiority Category, though that is part of its balancing against the Mirage which makes the aircraft relatively comparable in the environment we are using them. The MiG-21Bis and MiG-19 round out the category as front line fighters for Redfor. Because of their limited range and capability, they should be the front line spawn, easy to get into combat with and capable only at short range due to their armament. They are squared off against the F-5E which I believe is a reasonable setup. The MiG-19 is a strictly close in dogfighter with out of date missiles, however it is a great shield for the MiG-21's sharp spear, mixing up and delaying the F-5s. The F-5s are solid dogfighters in all realms that the MiGs can operate in, though are not as nimble as the 19, nor as long ranged as the 21, and able to take advantage of any gaps discovered. Combined with superior visibility and an easy to use Radar, I believe the matchup to be equal, thus the 19 needs no direct counterpart on the chart. Ground Attack [TABLE]Red|Blue|Location SU-25T|A-10C|Midline Bases AJS-37|AV-8B| FARPs and Midline Bases[/TABLE]The King of DCS sadly has no proper counterpart, and thus the Jack of DCS must fill its place, with the free SU-25T module filling in. I understand these are not proper analogues, however the SU-25T brings standoff SEAD to the table in addition to a potentially lethal close in punch with its Vikhrs, whereas the A-10C is much more suitible for long term punching down on less well defended targets. SU-25Ts thus have more "alpha strike" being able to knock open the door on SAM sights with greater ease, though the A-10C brings sustained firepower to the table. The Viggen is a supersonic striker, the Harrier a flexible multi target strike bird. Again asymmetrical balance rears up in a positive way, with Viggens able to strike down hard on heavily defended targets and against naval targets (something very important against the highly navalized Blue faction), and the Harrier able to fill in gaps where required and be fast on call support while the A-10s labor to get into position. Helicopter Scout/Gunship [TABLE]Red|Blue|Location KA-50|N/A|Home Base and Limited FARP Mi-24P|N/A|Home Bases Only N/A|Bo-105|All Bases and FARPS N/A|SA342|All Bases and FARPS[/TABLE]The Pinnacle of assymetric warfare in Blue Flag will be the Scout/Gunship role, with Blue having no gunship helicopters and Red no Scout Helicopters, at least until the AH-1W comes out, but that could be very far down the line and wasn't mentioned in the New Years bulletin. The KA-50 is an effective ground attack platform no lie, however because of its unrivaled power, you should be forced to bring it from afar. Of course operating from FARPs after ferrying from home is fine, however because of Blue's total lack of a proper counterpart, only limited numbers should actually be on the front. The Mi-24P will be by far the most exciting addition to Blue Flag with its ability to carry not only troops, but anti tank missiles, anti aircraft missiles (potentially, it's a little unclear on that), and have a powerful gun. This power should come at a cost, only being available at home bases, as once a Hind is in field, it can effectively fight and move the war on its own if not properly challenged. The light Scout Helicopters of Blue should be forward deployed, easy to slip over into the fight and should have their full range of weapons availible. Woe betide he who ignores warnings of Gazelles prowling in the mountains with AA missiles, and that should help promote teamwork between rotary aircraft and their fixed wing counterparts. Because of their limited weapons load, I feel no concern about them being on the front line as it moves forward, giving NATO a small advantage in that regard, though of course lacking the heavy firepower and flexibility of movement Red will enjoy with its gunships. Transport Helicopters [TABLE]Red|Blue|Location Mi8|UH-1|Normal Bases[/TABLE]The current only transports in game shouldn't be crossed. Red is going to enjoy an advantage in this category thanks to the Hind being able to double for it as well, and so it might make sense for Huey's to be closer to the front, however aside from that, this section needs little explanation. Super Stars [TABLE]Red|Blue|Location JF-17|F/A-18C|Home Bases Only[/TABLE]These two aircraft can do everything. They will be the most advanced, most capable most flexible planes in game. That's fine, if you want to bring it, you're going to have to plan for it and start from your home bases. These will be the multirole kings of Blue Flag and each should be seen as a point of pride for their faction, no crossover can possibly be considered. Overall in Fixed Wing, Blue comes off with more flexible multirole aircraft. The Phantom will be just as much at home bombing ground targets as it is dogfighting in the skies. Similarly the Harrier will be rapid flexible response, whereas the Viggen is pinpoint strike. On the rotary side of the equation, Red holds the cards, having the more flexible and capable gunship, squaring off against the smaller, more nimble and easier placed Blue scout helicopters. I feel the list provided fills all required roles and places aircraft on relatively equal footing, with small advantages and disadvantages to keep things interesting, while simultaneously getting rid of any multi faction planes. This helps create a faction culture, push camaraderie and help out pilots lacking more modern radars make fast identifications in a dogfight. I'm certain people will have disagreements, but this is the path I'd like to see Blue Flag move towards in the future, using the current blueprint as shared by ED on their New Years bulletin.

Yeah, I kinda felt the same given how useful the Mavericks are on the Harrier with the DMT, but I spent quite a bit of time trying to hunt down any evidence of carrying even just 2 Mavericks on a single hardpoint and couldn't find anything, same with the Zuni pods.

As always looking nice. I wish you'd guys would post more videos of just screwing around in the plane to help satiate our desire to see the Scooter in action.

You can click and drag those as well.

Did they seriously put 3 Zuni pods strapped together on a single hardpoint on something the size of the Scooter? I was looking for any evidence of multiple Zuni pods on a single hardpoint 'cause they're the best rocket for the Harrier (until APKWS is implemented) when I came across this and figured you folks would enjoy the chuckle.

Using the TGP on the left MCPD seems to have done the trick with it reliably slewing, and I had been forgetting the DMT switch behind the stick, all is working as well as to be expected now. Thanks for the help guys.

So I've been trying to practice with the TGP and I think I must be doing something wrong given everyone else's success. So, DMT is at starter position following the flight path marker. I select TPOD on the MFCD, select AR/PT, select TDC. I place the TPOD initial marker near the target and press the TDC in any direction (NOT In), it locks to the ground. Now, when I press the TDC in a direction, as if slewing the DMT, most of the time the MPCD immediatly switches over to the DMT, and the TPOD starts swaying looking around wildly. Going back to the TPOD page on the MFCD, the view is slewing seemingly at random all over the place. On the times when I manage to get the TPOD to slew properly, I line it up on a target, unsafe the laser, confirm laser code 1688, select FIRE, then SSS Aft to try an select LST. However, it does not show the compass with LST in the corner, it shows the camera view of the DMT with LST in the corner. When switching back to the TPOD screen on the MFCD, it has set itself to Stand By mode. Turning it back on has everything back to where it was when I tried to set the DMT in LST mode.

Select the Zuni's Pylon on the weapons management panel on the left below the MPCD, or select the OSB button above 105 to select Zuni rockets.

Well the Marines are replacing them with F-35s, so...

So is anyone else having trouble slewing the TGP? TGP is in AR mode, TDC is selected, my TDC buttons (not Axis) is mapped to my HOTAS. I put the targeting box over a target at range, then when I try to slew with the TDC it snaps immediately to the DMT.

No thank you. While I do love the Super Tweet, I would prefer if RAZBAM focused on more capable aircraft, like the F-100D or the F-8.

It's not internally consistent mate. Turbo Lasers have never arched in a vacuum in any of the movies or series. While Rule of Cool often reigns supreme, can you honestly say it didn't look farcical for them to be arching their shots so ridiculously?

Well for Full Fidelity modules I predict something like this: Blue VS Red F-18C Vs JF-17 F-14B VS F-14A AV-8B VS AJS-37 F-5E VS MiG-21Bis F-4E VS Mirage 2000C A-10C VS Christian Eagle II