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Yes but bigger diameter missiles like R-33, R-27ER or AIM-54 or medium diameter like AIM-7, R-27, R-77, PL-10 are losing energy significantly faster in dense air compared to e.g. AIM-120.

Yes, it would be nice together with overall air refuel physics/lighting/communication update.

Slightly older aircrafts like F-4 Phantom will always have an advantage of being declassified and possible to model to the detail. In case of less older aircrafts like F-16, JF-17, F/A-18 etc. some systems, real life functionalities, weapons parameters and even some critical flight model regimes have to be omitted/changed, being classified.

The most important factor when it comes to losing energy is missile's diameter. With AIM-120 they were able to reduce its diameter to 7 inches (178mm), when AIM-7, R-27, R-77 (or Chinese 'AMRAAM' PL-12/SD-10) had 8 inches (200-203mm) what significantly increased their drag. R-27ER had additional segment with 260mm diameter, this was a massive drag increase, making the missile slowing down way faster. A design compromise.

For now 1985 Soviet era Su-27S is impossible. All we can root for is 1985 Su-27S being possible to model as full fidelity module some day in the future. Russian era 2005 Su-27SM would be totally unrealistic, with made up flight performace, completely fictional sensors, avionics, weapons, MFD pages. Basically as (un)realistic as amateur made Su-30 MOD, which is already available. Everything is strictly classified, without access to any documentation or SME. Su-35 from 2015, decade more recent even compared to relatively transparent our US DCS 2005 F/A-18 or 2007 F-16 (or 2006 F-22 Raptor), and being the most modern Russia aircraft, would be a joke, with totally made up everything.

It's nice, but 1980s would be more relevant, with the 1981 Gulf of Sidra Crisis, 1986 Operation El Dorado Canyon, the 1989 Gulf of Sidra Confrontation. 2011 was completely one-sided, first Kaddafi's military against Libyan civilian population, later NATO's swift annihilation of Kaddafi's military under UN resolution, without losing a single aircraft. Or WW2 era with many large scale air operations.

Yes. Better to have reasonably realistic ~2006 Eurofighter, compatible with the timeframe of ~2006 Hornet, Viper, Apache etc. and many AI ground, air and sea assets available. Than unrealistic late 2020 P2Eb Meteor compatible EF, castrated from all the classified equipement and purposely changed other ones and with guestimated avionics and weapons. Lacking any context in DCS, without 2020 AI ground, air or sea asets.

This is a part of a bigger problem - most of DCS maps are 'modern day' peacefull enviroment, like civilian flight simulator. Without actual warzone atmosphere, blackout, battlefield, real war timeframe. It means it's very easy from technical point of view.

True. Just adding some random variations to the explosion, smoke and fire would already make a big difference.

Vietnam-era Bullpup and HOBOS quirks and detailed modelling looks great. Bullpup will be used not only by F-4, but also by future F-100, A-6, F-8 or even A-4 MOD. Or Draken if thet's one of HB unannounced modules. Thanks.

That's why i think DCS shouldn't try to model aircrafts, systems, assets, sensors, weapons developed after the Cold War - they are inherently flawed as there are rarely any sources, big room for guestimation, being forced to omit many systems completely, and close to zero real life tests in real symmetrical conflicts. If DCS would stop in 1991 it would be far more realistic as systems and weapons being far less classified, tested in real conflicts, less complex, far more coherent with far more proper variant aircrafts from the unified timeframe, modeling the same aircrframes like F-14, F-15, F-16, F/A-18, A-10, AH-64, MiG-29, Su-17, Su-25, Su-27, Mi-24, Mirage 2000, Gazelle, Viggen etc., just with earlier variants modeled in more complete and realistic way, far more attractive and engaging combat with way more within visual range A/A and A/G weapons, modeling more appealing symmetrical all out conflicts instead of one sided "War on Terror" anti-terror/anti-partisan operations of 2000s, far more symmetrical with both sides NATO and WarPac aircrafts modeled, not just one. Like our 1980s DCS F-14, F-5, F-4, A-6, A-7, Huey, C-101, MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-29, Mi-24, L-39, Kfir, Mirage F.1, F-104, Tornado IDS, MB-339, Bo-105, etc.

E.g. "Tornado F.3 Weapons System Manual" -> "AMRAAM moding". But we can't post any post 1980s documents here, so let's stay in line with forum rules.

You won't find such sources. Post-Cold War technology in simulators like DCS is more or less guestimated and it will always remain far less realistic compared to Cold War technology. For many reasons, not only classification, but also complexity and 1990s computer revolution.

First let's model AIM-120B in a reasonably realistic way, e.g. with HPRF/MPRF modes. It's easy to make completely unrealistic, made up (and totally simplified) new missile, like MBDA Meteor, without any data, neither kinematic performance nor electronics, radar modes, guidance algorithms, two way datalink and peer guidance etc. EDIT: AIM-120B, not A.

True. Mi-24V, F-16A, F-15A/C, AH-64A, Mi-8MT, CH-47B/D, MiG-21F-13 etc. would be awesome. And some 3rd parties like Aerges, Heatblur, Polychop are already making different variants, which is great. The core of the current problem with variants is, the criterion to chose between variants with available documentation, is not to chose the variant fitting the rest of DCS enviroment - but to model always just the most modern we have access to, even if it means it won't fit ANYTHING in DCS, no other AI or flayable aircrafts, no ground or sea assets, no campaigns. Unfortunately often it means the modules in limbo.

100% Agree. This is the single most important thing. A few conflicts like e.g. 1944 Normandy, 1950s Korean War, 1960s Vietnam War, 1970s Middle East, 1980s Iraq-Iran War or Fulda Gap. Not only a sandbox with modules with random variants and assets from random periods on modern day peaceful maps. Even with just 2-3 flayable aircrafts, but with coherent TIME PERIOD CORRECT MAP, AI ground/air/sea assets and campaign. This is how all the simulators were made and that's how they gave whole lot of fun, even the old Flanker 2,5 had all of that. And if the campaigh would be dynamic it would be even better. This would take DCS immersion, atmosphere, purpose and satisfaction on another level. Not only modern day peacefull maps withut atmosphere, often too modern even for 2005 Hornet, Viper, Apache etc.

Cold War IRST like the ones installed in F-101B, F-4B, MiG-25, F-8, Su-27, F-14A, MiG-29, J-35 Draken etc. were of very limited use. Able to detect a target only in very vavourable conditions like high altitude/good weather/flying below the target/rear aspect. That's why the ones used often as interceptors like F-101, Su-27, MiG-29, MiG-31 often kept them when other lost them in the middle of the service life. I.e. MiG-29 OLS-29 IRST has been rated as practically useless against tactical fighters by USAF testing it during 1990s. In USSR IRST were additionally desirable as Soviets assumed they had older slower microprocessors and their radars will be jammed more easily. IRL IRST were had many more limitations than we have modeled in DCS right now. Hopefully full fidely MiG-29 9.12 will model it in a more realistic way and create some new IRST API.

Full fidelity F-14A 135GR early from 1981. F-14B and F-14A 135GR late from 1987. Low fidelity F-15C MSIP II from 1985.

Marianas map is very small, just a few small islands, but highly detailed, on a verge of acceptable performance. It's a good idea to have similar map, smaller, but with higher details for helicopters, ground forces, CAS, with more detailed terrain mesh.

After many decades, do we even know which other classified device they've been using instead? During mid 1980s under MSIP II program USAF installed some self protection devices on F-15C which remains classified even today, like AN/ALQ-128.

Yes, full fidelity proper Cold War/Gulf War A-10A and Su-25. Our FC3 A-10A is mid 1990s variant, LASTE upgrade, with computerized weapon-aiming equipment, an autopilot, and a ground-collision warning system.

Some declassified pages