TLTeo

Rather than hope for some HB style workaround, I think a more realistic prospect is to just give it time. HB have their hands full with the F-4E, Typhoon, Intruder and naval Phantoms (and attached assets). By that time there's a non zero chance that EW will have been overhauled completely. The moment that overhaul happens I wouldn't be surprised if we started seeing some EW oriented modules be worked on. In the meantime, honestly the DCS AI is simple enough that just taking an AI F-4E, giving it a Wild Weasel paint job, and loading it with Shrikes will come as close as a DCS AI can anyway. There's relatively little to gain by developing a whole new AI asset when they could spend the same resources and make Drakens or Intruders instead.

The Grom missiles, since they were only compatible with the radar on some earlier variant (the RP-21 carried by the S I think?) and not used by the bis. But yeah all in all it is a good module, it does a good job of showing what flying and fighting in a Fishbed was like, but as with many other legacy DCS products it hasn't necessarily aged well enough to keep up with newer releases. And to try to get back on topic, the Strike Eagle clearly has priority and has had it for a long time, so I wouldn't expect the Mig-23 to be out before 2023 at the earliest (and even that is extremely optimistic).

So if I'm reading the charts right, the F-4E's STR is superior to the -21bis and mostly superior to the -23ML (and by extension MLA) except for relatively low Mach numbers and 16 degree sweep in a very narrow speed range (and that probably comes issues for the -23 as well, since 16 degree was supposedly only for taking off and landing)?

That's in the very first post

Egypt is the last -E operator missing from the thread I think:

Yeah, HB have been using that phrasing forever.

From a quick google, Olds would only have flown the C and D in combat.

This is really not a fair comparison. The Phantom (especially the E model) flew way, way more combat missions around Syria and Iran than anything the Mustang did outside of ww2 and maaaaybe Korea, it's not even a remotely fair comparison

Meh, the F-4 flew combat pretty much everywhere, including maps that are in DCS right now. Vietnam would be neat for the historical value, but it's not desperately needed to give value to the module like some people seem to think.

Half the community really. The other half wants it released right now even if the cockpit is un-textured, the radar doesn't work, the landing gear is not animated, and the FM is buggy enough to include parts of the Cessna 172 and SR-71 flight envelopes. Back on topic - I don't see how Viper isn't the obvious choice, seeing as the character actually flew Phantoms and it obviously complements Jester. Plus he comes with a bonus epic 'stache.

The Intruder module was always scheduled to come after the formerly secret module, now confirmed to be the Phantom, and the Typhoon. This has been stated repeatedly by HB. What will come in the meantime is the AI asset.

I tried and failed. Except it was more of a schoolgirl squeak, think Beatles Mania circa 1964.

Holy crap! I was 100% convinced it was going to be an ED aircraft and be released in 2024 or something. I've never been happier to be proven wrong!

Because the Hornet in principle was supposed to come in two variants - the F-18 fighter and the A-18 attacker. By the early 80s however computers were advanced enough that the avionics needed for both missions could be merged into just one airframe, hence F/A-18. The other teen series aircraft (and the 5th gens) started out as "fighters", so they only got the F designation (even though, with the exception of the F-15A/B/C/D, they all fly multirole missions anyway).

Publishing modules is also left to 3rd parties only up to a point. The MB-339 was submitted to ED back in November and it's still not out, it's up to ED only to decide when it does get released.

You also can not load two different types of a2g ordnance at the same time, unless it's gunpods + RB05s.

It's odd because some modules have this issue, others do not. The L-39 is (was?) in a similar situation with the R-60M, but the Viggen, F-5 and Mig-21 work as intended.

Yes, the mod was already capable of it (and in fact, being able to do it was a large reason why they switched from an SFM to an EFM in the first place):

Yeah, IFE have submitted a build to ED back in November but have been working on additional details since then - further FM tuning after getting feedback from RL 339 pilots for example.

Not happening because a) there isn't enough available info and b) even if there was, DCS wouldn't be able to simulate e.g. an AESA radar or the whole EW package, which is a very important system in how the jet operates

On a more practical note, ED have never used the end of these videos to tease someone else's products, it's always their own. There's no reason to think this time would be different.

It hasn't been announced yet, but it will likely be a hotfix. If I had to guess ED is going to release the Apache either in January or February, then the MB-339 the following month, and the F1 will come 1-2 updates later.

I think an F-4F is too niche compared to all other variants to be considered seriously. An F-4E with no Sparrows allowed (which we can do with the ME) would be a perfectly good stand in for it anyway. It's interesting to know the gunsight is the same for the updated naval jets though, since a couple of years ago Nick Grey said whoever did the Phantom should try to do multiple variants.

Quick reminder that radars are for more than just firing missiles

Eh, at this point those assets are old enough that ED might as well just re-do them.