Why are you excited for the -A?

[westr]

Because if they get the sounds right it will be iconic. It will remind me of some movie I used to watch when I was a kid.

[Wizard_03]

I'm excited because I feel like the A is going to be the more historically accurate version. The B we have is quite the frankenbird, it has Lantirn but no PTID or JDAMs it doesn't have DFCS. No B(U) features or OFP updates. It's both a very specific (super early A+) and a very generic F-14B. To me it just doesn't seem representative of the real jet from that time period. It's really, for all intents and purposes a re-engined A and that's it, and I highly doubt you'd find an F-14B with same combination of features/capablities or lack thereof, as ours from the 90s but it's whatever. I still enjoy it, and they did a good job.

 

The A on the other hand will be much more authentic and representative of the F-14s golden years the 80s. Everything it's gonna have/not have Is realistic for the majority of the F-14 fleet at that time (aside from no glove vanes but that's iffy) and it will be the much truer tomcat experience of the two IMO.

[LanceCriminal86]

 

Fair enough, I wasn't aware of that, thanks. I guess the F-14A (late) is late 80s/early 90s then?

 

It is, it's supposed to be the 80s/90s variant that was contemporary with the B model we have. The Early A model would be earlier 80s and late 70s, where some had no TCS still, or bullet fairings, older RWR, no Lantirn. Both work great for me because the reserve squadrons I'm most interested in either had Block 140 jets, early jets rebuilt to Block 140, or early block jets that somehow made their way in as replacement jets. So having the old vents and stuff will be nice for properly representing them.

 

What I was hoping for is that the TCS can just be a setting in the livery lua file, so we can mix and match some of the different configurations out there like upgraded jets that still had old vents, or the bullet fairing on the F-14B prototype, stuff like that. But I've no idea how HB intends to implement the A model visual model, separate shape file or just using one Tomcat model with lots of custom arguments, etc.

 

May have to bribe them to sling the bullet fairing or a no-TCS no-ALQ100 version under the B model just for Prototype fun.

[LanceCriminal86]

I'm excited because I feel like the A is going to be the more historically accurate version. The B we have is quite the frankenbird, it has Lantirn but no PTID or JDAMs it doesn't have DFCS. No B(U) features or OFP updates. It's both a very specific (super early A+) and a very generic F-14B. To me it just doesn't seem representative of the real jet from that time period. It's really, for all intents and purposes a re-engined A and that's it, and I highly doubt you'd find an F-14B with same combination of features/capablities or lack thereof, as ours from the 90s but it's whatever. I still enjoy it, and they did a good job.

 

The A on the other hand will be much more authentic and representative of the F-14s golden years the 80s. Everything it's gonna have/not have Is realistic for the majority of the F-14 fleet at that time (aside from no glove vanes but that's iffy) and it will be the much truer tomcat experience of the two IMO.

 

It seems to be plenty accurate to the B models of the 90s. The upgrades you mentioned didn't really get going until into the 2000s from what I've read. Just because the first jet got tested with stuff like the digital bus and PTIDs in what 1997? doesn't mean the whole fleet of Bs had all that. The PTID, DFCS, new Lantirns, Sparrowhawk, all that jazz really happened in the 2003s where it has been beaten to death that HB has no access to documentation on those upgrades.

 

Again, this is the exact same reason the D model isn't happening. We have the B model as adopted, the 3 portions of the B Upgrade programs don't have enough documentation (digital bus/PTID, GPS/INS upgrades, JDAM, DFCS). That's a 2003+ B model.

[Wizard_03]

 

It seems to be plenty accurate to the B models of the 90s. The upgrades you mentioned didn't really get going until into the 2000s from what I've read. Just because the first jet got tested with stuff like the digital bus and PTIDs in what 1997? doesn't mean the whole fleet of Bs had all that. The PTID, DFCS, new Lantirns, Sparrowhawk, all that jazz really happened in the 2003s where it has been beaten to death that HB has no access to documentation on those upgrades.

 

Again, this is the exact same reason the D model isn't happening. We have the B model as adopted, the 3 portions of the B Upgrade programs don't have enough documentation (digital bus/PTID, GPS/INS upgrades, JDAM, DFCS). That's a 2003+ B model.

 

Then we need to take Lantirn out as the real F-14Bs used them with PTID. In the late 90s not the early 2000s. PTID was not part of the B(U) upgrade it was part of the digital bus update to give the jet PGM capability and it likely started with F-14As in the first place in the late 90s. Also DFCS was by that time on pretty much every jet. So you see the problem they need to pick a time period, either late 80s because no DCFS so therefore no Lantirn, or mid 90s with PTID and DFCS because it has Lantirn.

 

What we have is an F-14B from the 80s that somehow missed every OFP update and field mod. All the way up until the mid 90s when the crews decided to try and make Lantrin work with the fishbowl in Bosnia maybe (which again was probably F-14As anyway). So no Its not very realistic, but its ok I just don't use Lantirn and pretend. The F-14A they are making will fix all the those discrepancies as its FIRMLY a 1980s bird.

[AH_Solid_Snake]

 

Then we need to take Lantirn out as the real F-14Bs used them with PTID. In the late 90s not the early 2000s. PTID was not part of the B(U) upgrade it was part of the digital bus update to give the jet PGM capability and it likely started with F-14As in the first place in the late 90s. Also DFCS was by that time on pretty much every jet. So you see the problem they need to pick a time period, either late 80s because no DCFS so therefore no Lantirn, or mid 90s with PTID and DFCS because it has Lantirn.

 

What we have is an F-14B from the 80s that somehow missed every OFP update and field mod. All the way up until the mid 90s when the crews decided to try and make Lantrin work with the fishbowl in Bosnia maybe (which again was probably F-14As anyway). So no Its not very realistic, but its ok I just don't use Lantirn and pretend. The F-14A they are making will fix all the those discrepancies as its FIRMLY a 1980s bird.

 

I have to agree here, our B model, beauty though it is, is a bizzare bird that only exists as a historical oddity due to what documentation was available and what was deemed possible.

 

The likelyhood of an A+ making it all the way to the late 90s with none of the updates, but also being fitted with an anachronistic LANTIRN laser that works above 25k MSL seems highly remote.

 

For that reason I can very much see the argument that the F-14A will be much more 'realistic' from a milsim perspective, and from a gameplay perspective if we're allowed to dream, it would give more variety if you had the A model (and all the variants we are getting), plus a more late model B or (im gonna say it) a D model to give those very different platforms and takes on whats fundamentally the same airframe.

[LanceCriminal86]

I'll eat some crow, looks like that is indeed correct. The F-14B Lantirn tests in 1996 timeframe were with PTID.

 

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a309772.pdf

 

I think unfortunately we are stuck on the PTID thing because as mentioned, nobody can seem to find documentation on all the menus that went along with it. Sounds like we'd have to find some avionics techs and RIOs with a photographic memory to get anywhere close to a real representation of the PTID and lantirn.

 

But A models were used with the Lantirn as well, so that still leaves a question if the As received PTID or were still using the fishbowl. There is mention on Wiki that the B models that did the tests still had analog BUS, so perhaps some were running the LANTIRN without the PTID?

 

"This effort was done under the auspices of Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet (COMNAVAIRLANT) using a fleet aircraft to integrate the digital 1553-based pod on an analog F-14B. In March 1995 a VF-103 fleet aircraft successfully dropped the first laser-guided training rounds (LGTR) and quickly laser-guided bombs (LGB). Due to the early success and interest from Fleet Commanders, NAVAIR began to procure pods and control units for deployment, resulting in VF-103 receiving the first LANTIRN pod June 14, 1996 in time for its upcoming deployment."

 

Need to track the above comments down and see if VF-103s jets were running LANTIRN but no PTID I guess.

 

[Fangs Out]

Can't wait to see the Vf-41 and vf-84 liveries added in game

[Wizard_03]

I'll eat some crow, looks like that is indeed correct. The F-14B Lantirn tests in 1996 timeframe were with PTID.

 

https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a309772.pdf

 

I think unfortunately we are stuck on the PTID thing because as mentioned, nobody can seem to find documentation on all the menus that went along with it. Sounds like we'd have to find some avionics techs and RIOs with a photographic memory to get anywhere close to a real representation of the PTID and lantirn.

 

But A models were used with the Lantirn as well, so that still leaves a question if the As received PTID or were still using the fishbowl. There is mention on Wiki that the B models that did the tests still had analog BUS, so perhaps some were running the LANTIRN without the PTID?

 

"This effort was done under the auspices of Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic Fleet (COMNAVAIRLANT) using a fleet aircraft to integrate the digital 1553-based pod on an analog F-14B. In March 1995 a VF-103 fleet aircraft successfully dropped the first laser-guided training rounds (LGTR) and quickly laser-guided bombs (LGB). Due to the early success and interest from Fleet Commanders, NAVAIR began to procure pods and control units for deployment, resulting in VF-103 receiving the first LANTIRN pod June 14, 1996 in time for its upcoming deployment."

 

Need to track the above comments down and see if VF-103s jets were running LANTIRN but no PTID I guess.

 

I think it's one of those situations where, we made it work because we needed it. But in testing found out that to get real PGM capability we need a Digital SMS ergo PTID. However I guarantee that VF-103s F-14A+s had DFCS in 1997.

[ghostdog688]

Im Probably the weirdo bit now that the A is well on its way, that means we are a step closer to a TARPS pod. Having the ability or do recon missions in an A model as I split the sky open across a dangerously defended hostile zone with nothing but speed, prayers and a camera pod just sounds like a step out of the “usual” experience. If you can see the photos afterwards, it could make for some fun multiplayer scenarios where someone can do photo recon, to allow better Intel on the next sortie. Then send another TARPS run for BDA after that, and so on...

 

The Viggen brought ELINT to DCS. Let’s see if the Tomcat can bring IMINT.

 

 

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