Any information yet on planned version ?

[Rudel_chw]

6 minutes ago, TLTeo said:

As far as I know, it is the only picture (at least, the only easily found picture) of an Italian F-104 of any variant using the ventral pylons for missiles.

 

I've seen a few others:

 

 

 

 

This is not an S, but a dutch G:

 

 

and a German G:

 

 

 

[TLTeo]

Yes, my claim was that their use in Italy was very rare, not among all operators. If you look closely you'll also notice that the S model jets have the older and more draggy mount.

[dave76]

fausete, i try tò ask.... do you think can be Possible a preorder for xmas ? Thanks

[Vibora]

We are not planning preorders, or at least not yet.

[Rudel_chw]

3 hours ago, dave76 said:

fausete, i try tò ask.... do you think can be Possible a preorder for xmas ? Thanks

 

For the Mirage F1 there was no pre-order, but Aerges did offer a 20% discount for early Access status (which is still on offer, guess until the F1M appears)

 

@Vibora by any chance, is a two seat F-104 planned?  ... also, an Official FAQ thread would avoid the cluttering of questions that is creeping on this Sub-Forum   Best regards.

 

 

[dave76]

4 hours ago, Rudel_chw said:

 

For the Mirage F1 there was no pre-order, but Aerges did offer a 20% discount for early Access status (which is still on offer, guess until the F1M appears)

 

@Vibora by any chance, is a two seat F-104 planned?  ... also, an Official FAQ thread would avoid the cluttering of questions that is creeping on this Sub-Forum   Best regards.

 

 

so hope for an early access soon

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

5 hours ago, Rudel_chw said:

an Official FAQ thread would avoid the cluttering of questions that is creeping on this Sub-Forum

No it wouldn’t

A veteran such as yourself should know that by now

[Vibora]

12 hours ago, Rudel_chw said:

@Vibora by any chance, is a two seat F-104 planned?  ... also, an Official FAQ thread would avoid the cluttering of questions that is creeping on this Sub-Forum   Best regards.

We are not going to provide any statement yet. "Probably" would be the word.

[dave76]

Probably is ok......can wait

[Rudel_chw]

7 hours ago, Vibora said:

"Probably" would be the word.

 

 ok, I understand ... I had asked because Modules with multiple versions are kind of an Aerges trademark, with the C-101 having two versions and the Mirage F1 going to have four ... to me it is a big part of the appeal that your brand has. Wish Aerges all the best with this upcoming release.

[yewls]

7 hours ago, Vibora said:

We are not going to provide any statement yet. "Probably" would be the word.

that would probably be epic

[MAXsenna]

8 hours ago, Vibora said:

We are not going to provide any statement yet. "Probably" would be the word.

Excellent!

[Bigskill]

Il 17/11/2024 at 15:35, Rudel_chw ha scritto:

 

I've seen a few others:

 

 

 

 

This is not an S, but a dutch G:

 

 

and a German G:

 

 

 

First 2 pics belong to an Italian F104 BTW.

[Mig Fulcrum]

I would like to know if it will be a German 104 or a Spanish 104.

The screenshots shows the early RWR so I suspect it is a German one so i guess it'll have AN/ALE-40 countermeasures too and the better J79-J1K engine.

[fausete]

It's the Consortium one (German)

[Volator]

9 hours ago, Mig Fulcrum said:

I suspect it is a German one so i guess it'll have AN/ALE-40 countermeasures too

Maybe as an option, as only the German Navy 104s had these in their very last years of operation.

[Mig Fulcrum]

13 ore fa, fausete ha scritto:

It's the Consortium one (German)

Thank you for the quick answer, is it known yet the engine configuration?

[Bremspropeller]

1 minute ago, Mig Fulcrum said:

Thank you for the quick answer, is it known yet the engine configuration?

The video showed the J1K (long) nozzle.

Edited November 24, 2024 by Bremspropeller

[Mig Fulcrum]

26 minuti fa, Bremspropeller ha scritto:

The video showed the J1K (long) nozzle.

Got it, thank you

[Bremspropeller]

The features we're seeing here would narrow down the variant:

- J1K engine (ever so slightlly more thrust than the -11A and about twice the service life between overhauls, but no howling and less smoke) => started in the very early 70s

- UHF repeater indication => roughly mid 70s

- ALE CM installation => early-mid 80s (Navy only)

 

My guess would be a mid 70s "naked" variant with the option of attaching late 70s and early 80s hardware (CMs and/ or possibly the ECM EL-70 and EL-73 with their distinctive ice-cream cone antenna). See here for some details (in German):

http://www.flightschwein.de/html/sondereinbauten.html

 

German variant(s) weapons options are discussed here:
https://www.flightschwein.de/html/beladeschema.html

 

Edited November 24, 2024 by Bremspropeller

[Mike Force Team]

We must patiently for the developers to give us more information. I, too, am eager to learn which variant is modeled.

Mike Force Team 

@Vibora You disappointed us with the "no pre-order" message.  DCS has condiioned us to expect pre-order information. 

Mike Force Team 

[Bremspropeller]

On 11/17/2024 at 11:25 PM, TLTeo said:

Yea that's a relatively early S and it's also an airshow/demonstration picture basically. As far as I know, it is the only picture (at least, the only easily found picture) of an Italian F-104 of any variant using the ventral pylons for missiles.

edit: adding to what Yewls posted, Norway and Japan weren't the only countries to use the ventral pylons. There are plenty of photos of Taiwanese, Danish and Dutch aircraft doing the same.

Found another one:

https://www.916-starfighter.de/Large/Hot/Hotshot061.htm

Edited November 24, 2024 by Bremspropeller

[Bremspropeller]

ItAF (R)F-104G during "Operation Ace Guard" with both, the CM dispensers and the ECM antennae.

Edited November 25, 2024 by Bremspropeller

[TLTeo]

16 hours ago, Bremspropeller said:

Found another one:

https://www.916-starfighter.de/Large/Hot/Hotshot061.htm

Uh, I stand corrected. Pretty interesting because that's an interceptor jet (no gun, and the 53st wing that flew always had that role) but once the ASA upgrade rolled in, the buttons for the ventral rails weren't even present on the armament panel.

edit: also yeah, all of the 6 RF-104Gs that deployed during Ace Guard (which was essentially supporting Desert Storm) had the CM/ECM gear fitted.

Edited November 25, 2024 by TLTeo

[ThePops]

On 11/17/2024 at 11:38 PM, TLTeo said:

Yes, my claim was that their use in Italy was very rare

About those ventral mounts (they called it "catamaran") I found some info here: https://www.starfighter.no/dagli331.html

The F-104-G (at least the special Lockheed version used by 331 sqd in Norway) could technically have 6 sidewinders, if you count the wing tip stations. It doesn't say explicitly say if the wing tip stations were normally used for sidewinders though (I would think a better use would be tanks). Anyway, the normal load out was with tip tanks and two sidewinders. Sidewinders were mounted either on the Catamaran, or under the wing, according to the mission. For longer subsonic missions, the wing mount was chosen, since this then gave the least amount of drag. For shorter supersonic missions, the catamaran was chosen because this gave less drag at supersonic speed. In the 70s there were about 150 hot scrambles each year from Bodø.