Working Past Retirement: Metrea KC-135R
This skinpack is a representation of the 4 KC-135R operated by Metrea Strategic Mobility. Bought from Singapore in 2019, these contract tankers are supporting USAF as well as NATO operations

        Included*
KC-135R (Civil) aircraft
two skins to highlight the blue Shamu scheme (3 serial numbers) and the Agean Ghost Scheme (1 serial number)
Cockpit and ini edits to make player flyable
drogue "weapon", addable in the loadout screens

    Required
a legal functioning install of any SF2 version
    Installation
unzip this mod, then install new mod folder categories to your mod folder (Aircraft to aircraft etc)
allow overwrites
fire up game, take off and go pass gas
    Known Issues
-This is meant as eye candy. unfortunately, SF2 doesnt support air to air refueling so the best to be done is set up a recon mission and then park it in an orbit.
-Also, the C-130 cockpit is not too accurate. it is included mainly so that it can be player selected (i had to test it somehow). remember that there is no air to air refueling in game, so these are more eye candy than operational birds
- there are currently no wingtip MPRS pods for these aircraft. Once some have been sourced (via new aircraft model or pod model) they will be added in
-the Agean Ghost is not 100% accurate. there were not very good pics of the wings, plus model quirks meant some patches had to be put on each wing ot allow for color onthe airbrakes (all 4 of which were mapped to the two on the left wing)

*Wagner CD not included
 
            Credits
BPAO (Olivier Anguille, RIP) -                              original model
Dave-                                                                       head of original released original project
Dels-                                                                        C-130 cockpit
yakarov79-                                                             drogue basket model, original skin templates
Wrench-                                                                  tech advice, approval master extrodinaire
daddyairplanes-                                                    research, ini edits, texture and tga work, new additions to templates
            Big Thanks to
 Jimbib for research asssitance with the Metrea Agean Ghost camoflage
 
*************************************************************
This is freeware; it CANNOT be distributed unless permissions are granted by myself.
The original readmes, if any, and all other pieces of the package MUST remain intact.
The names of all contributors, modders, suppliers, etc =MUST= be listed in any new readmes.
This package and any part of it may NOT in any way, shape, or form be used in any payware additions.
See the original readme documentation, if any, for further allowances and restrictions
Any persons wishing to make further modifications, contact me first.
Any persons wishing to make further modifications MUST remember to put everyone's name in it.
*************************************************************
THIS AIRCRAFT MOD OR ANY PART OF IT MUST NOT BE HOSTED OR
POSTED FOR DOWNLOAD ON ANY OTHER WEBSITE WITHOUT MY EXPRESS
PERMISSION, OR USED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE THAN THIRDWIRE FLIGHT
SIMULATORS, AND MUST NOT BE SOLD OR OFFERED FOR SALE BY ITSELF
OR WITH ANY OTHER FILES OR MODS.
*************************************************************

Tupolev Tu-16 'Badger-A' for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a very simple mod of the stock AI Third Wire Tu-16 to give a flyable (and fictional) Tu-16 in service with the Fuerza Aérea Argentina with markings for Grupo 1 (grey) and Grupo 2 (silver) in the 1960's to early 1980's era.

COCKPIT
There is not really a totally suitable pit for this aircraft so I've decided not to include one but you will be sat in the right place (offset to port) and you will have a gun sight and a ground mapping radar. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the Tu-16_FAA folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the Tu-16_FAA folder into your Decals folder.
That's it! 

FLYING THE BADGER
It's so easy to scrape the tail when taking off so let the Badger 'auto take-off' by setting flaps and full power, release the brakes and the nose will lift at 260kmh and it will lift off the runway soon after. I've had good results by releasing my bombs at 10km away from the target whilst at 6,000m altitude but the Badger will happily cruise at 9,000m and at that height you should release your bombs at about 12km away from the target or just a bit more. Remember that the Badger has a fixed forward-firing 23mm cannon so if your bombs miss the fuel tank then get down nice and low and take it out that way!
To help you land the Badger I've added fake airbrakes which will slow you down enough so it's just a matter of lining up the runway from a fair old distance and making a nice 'greaser' of a landing. It does sometimes help to push the stick forward to overcome the bounciness of the landing gear.

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - October 28th, 2023
 
 

Supermarine Syrena FGA.3 for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a very simple mod of the stock Third Wire Sukhoi Su-7BMK to give a fictional Supermarine Syrena FGA.3 fighter-bomber with markings for No.6 and No.54 squadrons of the Royal Air Force both in a 'Desert Storm' style scheme.
You'll need to have the Su-7BMK for the LOD's (not included) and also the F-105D from SF2:E for the pit although you can, of course, easily use another suitable stock pit.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the SyrenaFGA3 folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the SyrenaFGA3 folder into your Decals folder.
3. From the WEAPONS folder drag and drop the Tank_Syrena_FGA3 folder into your Weapons folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - October 27th, 2023
 
 

Supermarine Syrena F.1 for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a very simple mod of the stock Third Wire Sukhoi Su-7B to give a fictional Supermarine Syrena F.1 interceptor-fighter with markings for No.111 'Treble-One' squadron and No.145 squadron of the Royal Air Force in a typical 1960's Fighter Command scheme.
You'll need to have the Su-7B for the LOD's (not included) and also the F-105D from SF2:E for the pit although you can, of course, easily use another suitable stock pit.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the SyrenaF1 folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the SyrenaF1 folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!
This aircraft uses the stock Third Wire Firestreak missile so you won't get an audible growl when/if the missile locks on but you will get visual confirmation in your Lightning style gunsight.

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - October 26th, 2023
 
 

Gloster Meteor F.8 'Iberia' for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a very simple mod of the stock Third Wire Gloster Meteor F.8 to give a fictional Meteor F.8 in service with the Spanish Air Force (3 skins) and the Portuguese Air Force (2 skins) in an overall 1954 to 1972 timeline.

INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the Meteor8_Ib folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the Meteor8_Ib folder into your Decals folder.
That's it!

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - October 24th, 2023.
 
 

From Wikipedia:
"The ADM-160 MALD (Miniature Air-Launched Decoy) is a decoy missile developed by the United States.
It uses gradient-index optics to create a radar cross section that simulates an airplane, in order to confuse missile defense systems.
......
ADM-160B
Decoy version developed by Raytheon with longer endurance. In use by the USAF.
ADM-160C "MALD-J"
Radar jammer variant of ADM-160B by Raytheon. This variant of the MALD decoy can operate in both decoy and jammer modes...... MALD-J will provide stand-in jamming capability for the Airborne Electronic Attack Systems of Systems. It will be launched against a preplanned target and jam specific radars in a stand-in role to degrade or deny the IADS detection of friendly aircraft or munitions.Delivery to the US Armed Forces is to begin in 2012. That year, the Air Force ended procurement of the ADM-160B and will only procure MALD-J versions.
MALD-N
Navy variant based on the MALD-J.
"
This mod Include:
1.ADM-160B MALD
2.ADM-160C MALD-J
3.ADM-160D MALD-N
 
Usage and precautions：
1.Upzip and copy ADM-160C folder to Objects/Weapons ;
2.For a true decoy effect I set it to "ASM" and "is decoy" ,so the ADM-160C is restricted to ASM compatible weapon station ;
3.Since it works similar to a drone in reality, it doesn't cause any damage to any target in the game, and may not even hit the target accurately,but it can indeed play a very good role in covering cruise missiles. Please be clear about your purpose of use and make a good choice.
 
Model/Texture: BorisBC;
Data/Modding: Me.

Tupolev Tu-16 'Badger-A' for STRIKE FIGHTERS 2
This is a very simple mod of the stock AI Third Wire Tu-16 to give a flyable Tu-16 'Badger' in service with the Empire of Paran Air Force with markings for No.1 Heavy Bomber Brigade.

COCKPIT
There is not really a totally suitable pit for this aircraft so I've decided not to include one but you will be sat in the right place (offset to port) and you will have a gun sight and a ground mapping radar. 
 
INSTRUCTIONS
1. From the AIRCRAFT folder drag and drop the Tu-16_Pa folder into your Aircraft folder.
2. From the DECALS folder drag and drop the Tu-16_Pa folder into your Decals folder.
That's it! 

FLYING THE BADGER
It's so easy to scrape the tail when taking off so let the Badger 'auto take-off' by setting flaps and full power, release the brakes and the nose will lift at 260kmh and it will lift off the runway soon after. I've had good results by releasing my bombs at 10km away from the target whilst at 6,000m altitude but the Badger will happily cruise at 9,000m and at that height you should release your bombs at about 12km away from the target or just a bit more. Remember that the Badger has a fixed forward-firing 23mm cannon so if your bombs miss the fuel tank then get down nice and low and take it out that way!
To help you land the Badger I've added fake airbrakes which will slow you down enough so it's just a matter of lining up the runway from a fair old distance and making a nice 'greaser' of a landing. It does sometimes help to push the stick forward to overcome the bounciness of the landing gear.

CREDITS
As always, thanks to Third Wire for a great little game/sim.
And, finally, thanks to everyone in the wider Third Wire community.
Regards 
Spinners
Version 2 - October 22nd, 2023
 

This has been a labor of love for my all-time favorite fighter aircraft. The service period of this aircraft fits perfectly with the time period that the Strike Fighters 2 game engine gives its best: Gun armed jet fighters with short range missiles and early/ limited avionics.

Changes:
-    The ‘SF2V Air & Ground War Expansion v.2.0 Gold’ and ‘F-8 DATA & LOADOUT v1.0 update’ here at CA were used as a starting point for this project.
-    Maximum G has been changed to 6.3 which is the airframe structural limit in all NATOPS publications.
-    There are automatically operating ‘fake’ leading edge droops (slats) that simulates the pilot being able to lower them a few degrees with a button on the throttle for cruising flight and manoeuvring flight (aka dog fighting). By ‘fake’ I mean they are not player operated in SF2 or linked to the 3D model but the aerodynamic effect is realistically simulated. You will notice the droop indicator in the cockpit will change with them however. If they were manually controlled in the game the AI would not use them correctly.
-    Single AIM-9 missiles and rails can be loaded instead of the Y-racks on all F-8 variants. This is done at the loadout screen (and by the loadout.ini file) it is set up so you cannot load single missiles/ rails and double missiles/ Y-racks at the same time.
-    Cannons harmonized as per NATOPS manual and gun accuracy adjusted to real world levels.
-    Adjustment to most decal positions and inclusion of Squadron codes on the wings.
-    Additional details added to most stock skins.
-    Additional squadron specific higher resolution skins with more accurate markings for that particular squadron.
-    Included for F-8J (69) is a proposed SEA camo overpaint for the VF-211 aircraft on detachment at Udorn in early 1972 to school USAF pilots in Dogfighting. The repaint was initially agreed to but it would have added 1200lbs so it was abandoned. If you wish to use it and fly DACT against USAF Phantoms you can load the extra 1200lb at the load out screen via a unique station specific hard point.
-    Overhaul of each data.ini and avionics.ini to bring them in line with the information in the F-8 NATOPS manuals, NATOPS supplements and F-8 Tactics manual.
-    More detailed pilots and ejection seats.
-    Fully compatible with ‘SF2V Air & Ground War Expansion v.2.0 Gold’ or Third Wire SF2V campaigns. 
-    Additional year specific aircraft to better reflect physical and avionic changes. As well as correcting a few mistakes and omissions by Third Wire.
-    Below is the updated list of F-8 Crusader variants with the original Third Wire description where appropriate and the specific major changes made in addition to the general ones listed above:

F-8C
The F-8C (F8U-2) entered service in 1959. F-8C is powered by J57-P-16 afterburning turbojet and can reach speed of Mach 1.6.
-    Missing radar symbology added and radar performance/ parameters corrected. The radar cursor for selecting a target is a long horizontal line that moves up from the bottom of the scope and is only adjustable in range and not azimuth to select a specific radar contact.
F-8C (66)
In 1966, F-8C received ALQ-51 ECM and chaff dispensers under project "SHOEHORN", after A-4 and F-4 were upgraded. The cannon ammo capacity is reduced slightly to make room for the ECM black box.
-    Uses the TW F-8D model modified into a F-8C in order for it to have the Y-rack Fuselage weapon rails.
F-8D
The F-8D (F8U-2N) was the all-weather interceptor version, entering service in 1960. It is equipped with AN/APQ-83 radar and more powerful J57-P-20 engine.
-    Missing radar symbology added including steering circle, aiming dot, break X and missile max range.
F-8D (66)
F-8D also received ALQ-51 ECM and chaff dispensers under project "SHOEHORN" in 1966. The cannon ammo capacity is reduced slightly to make room for the ECM black box.
F-8E
The F-8E (F8U-2NE), entering service in 1962, was the final production version of the Crusader. It is equipped with better AN/APQ-94 radar, and two underwing pylons for air-to-ground ordnance.
-    Radar frame lock, range and shoot cue lights all completely changed and now function correctly. See screenshot for more information.
-    Missing radar symbology added including range rate circle, which also doubles as the steering circle, aiming dot, break X and missile max range.
-    Missile firing order and cockpit weapon station section dial corrected.
F-8E (66)
F-8E also received ALQ-51 ECM and chaff dispensers under project "SHOEHORN" in 1966. The cannon ammo capacity is reduced slightly to make room for the ECM black box.
-    Significant use of the AIM-9C as after a lot of research it turns out they were commonly carried over Vietnam in this period, notably by VF-211.
F-8E(FN)
The F-8E(FN) is the French Aeronautique Navale version of the F-8 armed with Matra R.530 missiles. Nicknamed "Le Crouze" by the French crew, it operated off Clemenceau-class carriers from 1964 to 1994 until they were upgraded to F-8P standard. F-8E(FN) introduced many of the features, such as double-hinged leading edge flaps and drooping ailerons, that were later incorporated into remanufactured F-8J for the US Navy.
-    Equipped with the nose mounted IRST system like the USN F-8D and E.
-    This is the TW F-8J model modified into a F-8E(FN) so the DLC is NOT required.
-    Radar frame lock, range and shoot cue lights all completely changed and now function correctly. See screenshot for more information.
-    Location of Matra R.530 missile rails corrected.
F-8E(FN) (70)
-    The nose mounted IRST system is removed from all French aircraft.
F-8P(FN)
-    17 F-8E(FN) are upgraded to extend their service life, included is the Sherloc RWR system.
-    This is the TW F-8J model modified into a F-8P(FN) so the DLC is NOT required.
F-8P(FN) (94)
-    F-8P(FN) are fitted with a GPS navigation system and antenna.
F-8H
Starting in 1967, F-8Ds were remanufactured as F-8H, with improved AN/APQ-149 radar, ALQ-51 ECM, and the same underwing pylons as F-8E.
-    Retains the AN/APQ-83 radar from the F-8D but uses the physically larger and higher resolution cockpit radar display from the F-8E.
-    Missing radar symbology added including steering circle, aiming dot, break X and missile max range.
-    Radar frame lock, range and shoot cue lights all completely changed and now function correctly. See attached for more information. 
-    Missile firing order and cockpit weapon station section dial corrected.
F-8H (69)
F-8H is re-engined in 1969 with more powerful J57-P-420 engine. It also has improved ALQ-100 ECM in a larger pod, and full cannon ammo capacity restored.
-    Improved AN/APQ-149 radar fitted in place of the AN/APQ-83.
-    Additional missing radar symbology added including separate larger range rate circle and separate smaller steering circle. 
-    A lot of fleet F-8H around this period have had their Nose IRST system (temporarily?) removed.
-    Retains the ALQ-51 ECM.
F-8H (74)
-    After the Vietnam war F-8H has the improved ALQ-100 ECM in a larger pod installed, and full cannon ammo capacity restored.
F-8J
F-8J is a remanufactured F-8E with improved AN/APQ-149 radar, ALQ-51 ECM, and other improvements such as double-hinged leading edge flaps and drooping ailerons. However, its performance has suffered significantly due to increases in its weight.
-    Improved AN/APQ-124 radar installed.
-    Radar frame lock, range and shoot cue lights all completely changed and now function correctly. See screenshot for more information.
-    Missing radar symbology added including separate larger range rate circle, separate smaller steering circle, aiming dot, break X and missile max range. 
-    Missile firing order and cockpit weapon station section dial corrected.
F-8J (69)
To restore lost performance due to increased weight, F-8J is re-engined in 1969 with more powerful J57-P-420 engine. It also has improved ALQ-100 ECM in a larger pod, and full cannon ammo capacity restored.
F-8J (75)
-    In 1975 the remaining fleet F-8J (along with the RF-8G) receive the ALQ-126 ECM and ALR-45/50 RHAW RWR. The nose mounted IRST system is permanently removed.
F-8J (75) [w RWR]
-    Identical to F-8J (75) above except:
-    The cockpit radar display functions as a Vector RWR and not a radar. This is because in real life the pilot could change the radar scope from displaying radar images or displaying the RWR images. The F-8J did not have a separate RWR display. There was a setting in which it would be displaying radar images but if a missile launch was detected the threat bearing line would be displayed flashing over top of the radar images. Not possible in SF2 unfortunately.

To install:
1, Unpack and drop into your main mods folder.
2, Override when prompted.

Credits:
-    ‘F-8 DATA & LOADOUT v1.0 update’ by FANATIC MODDER.
-    ‘SF2V Air & Ground War Expansion v.2.0 Gold’ by Eburger68 and team.
-    ‘F-8E(FN) Crouze & F-8P(FN) Crouze Prolongé 1.1’ by Paulopanz, Denis Oliveira & Coupi.
-    Weapons by Ravenclaw_007.
-    Template by Geary.
-    Blade.
-    Wrench.

CombatAce fair use agreement applies.

Enjoy,
Dan.