ValAstur

Spanish Full Metal Comrades

I'm very sorry to hear that, Volker 

I wish you all the best for a fast and complete recovery!

Du packst das! 

Before the F-15A Baz and the F-16A Netz entered service, the IDF relied on Mirages and the Kurnass in a fighter bomber role. 

To reduce the workload on existing aircraft, the acquisition of the American F-111 was discussed in the Knesset. Based on the experiences of recent wars, an aircraft capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons was needed. The F-111 was suitable for this purpose. At the end of the 1960s, the Knesset authorized the procurement of this model. The Israeli Air Force requested a prototype of the latest model from the US Air Force and tested the aircraft in various air-to-ground and air-to-air scenarios.

While the aircraft proved more than inadequate for Israeli air combat needs, it was entirely convincing in ground combat. Moshe Dayan, Israel's Minister of Defense at the end of the 1960s, then ordered 64 F-111Fs on behalf of his country, which were converted in Israel to current IDF-standards. The capability of loading nukes was retained, but not used during it's efective service time.

The plane was renamed Haremesh (Scythe). According to a rumor, the name is based on a statement by test pilot Tomer Ohayon, who is said to have remarked that the F-111 "sweeps across the landscape like a scythe when flying low."

General Dynamics/IAI F-111I Haremesh (Scythe), 107 Squadron "Knights of the orange Tail", 1972

I asked the original creator of the mod for permission. As soon as it is granted, I'll upload it.

On 2/17/2026 at 3:51 AM, daddyairplanes said:

im conflicted 

great back story. pretty sure it will get expanded with an ICE upgrade allowing AIM-120s (like a certain RL McAir product)

but gawd, i thought Euro 1 on an Eagle was bad

you couldt do at least Norm 81 instead?

(note, if i got it wrong im sure someone will correct me. but pretty sure this is Norm 81)

other note, not sure why they went to they trouble with the bombs on sparrow stations. the Eagle could always carry bombs on teh wing pylons (a fact the Israelis put to use bombing Tunis in 1985) as your pics show . and give the Luftwaffe would have been concerned with the Inner German Border area in the 80s, at most you only need the belly tanks. definately not the wing tanks.  even with TERs, 6 bombs vs the displayed 4

putting a designator  on center pylon is pretty smart tho. self designating, unlik alot of NATO in the 80s

just a couple pennies from me. feel free to use or toss as always

 

Since the aircraft was introduced prior to 1981 (Norm 81), it had to wear a camouflage used by the Luftwaffe 'til then. The election was between the Norm 72 (the F-4F wore in the 70s) or the displayed Norm 76 from the German Tonkas.

Having A/G-Capability, I thought the Norm 76 made more sense.

There is a Norm 81B Eagle. I created it twelve years ago:

https://combatace.com/forums/topic/81530-german-adler-eagle/#comment-653284

On 2/17/2026 at 8:08 PM, Gepard said:

The Luftwaffe always took the wrong plane. The F-15A would have been an excellent choice. But i doubt, that they would have integrated air to ground weapons. For mud moving they had the Tornado. So a german F-15A would have followed the rule "no pound for air to ground". And stupid as the german military bureaucracy was, i think they would have removed the Sparrows.

I thought, being in the "first row" when deflecting an attack of the Warsaw Pact and their overwhelming number of tanks, having additional punch couldn't be wrong.

23 hours ago, ext said:

By chance did you ever upload this plane? It is very sharp looking! You did a very nice job skinning this one.

I didn't do it so far. If interest exists, I can upload it. But it won't be before the weekend since I'm leaving tomorrow for a business trip.

At the end of the 1970's, the german air force (Luftwaffe) became more and more worried about the capabilities of the soviet aircraft, with the MiG-21 and 23 already being very manouverable fighters, capable of beating the Phan in a dogfight. Since the Luftwaffe did not use BVR-armament, the focus lied on manouverable and capable aircraft for air superiority achievement. The Tornado was not suitable for this task. The appearance of the MiG-29, though being in a prototype state of development, shocked the western allies. Germany, being the first line of defense in Europe, asked for the possibility of acquiring the F-15A for the primary role of air defense with a secondary focus on ground attack.

After ten months of negotiations with SecDef Harold Brown of the Carter Administration, the Luftwaffe received the first aircraft in 1978. The Sparrow stations at the belly got reworked by Dornier (with the permission of MDD), enabling the possibility of using them with lighter bombs for a higher tactical field value. The adaptable clamp system, developed and outfitted by Dornier, made it possible to load several bomb types incl. LGB. For security reasons, top speed and G-Load had to be reduced as long as the weapons were attached to the fuselage. This measure had to be adopted after an accident, where a modified Eagle lost a GBU-12B during a High-G-Turn on a test flight. The impacting LGB was not armed and did not cause major damage since it went down in a landscape with dense forest, but showed the limits of the modification.

The F-15A got handed over to the Luftwaffe after modification in 1979, renamed F-15F.

McDonnell Douglas F-15F Eagle, Jagdbombergeschwader 32, 1979

With a CAS-loadout

With a possible loadout for striking missions

Credits go to Geary for the templates I used and to ravenclaw for some of the stencils applied to this skin.

On 1/25/2026 at 5:32 AM, dsawan said:

Cool, hoping for a release

Uploaded and awaiting approval.

But ye be warned: it comes w/o LODs, so you need to have guuruu's original GR.1-Tonka installed!

Last but not least the Hill 2 Camo on the Tornado

Here is an update.

The ROKAF Tonka with the Hill 1 Camo...at least how I would put it.

Hmm...good point.

OK then, I'll finish the skins, upload them here and, if there is enough interest, I can release the mod without LODs.

Shan't take long producing that skins.

Problem might be the release of the aircraft, since the owner seems not to be around and he is not part of the Freeware Licensing Agreement.

5 hours ago, mono27 said:

Good idea and good work! Now it is more confortable to read at nights. Thanks!

Same reason for me.

Korean Lightning F.2A, unknown Squadron, 1969

10 hours ago, daddyairplanes said:

wicked

now when they go grey, do they go Gunship Gray like the Strike Eagles, or go Hill 2 like the Phantoms? or get really phancy and go Hill 1 Gray?

Hmm...good question. Haven't thought about it. I think the ROKAF would go for the color scheme they applied on the KF-16s.

6 hours ago, dsawan said:

Cool, hoping for a release

@guuruu would you be fine with it?

In early 1980, South Korea showed great interest in the Tornado, particularly the German variants because of the MW-1 multi-role weapon. The aircraft's primary mission was intended to be low-level attacks on advancing enemy troops, especially tanks. Due to the weapon's destructive power, the then German Defense Minister, Hans Apel, imposed an export ban. German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher tried unsuccessfully to persuade Apel to reconsider. Following this setback, the South Korean government turned to Italy, which also rejected the sale of the aircraft and the weapon, citing Germany's decision.

After Italy's rejection, British Foreign Secretary Peter Carington contacted the South Korean government and offered them the British GR.1 model. However, this aircraft could only be equipped with the JP233 missile pod, designed for disabling airfields. Within the military leadership, discussions began regarding how this weapon could be used against the North in an attack scenario. After comparing the specifications of the cluster munitions and the mines, South Korea decided to order this type of aircraft. A total of 48 aircraft were ordered.

Deliveries began in late 1982 and were completed in 1984.

Panavia Tornado GR.1K, 11th Wing, 102 Squadron "Blue Dragon", 1982

The introduction of the MiG-19 "Farmer" and the potential for the North Korean Air Force (NKAF) to acquire this aircraft posed a major problem for the South Korean Air Force leadership in the early 1960s. Since most squadrons were equipped with various versions of the F-86, the high command feared that the "Farmer" could give the North a decisive air advantage. To mitigate this risk, the Korean government decided to contact the American Kennedy administration. The Koreans wanted an aircraft that would allow them to quickly reach the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) if necessary and intercept any intruding attackers. Several models were offered, of which the South Korean leadership preferred the F-104, despite its shorter range. In October 1961, the Korean Foreign Minister (Choi Duk-shin) and Defense Minister (Park Byung-kwon) signed a formal order for a total of 72 F-104Cs, which were delivered starting in mid-1962.

To compensate for the F-104's short range, Quick Response Airstrips (QRAS) were designated at various points south of the DMZ. Their sole purpose was to refuel, rearm, and maintain the F-104s in the event of an attack. Basically, the QRAS could be a longer road where the plane could land, hidden in a forest for example. Necessary resources for the completion of the tasks would be delivered by specially assigned units inside Army and Air Force.

By the mid-1990s, calls arose for the scrapping of the now 30-year-old aircraft, as they had become inefficient and expensive to maintain. As part of the overall modernization of the ROKAF, a program to improve the Starfighter was also initiated. This Combat Value Upgrade (CVU) was intended to make comprehensive modifications to the aging aircraft. The contract was awarded to KAI, with a target completion date of mid-2003. Problems involving the restructuring of the aircrafts fuselage and wing roots led to a major delay, with the program being completed at the end of 2005.

This project involved extensive modifications to the aging aircraft. The modifications included:

- Use of a more powerful and efficient engine -> Conversion to the General Electric F110-GE-129 engine

- Fuselage reinforcement for increased payload capacity -> Replacement of critical components and use of high-strength and durable materials, especially in the wing root and inner strut areas

- Addition of two additional pylons for more payload

- Installation of a more modern radar -> Conversion to the APG-82 system.

- Improvement of the ECM system

- Installation of a chaff/flare deployment system (30 each)

- Fixed sniper pod for electro-optical target acquisition

The improved model also became the first aircraft capable of using the Korean version of the Brimstone missile, "Yuhwang" (Brimstone in Korean), which featured laser targeting.

The pilots who flew the new aircraft for the first time praised its power. However, they also warned against underestimating the aircraft, as these modifications affected its flight characteristics.

Of the 64 aircraft remaining (8 lost due to accidents) before the conversion, only 24 were upgraded for cost reasons. The others were decommissioned and scrapped.

F-104K (CVU) Super Starfighter, 19th WIng, 162 Fighter Squadron "Boramae", 2006

CAS-Payload with 12 "Yuhwang"-missiles on TLRs

5 hours ago, 2_mch0 said:

Hey everyone, I hope you´re having a great day and a good start of this 2026.

I´m new playing SF2 and I really like the overall experience from playing it. I discover tha add-on aircraft section recently and I´m amazed by the What-If section, since I love those type of aircrafts. 

And, just for mess around, which what-if fighter (concept, prototype, etc) is your favorite? Mine is the F-11F-1F Super Tiger

Welcome to our community! 

My fav (overall, not only here) is the MiG-31 Firefox.

On 1/11/2026 at 5:26 PM, GKABS said:

OK, the EF2000 B is done, and the F/A-18E, F/A-18F, and F/A-18G are coming soon. It's a team effort, and it has been in the making for a considerable amount of time.

This is the F/A-18E

Those Bugs look gorgeous! 

4 hours ago, daddyairplanes said:

@ravenclaw_007 there isnt an F-4F ICE sitting in a museum somewhere in Germany? i would think you should be able to talk your way into getting into a cockpit and are abit closer than the rest of us

@ValAstur   theres        shock and yikes. but im suprised there doenst seem to be a wow in there

I meant the possible emojis of reacting to post at the end of each post. You can choose between like, thanks, sad, dislike and haha.