MigBuster

LOL..........dont laugh too hard because the last one we rolled out appeared to be not much more than a twin engined F-16...........<cough>.........rolling into squadrons the same time as the Raptor. Still at least that one started with radar...........I remember the one before (Tornado F.2) starting life with Ballast in the nose. If it is gong to emulate the F-35 program I can only see smooth sailing all the way

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-germany-defence-idUSKBN19Y1FJ?il=0 PARIS (Reuters) - France and Germany unveiled plans on Thursday to develop a European fighter jet, burying past rivalries as part of a raft of measures to tighten defense and security cooperation. http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/12438/france-and-germany-want-to-build-their-own-5th-generation-fighter-jet The complete Franco-German fighter jet plan reportedly calls for a combination of manned and unmanned aircraft to ultimately replace France’s Dassault Rafales and Germany’s Eurofighter Typhoons. The two countries will come up with a shared “roadmap” by the middle of 2018, but there is not a clear time frame for when the new aircraft could or should enter production or be ready for combat. Results in 30 years...................!

There are a few for the Nevada map now albeit for study level modules : https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/products/campaigns/ There hopefully will be other maps in the coming Years. The free Su-25T and the Flaming Cliffs 3 module are not study level. Some of the modules e.g. F-86F/MiG-15bis are relatively simple and include good training missions to step through things, and the clickable pits are really easy to use compared to all that remembering keystroke crap from years back.

I do like both kinds although the answer to this is probably the campaign type with enough gaming features to keep the player occupied. Falcon 4 hails from the 90s era and way of thinking so its campaign is excellent, and of course reality is generally dynamic with a high degree of uncertainty and that is part of the challenge. DCS story based campaigns are pretty good if you only play them once.......which is about all I get time for anyway. Did The Museum relic in the MiG-15bis......was very good attempting all the different challenges......and if you screw up like stall the thing in the clouds by a Mountain, then you can do it again but have a higher chance to complete it because it is essentially Ground Hog Day / Edge of Tomorrow. SF2 campaigns can be good but getting engaged with them can be difficult for example: SF2V (RT/LB1) you get stuck in a long drawn out thing that seems like single missions that seems to drag on and often you get to hit similar targets..........so although might be a bit like the real thing was as a player you don't seem engaged in what is going on. SF2I.........the best IMO often short distances to fly, some of the best jets, best scenery, challenging, dynamic differences being surrounded by enemy countries, because of the short time frame you see previous damage. SF2NA..totally different to previous runs more like a story based campaign to some degree and once you work out how to do it the challenge and interest drops off. There are actually a lot of differences between campaign and single missions in SF2 the players don't see outside of managing your pilots & Weapons, e.g. large flights all performing different roles, destroying parked a/c will affect their numbers etc etc.

News of Su-33 for DCS World Currently in the Eagle Dynamics update hangar is our Su-33 for DCS World / Flaming Cliffs 3. This carrier-borne aircraft is in the final stages of receiving a big, FREE update that includes much improved flight dynamics and the addition of several new systems. This will bring our Su-33 much more aligned with its real-world counterpart. This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1920x1080. This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1920x1080. This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1920x1080. Features of this upcoming Su-33 update include: More detailed and accurate simulation of the wing control surfaces that include the leading and trailing edge flaps and the differential ailerons. In addition to the conventional differential stabilizers, canard behavior has also been improved for more realistic behavior. The Flight Control System (FCS) will automatically reconfigure itself depending on the flight mode. The adaptations that make the Su-33 aircraft-capable have been updated and improved to include the wing-fold mechanism, reinforced landing gear struts, and the inclusion of high-gain nose wheel steering for use on crowded carrier decks. The physical mechanisms by which the arrestor hook engages the aircraft carrier arrestor wire has been greatly improved. Correct physics have been applied to the arrestor wire and its’ interaction with the aircraft. The engines now have a “special mode” that adds up to 12,800 kg of thrust (instead of the normal 12,500 kg of thrust). This mode also includes realistic operating time restrictions. A new FCS mode used when aerial refueling has also been implemented. When in this mode and the control stick is released, the aircraft will automatically maintain level flight. This FCS mode allows fine-control and thus making it easier to make contact with the tanker within a pitch range of plus or minus 5 degrees and of a roll angle of plus or minus 10 degrees. The Auto-Thrust Control (ATC) is used for automatic speed holding and can be fine-tuned with a set speed switch. This can be useful with landing on the carrier. The automatic collision avoidance system (“Uvod” mode) is now included and allows safe nap-of-the-earth flying.

Agree with the above....would also add that available aircraft for SF2 is still better than both. Because of the effort it takes to do a single model in DCS you do get the quality but may not see many sub types of each aircraft e.g. the F-86A / E to go with the F..which of course most wont give a toss about.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start/windows-10-creators-update-desktop-icons-keep/42a0e3da-9c66-42f1-a669-b4f0e52ff816

Um right click on desktop -> view.......... is it gone in that update.have not got to that yet?

Hi You will be pleased to know that we dropped the v810 patch on Friday and CAP2 now includes satellite imagery and OpenStreetMap data. In fact, we are already at v810.2 having fixed a number of small teething issues over the weekend. Check out the early feedback for the update here. As a reminder, here's the video promo for the update Thanks for your support! Kind Regards Sim155 Ltd Early Access: Creating the game you want

The big Su-33 clones are seen carrying a pair of PL-12 medium-range air-to-air missiles, along with a pair PL-8 short-range air-to-air missiles. This is also a common PLAAF loadout. Maybe most interestingly, some J-15s are sporting YJ-83K "Eagle Strike" anti-ship missiles under their wings. http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/12096/new-flight-ops-video-from-chinas-carrier-features-loaded-up-j-15-fighters

DCS World 1.5.7 Update Today we have released a new update to Open Beta DCS World 1.5, with the primary new feature being the support for the DCS: World War II Assets Pack. Although primarily developed for the DCS: Normandy 1944 Map, these World War II period units work just as well in the Caucasus map. We hope this provides you another option for creating engaging World War II themed missions. Purchase the DCS: World War II Assets Pack in DCS E-Shop You can find the complete changelog of this DCS World 1.5 update here. Bundle Deals This week we are happy to offer two bundle deals that include both DCS: Combined Arms and the DCS: World War II Assets Pack for a 40% off savings: DCS: Combined Arms + DCS: World War II Assets Pack DCS: Combined Arms + DCS: World War II Assets Pack + DCS: Normandy 1944 Map These bundle deals start today at 1500 GMT and will last until 10 July 2017 at 0900 GMT. You can find them in the special offers of DCS E-Shop DCS World New Maps Update Now that the DCS: Normandy 1944 Map has been released and we are in a tuning and bug fixing mode, some of our map team has shifted their focus to two other maps we have in development: New Caucasus Map. Based on the existing map in DCS World 1.5, we are working on a huge update that will include: Improved textures for all seasons Improved and higher resolution ground elevation mesh Improved ground object textures for buildings, roads, bridges, airfields, etc. Adding terrain shadows based on time of day New tree system for more and better-looking forests Additional map area in the southern portion of the map Added procedural grass Most important though, this updated map will incorporate our new map format and technology that will allow it to be merged into a single DCS World version that includes all of the other maps. The completion of this map is a critical component of moving all DCS World to version 2 and saying goodbye to DCS World 1.5. As this will update our existing Caucasus map, this update will be for FREE! DCS: Strait of Hormuz Map. In parallel, our map team is hard at work on the Strait of Hormuz map and making great progress. Using the same map format and technology as the New Caucasus map and the others, this map will also be part of a unified DCS World 2. As with the DCS: NEVADA Test and Training Range Map, the DCS: Strait of Hormuz map will blend satellite imagery with art-created textures such that it looks good from squirrel-level to 60,000 feet and beyond. We are particularly looking forward to making this a great home for our DCS: F/A-18C Hornet. DCS: World War II Bonus Action Continues Lasting until just Monday, July 3rd at 0900 GMT, save up to 60% on all DCS: World War II aircraft products using your bonus points. These include: DCS: P-51D Mustang DCS: Spitfire LF Mk.IX DCS: Bf 109 K-4 Kurfurst DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora Find these and all of our other aircraft modules in the DCS E-Shop Sincerely, The Eagle Dynamics Team

DCS World 2.1.1 Update Now Available Our first big update to DCS World 2.1 is now available. You can either update your DCS World 2 installation using the automatic updater, or you can download DCS World 2.1 from DCS site. Please note that either the DCS: NEVADA Test and Training Range Map or the Normandy 1944 Map are required. Important additions to version 2.1.1 include: New Gamma Slider to adjust brightness and contrast New units for the World War II Assets Pack like Flak units B-17 bomber equipped with defensive fire Addition of Deferred Lighting and Physics Based Rendering (PBR) War damage zone setting is now supported on Nevada map Many fixes and updates to several DCS World modules You can read a more complete list of version 2.1.1 changes in the dedicated thread on the DCS forum. Spitfire LF Mk.IX: Epsom Campaign The first campaign for the new Normandy 1944 Map has entered testing this week, and we hope for it to be available for sale in the near future. This will be a Spitfire campaign and consist of 12 missions that focus on the Epsom campaign following the D-Day landings in June 1944. The missions consist of a combination of armed reconnaissance, intercepts, and directed ground attacks. For this campaign, we teamed up with the greatly respected "Bunyap", who has created an amazing level of detail and content for the briefings and historical background. All missions and flights in the campaign are based on actual missions down to the squadrons, targets, locations, times, weather, flak locations, etc. We believe this will be the most historically accurate portrayal of World War II air combat in a PC flight simulation. World War II Aircraft Bonus Weekend Starting today at 1500 GMT and lasting until 0900 GMT on 3 July we are allowing DCS Users to use their bonus points to take 60% off the cost of any DCS World War II aircraft. These include: DCS: P-51D Mustang DCS: Spitfire LF Mk.IX DCS: Bf 109 K-4 Kurfurst DCS: Fw 190 D-9 Dora Find these and all of our other aircraft modules in the DCS E-Shop DCS World on Steam Summer Sale From now until July 5th, all DCS World modules on Steam can be purchased with a 40% discount! Sincerely, The Eagle Dynamics Team

Latest Demo vid from E3

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-usa-idUKKBN1990X7?il=0 Later the U.S. Central Command issued a statement saying the Syrian plane was downed "in collective self-defence of Coalition-partnered forces," identified as fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) near Tabqah. It said that "pro-Syrian regime forces" had earlier attacked an SDF held town south of Tabqa and wounded a number of fighters and driving them from the town. Coalition aircraft in a show of force stopped the initial advance. When a Syrian army SU-22 jet later dropped bombs near the U.S. backed forces, it was immediately shot by a U.S. F/A-18E Super Hornet, the statement said. https://www.rt.com/news/392941-us-led-coalition-downed-syrian-plane/ The downing of the Syrian warplane, an Su-22, was confirmed by an official press statement from Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led international task force against IS, which accused the Syrian government of targeting fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish-led militia. “At 6:43pm, a Syrian regime SU-22 dropped bombs near SDF fighters south of Tabqah and, in accordance with rules of engagement and collective self-defense of Coalition partnered forces, was immediately shot down by a US F/A-18E Super Hornet,” the statement read. https://theaviationist.com/2017/06/19/u-s-navy-fa-18e-super-hornet-downs-syrian-su-22-near-raqqa-syria-and-here-is-everything-we-know/ And here’s the response to the downing from the Russian MoD: Statement of the Russian Defence Ministry concerning downing of the Syrian Su-22 near the town of Resafa On June 18, 2017 the American fighter F-18A (Get it right!!) belonging to the international coalition shot down the Su-22 aircraft of the Syrian Air Force, which was performing a combat mission supporting the government troops, which were conducting the offensive against the ISIS terrorists near the town of Resafa (40 km to the south-west of the city of Raqqa). As a result of the attack, the Syrian aircraft was destroyed. The pilot baled out over an ISIS-controlled area, his status is unknown. The destruction of the aircraft of the Syrian Air Force by the American aviation in the air space of Syria – is a cynical violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic. Numerous combat activities of the US aviation carried out under the cover of “fight against terrorism” aimed against the legitimate Armed Forces of a UN-member is a blatant breach of the international law and is in fact an act of military aggression against the Syrian Arab Republic. Moreover, at that time the aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces were also performing combat missions in the air space of Syria. However, the Command of the coalition forces did not use the existing channels of communication between the Command of the Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar) and the Hmeymim Air Base Command to prevent air incidents in the air space of Syria. The Russian party considers those actions of the US Command as an intentional failure to fulfill its obligations within the Memorandum on prevention of incidents and providing of flight security during the operations in Syria dated October 20, 2015. Since June 19, 2017, the Russian Defence Ministry has stopped the cooperation with the American party within the Memorandum on prevention of incidents and providing of flight security during the operations in Syria and demands a thorough investigation of the incident by the US Command with further providing of information on its results and the taken measures. In the combat mission zones of the Russian aviation in the air space of Syria, all kinds of airborne vehicles, including aircraft and UAVs of the international coalition detected to the west of the Euphrates River will be tracked by the Russian SAM systems as air targets.

Having trouble picking up Brunettes? perhaps the US Navy can help

The main / big photo is the original early gun muzzle The small inset picture shows the late gun muzzle. The early Viper Guide states most F-16A/Bs were built with the early muzzle, but ones assembled on the production line with the Cs were given the late muzzle....no date but would have to be from the mid 80s. Some of the earlier F-16AM MLU were given the late muzzle during the upgrade might apply to others.

DCS: F/A-18C Hornet at E3 2017 This week we had the debut showing of the Hornet at E3 2017. We were fortunate enough to share the Thrustmaster booth to give a first taste of what we have in store. The demo was received very well and all who flew it came away quite impressed. Our demo station never had a moment of down time. We also had the pleasure to share our Hornet debut with the debut of the new Thrustmaster Hornet stick. We are sure this will be a great pairing. When we are ready to offer the Hornet for pre purchase, we will officially announce the product with fanfare. BeTerrific Live At E3 2017 with Thrustmaster Eagle Dynamics DCS: World War II Update In parallel to the Hornet, other parts of Eagle are hard at work on improving and adding to our World War II series. Some of the more important items include: We fixed some incorrect textures being loaded in autumn season for the Normandy map. We have also been cleaning up some geometry mesh errors in this map. We have added Create Fast Mission support to the Normandy map. Our next step will be to add an "era" function to allow you to determine the time period of units that are generated. New World War II assets continue to be developed at a brisk pace. We are now in the final stages of completing the 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M12 and the A-20 Havoc attack aircraft. These are AI units. WWII Bundles last days! Dear customers! We are happy to remind you that the WWII bundles goes on until Monday, June the 19th with up to -60% discount! You can find these special deals on DCS E-Shop Sincerely, The Eagle Dynamics Team

Helmet Mounted Cueing System.............assume for FA-18C

Although it doesn't look great on paper there is no way to really tell without getting hold of the flight test data to give an actual idea on performance........the thrust figures can be misleading (as Ceasars post) and there is no way to account for drag............let alone any with extra drag & weight of stores. Typically where you add more thrust to the same airframe you always have more T/D if not T/W thus flight test data reflects performance increase in acceleration & climb...........however increasing thrust also increases fuel consumption so they have had to hit a compromise and many pilots prefer the legs if the thrust is adequate. Of course Caesar where is the universal measure for >1:1 T/W ?........even the MiG-21bis flight manual shows it put out 21,825 lbs thrust at MACH 1 from a Emergency Thrust rating of 15,652 lbs at zero speed. I think the 1:1 T/W must be public and related to static thrust.............considering the actual thrust charts are very hard to get hold of / are never published outside the OEM.

Tired of the same old Tu-95s being intercepted...well here are some Su-27s flying with US bombers for a change https://fightersweep.com/8040/pictures-day-russian-su-27-intercepts-formation-u-s-air-force-aircraft-baltops-2017/ https://theaviationist.com/2017/06/12/cockpit-video-from-inside-a-u-s-air-force-b-1b-lancer-as-the-bomber-is-intercepted-over-the-baltic-by-a-russian-su-27-flanker/

The original ones advertised around 15K lbs weight with 18K lbs Max thrust. For the E looks like: Max Sea Level Static thrust rating increased ~22% Weight increased ~19% Might have a tad better T/W over the older one at max thrust. Mil thrust not advertised but claims of Supercruise at unknown parameters.

Some of those figures are out of date.....SAAB now advertise: http://saab.com/globalassets/commercial/air/gripen-fighter-system/pdf-files-download-section/facts/gripen-e-fact-sheet--en.pdf