It’s getting ridiculous at this point it’s like they’re doing it on purpose
(AJ is the AJ and the OCU is very dubious and has AMRAAM for some reason??, should’ve added MLU)
(+ the OCU is pretty doodoo)
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Japan tree is lucky to have any F-16 at all
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Japan never did field an F-16. F-2 is only based on the aerodynamics of an F-16, pretty much everything else is different.
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it’s really not that complicated
(edit: so many options to replace the AJ… Replacing F-16AJ with Thailand F-16 - Machinery of War Discussion / Aircraft - War Thunder — official forum)
Best option is to remove AJ
It’s literally an F-16 they modified.
Y’all do realize if the 16AJ is ever removed, that anybody who owns it now (ie, most of the ppl who will ever WANT to own it, its been out for ages now) will still have it and will still fly it if they want?
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no no no, it just looks like an F-16. it is a completely separate airframe
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No. They quite literally took the F-16 design and expanded on it. It’s still 100% based in F-16 DNA and is more like a J-7E to a MiG-21 than a new design
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it is designed around the F-16, it is not an F-16 though. it is its own airframe
In the same way a J-7E is its own airframe yes. I am not saying the F-2 is an F-16. I’m saying it is 100% a heavy F-16 modification rather than a unique design
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Thailand operated 3 different variants (OCU, ADF, eMLU), as well as another variation of the OCU thanks to the ones bought from Singapore.
Yet somehow for the one we got Gaijin decided none of them are acceptable and made a plane that is basically the OCU with a made up radar, less countermeasures, AMRAAMs it couldn’t use and missing CAS options.
Not quite. The aircraft the F-2 was “based on” was not the F-16, but the SX-3. The SX-3 was itself a further development of the Agile Falcon.
In addition to that, against hopes from the American side, the F-2 shares only about 5% commonality with the SX-3/F-16 platform as a whole.
The F-2 is also not so much a “modified F-16” as it is the domestic Japanese FS-X development slightly dumbed down and somehow squeezed into something vaguely resembling the SX-3s airframe.
External differences include the shape, size and material of the fuselage, intake, cockpit, wings and control surfaces, with only the vertical stabilizer and rear fuselage keeping their shape (and despite that the vertical stabilizer uses different materials and the rear fuselage is extended). Internal differences are best summarised as “basically everything”, most notably though the radar and the FCS.
This image shows the comparison between basic F-16, Agile Falcon (SX-3) and F-2 pretty well, even if this only shows external differences that can be seen from this top down view.
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Where (X)F-2
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…not if gaijin does the right thing and fully replaces the AJ
people who had the AJ get it removed from their acc and get the replacement instead
people who had rp in the AJ get it transferred to the replacement
people who hadn’t gotten it aren’t missing out because nobody else has it because it DOESN’T EXIST!!
they didnt do that with the german tanks they removed, why would they do it here. more likely the 16AJ users like I said keep it and the new one gets added for them also to get
“why would they do it here” because it’s what they should do.
they’ve basically already done it with the AH-1S early → AH-1E
just need to change some camos and the model a tiny bit, I’m not even sure if the loadouts would need to be changed at all.
technically IRL they dont have any as they produce the licence built F-2 (modified f-16) and they aren’t designated as a f-16 but rather as their own aircraft, so yea they are lucky to get one at all
I think the difference is these vehicles perform identically, while the F-16AJ straight up doesn’t exist the way Gaijin modelled it.
In game it’s a Block 10 airframe, which is the lightest F-16 in game and gets the smaller tail compared to the Block 15 and later aircraft.
However it also gets the AIM-7F Sparrow, is if it were an F-16A ADF, which is exclusively based on the Block 15.
What this means is there is two options of “just giving it a Thai camo”:
- Thai F-16A Block 15 ADF; In this case it would be the wrong airframe, since the AJ is the Block 10. It would also get ground attack ordnance that the ADF never carried, bwing the dedicated interceptor variant. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Thai ADF also never carried the AIM-7F, since in Thai service it is the dedicated AMRAAM carrier. It is quite possible Sparrow capability was even removed like for the Italian ADF. And lastly, it is missing the two additional AN/ALE-40 countermeasure dispensers that the F-16s carry in Thai service.
- Thai F-16A Block 10; Now it would have the right airframe, however this aircraft was only ever in Thai service for spares use, with both of their Block 10s now serving as static displays. The Block 10 also had no variant that could carry the AIM-7, save for the F-16AJ/BJ that weren’t built (and possibly other unbuilt projects).
Other ASEAN countries also don’t offer much help, with Thailand being the only operator of the ADF, and the only owner of the Block 10 in the region.
The closest option is probably a Singaporean F-16A, which carries similar armament (AIM-9P/L). Though still without Sparrows and on a heavier Block 30 airframe it would at least make up for it through the AGM-65D.
If you’re fine with loadout changes the Thai Block 10 might be a possible “semi-historical” option, but if you want any actual serviced variant chances are Gaijin will simply hide it in the premium section rather than change it.
That being said, they did change the CV90105 completely, so all is possible.
I belive during the last russian DEV stream BVV mentioned that once F-2 comes into the game F16AJ will be moved to the side and be unresearchable. (unless you already have RP in it)
