I understand the general direction of the recent changes to bomber damage models. The previous situation, where relatively minor damage could sometimes cause an entire wing or tail section to detach, was not necessarily realistic.
However, looking at the current implementation, I have serious doubts about whether the same level of increased survivability is appropriate for relatively small twin engine jet bombers such as the Vautour and IL-28.
What concerns me most is how these aircraft behave after taking damage from 30 mm cannons and air to air missiles.
I do not think a single hit from a 30 mm DEFA class cannon should automatically cause a wing to fall off. At the same time, I also do not think that multiple hits from weapons of this calibre should leave an aircraft capable of continuing flight with relatively little degradation.
An aircraft does not need to physically lose a wing in order to be effectively destroyed. Damage to flight controls, hydraulic systems, fuel systems, engines, electrical systems and internal structure can all make controlled flight impossible even when the airframe itself remains largely intact.
Missile damage raises an even bigger question.
If an aircraft such as a Vautour or IL-28 receives a direct hit or a close detonation from an air to air missile such as an AIM 9, it should be exposed to substantial blast and fragmentation damage. If a relatively compact twin engine aircraft can suffer this kind of damage and still retain most of its controllability and flight capability, I have to question whether that behaviour is actually realistic.
Aircraft such as the Vautour and IL-28 are not huge strategic bombers with enormous internal volume and systems distributed across a very large airframe. They are relatively compact twin engine jets. Their survivability should therefore depend heavily on where they are hit, what systems are damaged, how much structural deformation occurs and whether redundancy actually exists in the affected systems.
Simply making an aircraft more resistant to structural separation does not necessarily make the damage model more realistic.
I do not want to return to a situation where a single cannon shell can unrealistically remove an entire wing. What I would rather see is more realistic degradation of the aircraft after serious damage.
A bomber can remain physically intact while still losing enough control authority, propulsion, fuel, hydraulic pressure or structural integrity to make continued flight impossible.
The important question should not just be whether the wing remains attached. It should be how much functionality the aircraft retains after being hit.
If the current survivability of aircraft such as the Vautour and IL-28 is based on structural testing or real damage data, I would be very interested to see what evidence supports their current ability to remain flyable after multiple 30 mm hits or significant air to air missile damage.