F-15C MSIP II should be able to carry the AIM-120B

Machinery of War Discussion Aircraft
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Hey guys how are y’all, I know for a fact that one day Gaijin will properly model missile performance and given that I think the F-15C MSIP II in leu of the 120b upgrade for the future when gaijin actually models missiles PROPERLY.

The F15C MSIP II currently in War Thunder is equipped with the AN/APG-63(V)1 radar and only allowed to carry AIM-120A missiles. This doesn’t match its real-world configuration. Once the F-15C received the (V)1 radar under the MSIP II program, it was cleared to carry and fire AIM-120B missiles operationally.

The AIM-120B entered service in 1994 with upgraded internal electronics and better ECCM performance compared to the AIM-120A(not in war-thunder CURRENTLY). US F-15C squadrons that received the (V)1 radar during the mid-to-late 1990s began using AIM-120Bs regularly. This is supported by multiple declassified air combat readiness documents and USAF loadout data available through DoD sources.

Since Gaijin has chosen to model the F-15C MSIP II with the (V)1 radar and not the earlier PSP radar it is historically accurate to allow the use of AIM-120Bs. The aircraft in-game is not representative of the pre-1991 MSIP upgrade but rather a mid-2000s platform. Restricting it to the A variant feels arbitrary and removes historical flexibility that the jet actually had but fits the current gameplay since the B AND A perform the same.

Right now, the F-15E in-game carries the AIM-120B, even though its introduction overlaps with the same operational period as the F-15C MSIP II’s upgrade timeline. There is no gameplay reason to exclude the 120B from the MSIP II since in-game all variants behave the same. Even so, if Gaijin is eventually going to differentiate missile behavior more realistically (ECCM strength, chaff resistance, kinematics), this should be addressed now rather than later because then we screwed.

This request is not about trying to overpower the jet. It is simply to match what was standard and fielded in the USAF during the same service window represented by the F-15C MSIP II’s configuration in War Thunder.

Please consider adjusting the loadout to reflect this. It would not be game-breaking, but it would be more accurate.
Even an up to 14.0 is fine if we have the 120b

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current 120A and B are identical ingame

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Yes but I said when THEY model them different in leu of the future.

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i dont think they will tbh

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Well they will. I know this since 2013, maybe a year or later but they will.

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Pick one.

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Parle vous anglais? J’ai dit que c’est pour le futur améliorations. I suggested it to be added now.

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Lol this is some “it came to me in a dream” type stuff.

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You wouldn’t even notice the benefit of the 120B on the F-15C of all planes, that is not a plane you want to be using for BVR right now. In-game the A/B Aim-120s act the exact same, even the upgrade irl was only on the electronics and changed nothing on the missile’s actual kinematics, so no, I don’t think Gaijin would be “buffing” or even changing the Aim-120B in the future…

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they should also upgarde the radar to an esa radar either the AN/APG-63(V)2 and v3
with this it can carry all american misssles and ordinance as it can irl

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Would rather take a new version with the AESA in the tech tree after the current F-15C

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what plane then there are no other f15 single sitTers I the USAAF

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It already has them. They just have the A variant instead of B variant which is identical and is unlikely to ever be changed

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Bro listen up, let me be very honest with you, you need to understand that for us US mains other than the F15E, the other 14.0 BR jets are almost unplayable, even the F15E is only capable of getting kills because of its insane thrust allowing it to go to space and launch AIM 120C-5 at a speed that it has enough velocity to do something other than miss, and the radar being better than the f15C MSIP II but not by alot other than its ground strike capabilities, jets like the Rafale C F3 and SU 30SM are gen 4.5 fighters being spammed left right and center against jets that are barely early 21st century, there is a reason than in real life militaries spend billions upon billions keeping up with updates to their fleets, so before you go on saying things like this and that WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN IS THAT GAIJIN SHOULD START LISTENING TO THEIR PLAYERS FOR ONCE INSTEAD OF MILIKING CASH FROM UPDATES AND JETS THAT ARE META AND BALANCE THINGS OUT CAUSE SOME OF US DONT GIVE A HOOT ABOUT META AND IRL THERE IS A MARGINAL DIFFERENCE IN THE B AND A SO IF WARTHUNDER DOES NOT HAVE IT WE CANT SHUT UP AND WAIT.

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And this still makes the US stronger than Japan, China and Sweden right now without F-15E equivalents. It should also be noted the US got the F-15E a few months before anyone else got anything that really countered the F-15C MSIP II.

The US is perfectly competitive at the moment, however, unlike the 1-2 years prior, they no longer have a monopoloy on top tier.

And Gaijin has finally listened. This is the first time in a longtime the US and USSR arent just steamrolling top tier and minor nations havent been forgotten. Sweden and China have to be next to get anything new at top tier and Japan could really do with something actually at 14.0, though what is still not really know (maybe a Gripen E form somewhere?)

The US Is perfectly competitive at the moment, and doesnt really need anything in the way of major buffs. In fact, they’ve already gotten 3x more aircraft this year than most other nations have, they could quite easily go without next major update as well

I did a year of Tornado F3 vs US F-16s and USSR Mig-29s just steamrolling every match. Including watching them both get newer and more powerful variants of said aircraft 3 months before Sweden or Britain even got something even close to on-par with the F-16A and when we did. They artificially nerfed it so much that it’s nerfs have affected about a dozen other aircraft. So I know what its like to be “struggling at top tier” the US is not struggling with what is defiently one of the top 3 aircraft in game right now.

There is no difference between the A and the B variant of the Aim-120 in game. None. It is highly unlikely there ever will be as, from what I understand, the differences largely affected ground crew effeciency and reliability and didnt really affect much with the actual missile performance, those 2 factors are not modeled in anyway in game. Now we also have the Aim-120C5 in game, I would much rather see them work on improving that missile rather than buffing the Aim-120B by such a small amount that the difference was hardly perceptible.

TLDR:

US doesnt really need much in the way of aircraft buffs for a good long while and the focus should be bringing 3 nations up to parity with the US. (Even more nations if you include the incredibly buggy nature of the Typhoon as well)

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You are naive, I’m sure you are a Rafale pilot, let me show the Air RB win statistics for 2025. In real life the A and B have a difference mainly in its seeker, the thing is anyone who can see can see that the US is struggling and I guess it is fair in your eyes because in order for y’all not to suffer you guys needed a gen 4.5 fighter, so in that logic when the us gets gen 4.5, y’all will need a gen 5 fighter. Instead of the CF3 they should have introduced and earlier Rafale.

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Nope. Britain (hint the Tornado F3 comment) so if I play top tier. its in the Typhoon FGR4.

Right? And? The most popular nation with the easiest tree to grind (and the most premium aircraft) has the lowest win rate. This makes sense as you’ll have a major influx of bad players.

This is quite clearly demonstrated by looking at Britain, Italy and Germany. Their top tier is for all intent and purposes identical, in theory all 3 should have the same Win percentage, but Britain is ahead of Italy and Germany. Why? Because anyone playing Britain most likely grinded through aircraft like the Tornado F3 and so have experience playing with a major handicap.

heck, the US has a lower win rate that pretty much every nation at pretty much every BR. Doesnt mean their stuff is bad, in fact, quite often its under BRed and some of ths strongest vehicles at said BR. Like look at 12.0, they have one of the best 12.0 aircraft in game at the moment with the F-4S and the best 12.3 at the moment with the F-18A. Both aircraft probably should be 0.3 higher when compared to other aircraft at the same BR.

Win rate though doesnt state anywhere that the F-15E is uncompetitive, only that US players keep are bad. But as can quite easily be seen on that chart. 2 nations dont even have a 14.0 yet.

The Rafale just got a decent nerf, and there are more nerfs in the works. So we’ll have to see if those nerfs go through. Also Aim-120C5 is underperforming loads, so give it time for them to buff the C5.

Again, they aren’t. They have an airframe that can go toe to toe in the current meta of BVR combat at top tier and they have equal performance missiles to everyone else. I KNOW what its like to play a missile truck, something that cannot dogfight at all and yet still struggles in BVR with the slightest uptier. The F-15C/E might not be winning gunfights, but it will happily BVR anything else in game right now and might even win the odd gunfight if played smart.

If you keep trying to beat something like a Rafale in a WVR fight, then stop trying to 1v1 a rafale in a WVR fight. Simple.

Given the US mains keep asking for the F-22. Im not really sure what you are on about actually. The US mains always want a major advantage over everyone else. But did the US ever field a 4.5 Gen?

The absolute most I see the US getting is an F-18E later this year. But at the same time, I am expecting some buffs for other aircraft as well. Like giving the Typhoon AESA for example.

That I do agree with, or rather they should have just introduced the CF3. Instead they gave it upgrades from the F4 for some reaosn, like HMD, AESA and 8x MICA.

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Moreover if we want to talk accuracy then explain why it is fair that a 2022 Rafale is flying around with early 21st century jets, even the f15E used is an early APG 70 and not even the AESA APG 82-(v)1 and the engines are the only upgrade we got PW 229, this is the early 90s variant of the f15E so imagine in that sense we were to bring the equal counter part of the rafale to the game which is the modernized f15E, even the F15C MSIP II was modernized but we are stuck with its most early legacy model when BALANCE is getting the latest model for other nations,

THE only reason that US, dominated was because before other nations GOT BVR capable jets we got them and when new BVR jets came specially the new additions they ended up being the LATEST COUNTER PART and not the LEGACY.

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Date of introduction means nothing in game and has no basis for balance. Unless you would advocate for the 2010+ A-10C at 11.7 to be moved to a higher BR than 1960/70s Phantoms currently at 12.0? Heck its more modern than aircraft like Gripen A or Sea Harrier FA2 at 13.0 right now.

The F-15E is fine. Still waiting for them to fix TWS+ and I could potentially see the F-15E or F-15C getting a better radar , but it wont happen in a vacuum. Other aircraft would get better radars too.

Also, whilst I do agree the Rafale has a very potent combo of FM, equipment and loadout at the moment. The Typhoons are technically from 2018 as that is when they were operationally cleared for Brimstones. So its not the only very modern jet in game. Though the Rafale isnt the most modern, that title goes to the Mirage 2000D RMV which is newer still than the Rafale variant we have

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Did not use date of intro as a benchmark but rather that the specification of the jet used corelate to the date of launch, if they are to introduce jets that have an older platform but the new variant like the Rafale CF3 then they should allow the US jets to have its upgrade that match its counter part which is readily available in declassified documents and forums because the US upgraded the MSIP II and the F15E further, my point is the Rafale platform is older but the variant is the newer one, in that sense its only fair the US got the same updates as that is what REALISTIC BATTLES ARE supposed to be right and war thunder proudly calls its self something of a MiLSIM.