I obtained the F-4EJ ADTW on Sale a couple weeks back. Today I wanted to deep dive into this Jet in Sim Battles.
I was shocked how bad the Radar operates and that it is almost impossible to use AIM-7 Sparrows due to this bad AN/APQ 120 Radar Simulation. I know I can not expect a high fidelity Simulation like in DCS of this Jet, but at least some better interpretation of this radar and clutter display on the radar screen.
The Area that refelects the ground as clutter is huge. If somebody flies slighty lower to the horizon in my point of view, I can not track him anymore. In RL the Signal was filtered and you could see a faint signal. If I fly low over Ground I might get lucky to spot the enemy for a couple seconds. But then I have to decide: Do I ignore the IFF signals and shoot him in hopes I locked the right target, or do I let them go. Also the Horizontal and Vertical Radar Cue controls are not working as intended. Instead of moving a cursor through the IFF signals to lock on a Enemy Target, this controls move the radar dish to the left or to the right. Thats wrong. Radar dish is not controlled, you can only manipulate the Signal on screen when we talk about the real deal.
Another Problem with the AN/APQ120 Radar Simulation in War Thunder, is the fact that the Signal strength does not change in different Radar modes. If the Radar operates in a wide angle, the signal is weakened and should be worse then the normal narrow operation mode. But if I use “Radar/IRST beyond/within visual range combat” mode, the signal should be stronger and help to lock on the target that was visible in normal mode. Because the radar beam is focused onto this narrow band by locking on, the chances to keep the lock should be higher than it is in the game.
This should be the Area to start improving the implemented radar via patching:
Implement Clutter filtering per Radar View/Scan Angle. The narrower the better the picture of the radar.
If u are lucky to lock onto a Target that way, the narrow band should be the clearest picture and strong enough to keep lock for Engagement. To be fair, if you are on the tail of this enemy aircraft and he dives through the clouds toward the ground and your self is behind him facing toward the ground, the lock should be broken and you lose the radar contact. Thats how it should work because the ground you face is emitting clutter and as more ground is in view the more clutter/ground reflection you get on that radar screen.
How did this Radar operate in Reallife? Lets dive in:
In DCS the F-4E Phantom II was released into Early Access by Heatblur Simulations. Heatblur makes by far the best Modules for DCS. Their Modules are even superior to the Modules of the DCS developers. All thanks to years of research, hard work together with Pilots, Wisos, and further Subject Matter Experts. They worked hard to bring the first true simulated and working Radar to life and made a overview Video about the AN/APQ120 Radar. Did you know that in RL they had to develope this new radar because the nose cone of the F-4E was smaller due to its onboard cannon? Very intersting. Enjoy:
Sorry but I have to share! My love with Simulation Content, no matter if War Thunder or from somewhere else is too huge. Especially if it is so cool: Gameplay Trailer for Heatblur F-4E. Awesome made.
And the Best comes last but not least: The Heatblur presentation of the F-4E Module. It shows how much work went into the development with some insights etc. If somebody is interested in diving into Hardcore High Fidelity Simulation aside from some War Thunder Fun. There is no better place.
( Full Fidelity = Every System work identical to its RL counterpart. If u can takeoff in it Digitaly, you can do it RL too… but should you. ;) )
I dont Expect that War Thunder should get similar to DCS. But some improvements backed up by subject matter experts or simulation enthusiasts should be considered. e.g. the mentioned Radar Improvements above.
Kind Regards, MKev
