Howdy Y’all!
I don’t really post about issues I find in the game often, but this recent change caught my eye and I see it necessary to be brought up. I came across this recent change today when I brought out the aircraft myself and realized the change when it nearly got me killed.
As up the recent update “Hornet’s Sting”, the US F-5E, Taiwanese F-5E, Thai F-5E FCU, Thai F-5T SCU, and US F-20A all had a technical nerf as of recent. Before the update they were all able to have Single-Drop Countermeasures. As if this update, every press of the countermeasures button, whether for use of chaff or flares or even both, results in the deployment of 2 countermeasure drops in total every time.
Originally before this update, every time you released countermeasures, it would only be released one at a time (with the exception of the combination of flares or chaff between large and small caliber countermeasures, as when flares or chaff were used in both they would be deployed together in sets of 2 until one or the other ran out).
Breakdown for Those who Still don’t Understand it (Click to Show)
Pre Update Scenarios:
Pressing the Chaff Dispense Button: Drops one large caliber chaff
Pressing the Flare Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber flare
Pressing the Countermeasure Dispense Button: drops one small caliber flare and one large caliber chaff
Pressing the Chaff Dispense Button: nothing
Pressing the Flare Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber and one large caliber flare
Pressing the Countermeasure Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber and one large caliber flare
(this is the only thing that stays the same)
Pressing the Chaff Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber chaff
Pressing the Flare Dispense Button: Drops one large caliber flare
Pressing the Countermeasure Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber chaff and one large caliber flare
Post “Hornet’s Sting” Update Scenarios:
Pressing the Chaff Dispense Button: Drops two large caliber chaff
Pressing the Flare Dispense Button: Drops two small caliber flares
Pressing the Countermeasure Dispense Button: Drops two larger caliber chaff and two small caliber flares
Pressing the Chaff Dispense Button: nothing
Pressing the Flare Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber and one large caliber flare
Pressing the Countermeasure Dispense Button: Drops one small caliber and one large caliber flare
(this is the only thing that stays the same)
Pressing the Chaff Dispense Button: Drop two small caliber chaff
Pressing the Flare Dispense Button: Drop two large caliber flares
Pressing the Countermeasure Dispense Button: Drops two small caliber chaff and two large caliber flares
This is overall a nerf, it came out of the blue with no bug reports and no warning whatsoever (that I could find). **The F-5E (and friends) went from being able to deploy 45 countermeasures individually, to now 23 deployments max. The F-5C, F-5A, Chinese F-5A, and newer F-5A(G) have a different Countermeasure system (which a certain one shouldn’t even have) which allows for a total dispensing of up to 30 drops of 2 countermeasures. It’s quite different and the F-5E having single drop equalized the differences between the two. As of this update, these changed aircraft are just weaker defensively in this regard due to this completely unsolicited change.
Does anyone know if this has been acknowledged as a bug in any capacity, or mentioned anywhere by gaijin because I can’t find anything on this? Thank you all for the read/your time, and I hope you have a wonderfully blessed day!
(I would also like to mention we have a precedent set by having this same function available for the Thai F-16 which has this same capability as the F-5s even post update. It has 15 large caliber and 30 small caliber countermeasures akin to that of the F-5s here, but it is in fact a different system on a different aircraft yes. It still retains this capability, albeit at a higher BR, and the F-5s with the exact same type and amount of countermeasures should have it as well.)
Please Try Not To:
1: Bring up the incredibly low heat index of the F-5s, I’m aware of them and I heavily disagree with the fact it can one flare an R-73 with the afterburner on. That issue isn’t related to this one, even if it somewhat “balances it out” for the time being until they’re both fixed given their relation to defensive capabilities against IR based AAMs or SAMs. Besides it doesn’t affect the other F-5 variants anyway, only “balances” out half of them if you were to make that argument.
2: Bring up the well known to be overpreforming Flight Model shenanigans by gaijin. I’m aware of this as well, as the current F-5E Flight Model is overpreforming at low speeds, and outperforming the F-20A IRL. It’s absurd, but not the issue this topic is meant to address.
