The F-18 is not a pure air to air fighter, if you want that we have the F-15 already
In fact, some F/A-18A/Bs were capable of using Harpoon before the plus upgrade. This is probably related to a change in mission computer software.
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I don’t want the f15, I want the f18, there’s a difference
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I think the F-18A will get the AIM-7.
thats what i was asking earlier, seems kind of stupid to add an aircraft with aim-7’s after you release a big update where every country gets fox 3’s
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It depends on what BR Gaijin wants the aircraft to be at. A Legacy Hornet with only 9Ls and 7F/Ms is like 12.0 material, tops
That would be disappointing considering the F14B is already 12.0
Uhhhhh
No?
The F-18A still has quite powerful turn rate and better AoA / handling than anything else in the game below 12.3/12.7 … It also has AIM-7’s with lofting and datalink. Equipping it with such ordnance would mean placing it at 12.3 minimum and even then, it will remain competitive.
Considering its going to be seeing Fox-3s and IRCCM, on top of the reduction to multipath heights without access to its own active radar missile and so doesn’t have a way to reliably force its way into the merge, where it could use its edge in flight performance to get the nose on if flown well.
limited countermeasures (and lacking their implemented alternates e.g. Air-Launched Decoy, Towed array, DECM, Podded, etc.), no HMD, lackluster guided ordnance options and a substandard top end acceleration profile when compared to other airframes. Limit its offensive / defensive options, the AV-8B+ / F-4F ICE share many systems so my be useful to get an idea of how they perform in the post BVR / AMRAAM environment of top tier.
Though to some degree its going to be better off since it’s not being introduced this patch so the meta likely will have settled and tactics to counter BVR or revisions to multipathing height(s) will likely to have occurred.
Realistically the only thing an F/A-18A has over the F-14A is access to the IR missile (& Air to ground ordnance, still waiting on the AGM-53), I which I do think it would complement well at around 11.7~12.0, with the F/A-18A+ or -C and an introductory config -18E being one or two steps up in BR from their predecessor respectively.
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F-18 has more useful flight performance, significantly improved sparrows, and better time on station than the F-14A for full afterburner and imo is akin to the F-15A or slightly better than it for air RB meta.
Similar to the difference between MiG-17 and Mig-19. One takes the fight in the turn, the other in rate/energy.
No, the issue is a bit different. The F-18 can also carry 10x AIM-9M if it wants rather than just 4+4, or 6 Sparrows and 2 Sidewinders.
This means the F-18 is at least on par or better equipped than most 12.3’s and also has better SARH than any of them besides the aircraft equipped with R-27ER… but has significantly more of said SARH.
The effectiveness of a data linked and lofted sparrow is being understated.
Additionally, the F-18 is an absolute menace WVR and is more than a fight even for F-15’s.
I don’t think the A-model could
Based on what I had seen from a page in a manual, it was only ever wired for 6x 'winders tops, or 2x 'winders and 4x Sparrows
I haven’t seen any documents discussing such limitations, with double racks it should be able to carry in theory up to 8x Sidewinders and 2x Sparrows in some cases
What is the source? This seems to predate the introduction of newer pylons on the F-18A that allowed dual racks.
I don’t remember the source, all I remember is a friend showing this to me ages ago when I mentioned excitement over the F/A-18A carrying 10x Sidewinders (not even joking).
Might’ve been an early F/A-18A manual
I suppose it depends on how gaijin wants to add it then, but as y’all said… no real sense in adding the earliest models because they’d fill no gap or purpose.
I personally just want an early A-model, since that’s what seems like the most interesting one to me.
To I guess revise my earlier idea: scratch 9Ms on it. Just keep it with 6x 9Ls and 4x 7Ms tops, in-between F-14B and F-14D, somewhere around 12.3. Limit its air-to-ground ordnance as well.
F/A-18C with the full compliment of AMRAAM, air-to-surface weapons, etc could be at like 13.0-13.3
Wasn’t putting AAM on inboard pylon was restricted until 90s and F/A-18C?
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