General Dynamics F-111K Merlin: The Vark goes British

Hm, I thought about this again, and think that if a F-111 should come to the British tree, it should come as the Aussie variant…

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No, no variant of the F-111 should be in the British tree.

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Why not?

The F111K would be a unique variant of the F111 to britain, it would be a good option for a squadron vehicle

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Because it was never built, and Britain doesn’t need it as the Jaguars are the same thing, trading pure bombload and amount of missiles for better flight performance and vastly better missiles and laser bombs.

UK TT has the Australian Vark as a possibility. I wouldnt want another paper vehicle when there is a perfectly serviceable commonwealth alternative.

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Hopefully not, UK doesn’t need it as the Jaguars take its place at 10.0-11.0 and the Tornados take its place at 11.0-12.0, with even better Jaguar and Tornado variants still to be added to Britain.

In addition, it would take away the uniqueness of the F-111 from the US tree, and we don’t need more diluting of every tree, especially Britain which “can” (but shouldn’t) get basically every possible vehicle because of colonisation (even though Commonwealth is a really bad argument).

If you want an F-111, play the US tree where it rightfully belongs, and only in the US tree.

the jaguars are strike aircraft whereas the Vark is a jet bomber, and considering the V-bombers have been denied for the foreseeable future I think this is a possibility, you are perfectly entitled to your own opinion but if Russia can have its T-90s thrown into other trees, and the US can have the Boarhound then I think Britain could get this, its more credible than about half of the Japanese tree late WW2, and isn’t much behind the Yak-141 in credibility given it was cancelled so close to completion

@Aurelian_ROW

that’s fine as well, just commonwealth vehicles are very hit and miss on where they go, id expect the Australian Vark to go to the US as a SQV like the M1A1 AIM but who knows with gaijin?

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+1 for the UK tree, would make for a cool addition in the bomber line before the Tonka

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-1, just get the Australian one instead.

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Am I right in thinking that due to the swivel pylons this F-111 should be able to sweep its wings whilst laden (otherwise what’s the point).

Also +1, bought by the UK, UK specification. More ‘British’ than an alternative. I don’t think we need it, but if we were getting any F-111 i’d want it to be the F-111K.

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Yes, the two inner pylons on each wing swivel, meaning you can sweep the wings with them, however the two outer ones were fixed so you woundnt be able to sweep the wings with ordinance on them

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Another point for it then as it would be unique in terms of flight performance compared to other F-111’s. Thanks for responding.

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No problem man :)

One thing i think people dont realise is just how different the F-111K is compared to the standard variants, its not just an american airframe with a few pieces here and there changed to fit british needs ( like the phantoms), its an almost completely redesigned airframe with several major differences s compared to the F-111A its derived from

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The wikipedia does a poor job, you’d be reasonable to conclude its barely different from any other variant. I know I did until i saw this post.

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Yeah i had no idea until i started researching it, theres a shocking amount of forums and wikis that list it as being just a british version of the F111A with the FB-111 gear, but theres several major changes that are both visible and under the hood

Spoiler

This diagram helps show
image

The wings and hard points are unique, it has a unique set of recon gear and central hard point, and has a unique aerial refuling boom, id say its enough to justify it as a seperate version from the standard one

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Couple that with the ability to fly supersonic whilst laden which at least the current one and its definitely unique and probably better too.

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Unless Gaijin changes their stance on unbuilt vehicles, than -1

Their stance is:

What constitutes an (unfinished) prototype:

  • Vehicle was (partially) constructed
  • Vehicle-specific parts (i.e. guns, powerplants, etc.) were built

Which would mean that this vehicle fits those criteria as the parts were finished, the aircraft were just cancelled mid-way through assembly.

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Yeah, TSR2 would be the better option, but currently Gaijin seems very unwilling to add anything unique to Britain. So the best we can hope for at the moment is a C&P from other nations. Probably F-111C from Australia as that can be C&P over from the US

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I’ll give an answer in a few months, after we see what 12.3s Britain will have come the December update.
Cause this would likely be an 11.3 anyway.

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