How do i use the F-4S to its strengths and how do i dodge all aspect and radar missiles
Just bought the f4s in the summer sale and while it has been fun i keep dying to some aim7P misIle and all aspect missiles
fly low, bring the gunpod, dont dogfight most fighters, notch radar missiles, basically pretend its vietnam
Thanks you i will try that if i dont get graped by an all aspect IR missile in the afterburner
And how do you dodge all aspect IR missiles
Cut throttle, flare, turn, and hope it goes for flares
Radar missiles are most easily dodged by simply multipathing (going below 60m radar altitude). You should of course learn to notch, but multipathing is most reliable for beginners.
All aspect missiles are very easily flared in head-ons by simply flaring a couple of times. Pre-flaring in head-ons pretty much guarantee that even IRCCM missiles won’t hit you.
From rear aspect you need to cut your throttle and maneuver away while flaring to be safe from IR missiles.
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Its certainly slightly worse off now than before hornets sting, but its still great plane. my most played Phantom airframe.
as such, im going to have a slightly different take to others.
F-4S is great for BVR (provided gaijin does not fumble the missiles in general like just now).
I bring loadout of 5x AIM-7Fs and 2x AIM-9Hs + gunpod wtih anti-air belt. CMs split 50:50. 26 min of fuel.
I have my radar indicator set to box type as its easier for me to read whenever my missiles have range.
(pic was taken with Hornet, F-4S doesnt get the no escape zone indication)
Set your radar to SRC PDV HDN, climb to 5km or just below where the contrails start while flanking with your team. Hang in the second line. Your task is to take care of high alt enemies so that they dont ambush your team mates and if there arent any, just engage whoever is below you.
Manually loft your missiles by aiming above the enemy but keeping him within gymball limit (ie. pic related) to squeeze more range out of your sparrows.
keep your enemies at distance, last thing you want is to end up in a dogfight.
dont bother launching at distances larger than 15km, unless both you and target are at high alt.
dont bother launching at targets that are notching or already about to enter the notch.
you can win most BVR jousts against your contemporaries.
check the max BR of every game you are as it drastically changes how much danger enemies can present to you in BVR. Most notably its the F-14A and 27ER carriers that you have to worry about.
For F-14s and Phoenixes basic notching + chaffing manuevering should keep you safe.
For 27ER carriers, its better not to take any chances; dont get one fired your way ín the first place. That missile will have sex with your plane and doesnt ask for consent. If you do have one coming your way, pray you have enough time and energy to hit the deck or go cold.
in max uptiers you can also meet some ARH carriers such as Kfir C10 or KWS. at range apply the same tactic you would do for phoenix, just cranked up to 10. If its sub 15km shot, try to hit the deck and pray.
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Learned alot thx
Thanks ive tried those things and im starting to learn notching and also figured out why my aim-7F missiles been biting the curb instead of hitting the enemy
Also why are the AIM-7F sparrows so funky they sometimes go the oppisite direction than where the enemy is while i have a good radar lock
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Nice!
AIM-7F’s are known for being somewhat unreliable. This is partially intended and partially a bug.
Sometimes your missiles will simply track another plane with stronger radar returns which is also highlighted by your own radar. Your missile does not know who you are locking, it only knows which plane gives off the strongest radar return and that may be someone unspotted.
Other times they simply never lock onto someone in the first place. There are probably many threads about that here, but this is mine (7F and 7M are functionally the same missile):
Notice how the missile never enters TRK even when hard-locked.
If you feel ever feel cheated I recommend you open up the replay file and look at sensor view, it usually explains what happens.
Does radar sweep affect that at all or not really? Thats to say would the likelyhood of having your sparrow go for a different target then the one you have locked be mitigated by having your search radar at the lowest possible sweep width?
Also @ OP air RB above 12.0 is a mess right now, and it can be really frustrating. Like 80% of matches are over by the 3/4 minute mark. Theres not a whole lot you can do to save a match when its 3 minutes in and you check the scoreboard and its 6v12, you are gonna have 2-3 players chasing you down like a dog. Or if you are on the flipside of this you are just fighting your team for the last few kills left on the enemy team. So try to not get too upset when you die, check the scoreboard and notice your team evaporated, there wasn’t too much you could do about it.
Unfortunately not, since you’re hardlocking people in order to fire the missile and when that happens your radar is no longer sweeping. It’s all up to the size of the radar cone (which is deceptively big on phantoms).