If you give it proper launch parameters it pretty much is. But yea unflareable doesn’t fully exist I’ll admit, however this would be THE strongest IRCCM on an IR guided missile (Air to air wise, and helis and their missiles excluded :P) in the game at this point in time. Go ahead and try to flare some old fashioned Stingers rear aspect, wait actually also try some front aspect! You’ll find it’s quite hard… (when you don’t out pull them haha)
I mean this is a sense of comparison to any modern or comparable Fox-2 missile which tend to use thrust vectoring (Aim-9X, ASRAAM [apparently the ASRAAM doesn’t have thrust vectoring, which is surprising if you look at it and its control surfaces visually… I’ll need to read up on that], IRIS-T, R-73/R-73M, R-74/R-74M, PL-10, and MICA-IR) , which is known for bleeding speed at the expense of high AOA and tight turning circles. The Python 4 would have a decently hard time losing speed from turning or corse correction, but might have decently high drag with the large amount of control surfaces that gives it its large amount of lift/G-pull. The missile will be just as potent as any thrust vectoring IRCCM missile in a dogfight from what I’ve read, it should have quite high range compared to all the IR missiles we already have ingame (R-27ET excluded).
The ability for an IR missile to re-engage a target during a dogfight it quite huge (and any ARH missile is easily chaffed in dogfights or when attempting to destroy a target heading in the opposite direction from it) it’s something no other IR missile has ingame, and would be extremely potent at making any seemingly poorly made missile launch a probable kill. *there’s a reason the Aim-9X is so feared by the DCS (yes I know, muh DCS) community, that and the smokeless motor causing it to jumpscare people haha.
A potent IRCCM for a air to air missile nonetheless, it’s not Python 5 or late stinger levels of flare resistance, but frankly every aircraft ingame will probably have trouble flaring this thing rear aspect, and to an extent other aspects as well.
Oh yeah I’m aware. They gimped the poor thing and copy pasted the IRCCM from the Aim-9M (T-T)
I boi, I sure hope they don’t do that to the pythons as well…
(looks at Python 3 with Aim-9L seeker head)
Some of the later ones do indeed have better capabilities, there’s no denying that (especially LOAL). The Python 5 is definitely part of that group in that regard, but the Python 4 is more or less in between that era and the one we currently have in war thunder. I would personally say it’s comparable tot he first block of the Aim-9X and the AAM-3, however you’re right in the fact it’s quite… old and ineffective compared to some of the newer missiles it can find itself being compared too.
Indeed, however as I’ve made apparent, I fear it would be too strong (if gaijin doesn’t gimp it like the AAM-3). It’s ahead of its time and would be easily one of the strongest IR missiles on any aircraft ingame (aside for the R-27ET…)!
Gaijin could just nerf its IRCCM, or maybe G-pull, and it’s probably be fine…
But a missile with 70Gs of pull, a Smokeless Motor, (early) Stinger IRCCM, ability to re-engage targets, a medium range IR missile (essentially), self limiting thrust for an optimal turning circle, and extremely aerodynamic design that allows for high AOA and tight turns without using thrust vectoring of any kind…
(inhales for some air after that mouthful)
miiiiight be just a tab much for the game at this moment in time…
Hopefully that last bit got my point across a bit better…
