I don’t see it as a huge issue but I think they should have their own tier so 5th gens would only really see other 5th gens unless they decided to add very early variants and then it should only be in a full downtier scenario. Limiting the F-22 for example only to the earliest AIM-120C’s does nothing for balance against a Rafale, EX or EFT when they still can’t see it.
Further to that, at this supposed top bracket, pretty much anyone with F-35 would be at a disadvantage, worse airframe, slow, supposedly not stealthier in the frontal aspect than the F-22, limited to just 4 missiles internally until the Sidekick upgrade comes around and then it would depend on who buys it.
Comparatively the F-22 has pretty much everything you could want except for IRST and I know they’re working on that, but 6 AMRAAM plus 2 sidewinders, it’s also the fastest. J-35 is mach 2, more missiles, definitely more agile, J-20 has loads of missiles, its also faster, not a clue on its respective agility.
I understand your concerns, but this isn’t new territory for Gaijin. There are already MBTs and other vehicles in the game that only entered service as recently as last year, with many of their specifications still classified. While it might seem like comparing apples to oranges, implementing 5th-gen fighters in War Thunder is not as complex as it may appear for Gaijin.
It’s possible the flight performance can be modelled very closely to reality, aside from a few specific aspects. RCS will almost certainly be a balancing lever left to Gaijin’s discretion due to its classified nature, so this will render “incorrect this incorrect that” complaints to be locked up by forum mods.
As for the Su-27SM, I believe it’s an outlier. I doubt it will face fifth-gen fighters directly. However, aircraft like the Su-35S and other late 4.5-generation platforms certainly will.
I agree! I’d prefer Gaijin to take their time fleshing out the rest of the 4.5-generation content first. Once that is complete and players start asking for more, then the transition to fifth-generation fighters will feel natural.
Your assessment seems fair to me. There’s no doubt that the F-22 will have a higher BR than the F-35 variants.
We went from F-15A (70’s) December 2023, to F-15C (90’s-early 2000’s) in summer 2024, to Rafale F3R (2019) in December 2024, and then a 2010’s F/A-18C and 2010’s Su-30SM, and now a 2010’s F-2A.
Hopefully, with the introduction of 5th-generation fighters, we’ll also see a major decompression of the top tiers in air battles, similar to what happened in the naval battles with the addition of ships like the Iowa and Yamato, so players won’t have to worry about the F-22 being a cracked jet fighter. However, I would not hold high hopes for this one.
if i had to guess theyd add an early version december, then summer brings the rest of 4.5/4 and more cold war, and then the fall update brings an F-22 late and december 2026 brings F-35
