As per title, the game is quite healthy at the moment but there are two BR that really need some rework, because there are some planes that do not belong and end up really damaging the game.
Problems of 11.7
First of all, let’s define what kind of planes you can find at this br. From 11.0 to 11.7 most trees have in their lineups the best 2nd or 3rd gen fighters, usually carrying all-aspect ir missiles and some fox1 missiles. Planes at this br usually do NOT have a reliable pd radar paired with fox1 missiles, meaning that up to 11.7 dropping chaff is usually enough to avoid most radar missiles, with some exception. Most radars available at this tier are either not good enough to achieve long distance locks or the missiles themselves do not have enough range to be dangerous at distance, making so that fox1 are still used in visual range combat. There is a lot that could be said, but in general we can summarize it this way:
-Great IR missiles (but no IRCCM)
-No reliable* PD radar paired with long range fox1
-Most fights take place in BFM at close range
After saying this, two planes come to mind that really stick out for their capabilities and should not sit at this br, carrying a set of avinics and weapons too good compared to the competition. One is the Mirage F1, the other is the A-10c and the third is the Viggen JA37D
The problem witht the mirage F1 has a name: it’s magic2. No other fighter at this br has IRCCM all aspect fox 2 missiles, and that gives it a really unfair advantage, that is usually visible in game by taking note of the amount of kills that these planes can score. It wasnt like that at all in the past, when IRCCM wasnt a thing on magic2. If not for these missiles, the Mirage F1 would be a perfect 11.7 plane, but given the potency of those missiles, I believe it should be moved up in br. 12.0 or 12.3 would be more fit br for the plane.
The second plane is the A-10C: simply put, the HMS with IFF paired with Aim9m and MAW is too much at this br. It’s an attacker that is the best fighter of the game at its br, and it really feels out of place. Nothing can really worry this plane given that at this br there are no ways to put pressure on it from afar, and in close range it’s really dangerous because the A-10 can and will outturn every other fighter and because of its HMD and invisible flare resistant missiles it can kill unsuspecting enemies even before being spotted. It also carries a complete set of ground weapons including GPS weapons, meaning that it can wipe clear a full AI ground battle by itself in a single sweep. For these reasons, I believe this plane should only face late 3rd gen fighters and early 4th gen, so that its opponent have access to a pd radar and can be aware of its presence before getting close. In my opinion, this plane should be move to 12.7 where it can still be very effective in its air to ground role but it loses the ability to dominate in air to air fights.
Third plane: JA37D Viggen. Very good flight model, 4 aim9l and 2 Skyfalsh paired with HUD and TWS radar. It has probably the best situational awareness at this tier matched only by the A-10c. This plane should also be moved up to 12.0 or 12.3
Problems of 13.0
Since the inclusion in the game of fox3 missiles, early 4th gen planes and late 3rd gen planes that only carry fox1 missiles have lost a br where they can be used effectively. Some planes like, for example, the F16ADF, Mig29, Su27, or F15A do not have a BR where they can face each other without having to deal with top tier fox 3 missiles.
In my opinion, ANY plane carrying fox 3 missiles should be moved above 13.0 no matter what its flight model is and every plane that does NOT carry fox3 missiles should be moved at 13.0 or below according to flight performances, so to ensure that we can get different styles of gameplay:
Only fox2 and basic fox 1 up until 11.7; Advanced fox2 and long range fox1 up to 13.0 and fox3+advanced fox2 from 13.0 and above