Put the F-2A ADTW at 12.7 or keep it at 13.0 and give AIM-7P's

Machinery of War Discussion Aircraft
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The F-2A ADTW is honestly in a rough spot right now in game. It keeps getting thrown into 13.7–14.0 matches while only having AIM-7M missiles, which just don’t really hold up anymore at that level.

Most of the time you’re just outclassed. You face aircraft with way better missiles, better avionics, and overall just more capable loadouts, while you’re stuck trying to make AIM-7Ms work.

A lot of people in the community are basically saying the same things:

  • It struggles hard in BVR because the missiles are outdated for its BR
  • Constant uptiers make it feel even worse
  • AIM-7M just doesn’t cut it against anything it goes against
  • Other jets at similar BR feel way more effective overall, As example: AV-8B+, JA37DI F21, JA37DI, SU-33, SU-27, F-4F KWS LV, F-14A/B, J-8F, F-5TH TCU, Sea Harrier FA 2, Tornado F.3 Late,
  • It really feels like it’s missing something like AIM-7P or a proper Japanese upgrade like AAM-4
  • Radar/avionics are absolute god tier yet the armament it carries cannot utilize it to the max
  • In general it just doesn’t compete well at top tier anymore

When people suggest changes, it usually comes down to a few ideas:

  • Drop it down to around 12.7 and keep the AIM-7M’s
  • Keep it at 13.0 and give AIM-7P’s
  • Put it at 13.7 but give it AAM-4 missiles so it can actually compete

Right now it just feels like it’s stuck in between BRs and doesn’t really belong where it is.

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It would be insanely broken at 12.7 and Japan never bought AIM-7Ps.

We need decompression instead.

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And the F-2A platform was never made for SARH missiles the F-2A was built for ARH missiles from the beginning

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Literally

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It didn’t have AAM-4s from the get go, that’s what the F-2A ADTW represents

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F-2A ADTW isn’t a real aircraft Even the first ever prototype of F-2A was made for ARH missiles it was an ARH platform from the beginning

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Japan completely skipped the integration of SARH missiles on the F-2 from the very first beginning

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The F-2A is most certainly comptable with SARH missiles.

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Also, the XF-2A, sporting some AIM-7s.:

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TBF bad examples, those aren’t real sparrows.

But yeah, the F-2 ADTW is very real, and the F-2 very much started with only sparrows as MRMs until even the early 2010s with the AMC upgrade happened.

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From what I know of that JASDF leak couple years ago, the F-2A as a whole was made to carry ARH missiles from the get go

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Thank you for these informations and pictures

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I figured the Sparrows on the XF-2 were dummies. But even newer F-2s have been spotted carrying dummy Sparrows.

It wouldn’t make sense to carry Sparrow mockups as opposed to AAM-4 mock ups.

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Also what about the picture from the book saying the F-2 is comptable with AIM-7?

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They probably used Sparrow dummies as to show the AAM-4’s from far away in airshows and this is the result of that.

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what I’m trying to say is that the dummy sparrows are there to represent the AAM-4’s.

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It was not, original planning specifications only called for “4x MRMs,” they did not specify sparrows or AAM-4s.

Early F-2’s lacked the ability to datalink with AAM-4’s, due to the J/APG-1’s lack of a J/ARG-1 radio transceiver module needed for the datalink.

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Also, funnily enough, this is also wrong. The F-2A ADTW we have in game is roughly a 2013 spec one. It is actually entirely AAM-4 compatible as it has the AMC upgrade, as seen by its inclusion of JDAMs; it not having them was a balancing decision from what I am aware.

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What balancing decision man it’s getting obliterated at 13.0

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even against other aircrafts carrying SARH it isn’t safe it’s against AIM-7P’s and R-27ER’s

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If you add AAM-4 it’s the exact same as the TT F-2A.

Maybe when they add AAM-4B or AAM-5 then the ADTW can get Fox-3s.

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Thats what I’m thinking too, just make it the same as the one in the tech tree