Rafale's reign in a top-tier RB?

[MythicPi]

iirc the thing with the dual R-77 racks theyre giving to every russian plane under the sun is even dumber than that.

Gaijin saw a pic at a weird angle of a plane and mistook the nacel R-77 for dual rack R-77, and when they were corrected by flanker fans (cuz unlike Rafale fans, they seem to actually be interested in accurate portrayals and balance) they just started ignoring the issue as a whole.

[Cloudzy26160]

@MythicPi

for dual rack R-77, and when they were corrected by flanker fans (cuz unlike Rafale fans, they seem to actually be interested in accurate portrayals and balance)

I’ll trade 2 R-77/-1s on my Russian planes for Rafs being at a reasonable BR right here right now.

[H_ngma]

I will also selflessly trade this mans missiles for a Rafale nerf

[DirectSupport]

@VXS1

This seems like the forum to ask, is their a reason why the rafale in game has HMD radar queuing in game other than for balance, I’ve seen multiple people discuss the fact the fr3 non exported version never had that.

First question, is that true?

Some people are really building themselves a narrative and not telling the full truth so I’ll do that here.

Yes, it’s true that in-service French Rafale F3R did not have HMDs. Why was it given? It’s because Gaijin had a standing policy LONG before the introduction of the Rafale that any aircraft that tested HMD, gets it. It has nothing to do with balance but a policy that applied to aircraft before the existence of the Rafale such as Yak-141, Mirage 2000-5F, Gripen A, and etc. This policy was without regard for balance for any aircraft in the game today or in the future without regard for balance.

Gaijin similarly did not have the same policy/rule for tested radar or IRST equipment. But people like to conflate a long-standing policy which is not subject to balance with the decision not to give the German Eurofighter its PIRATE. Tested radar/IRST did not have the same policy. The two are not the same, and there’s no “bias” towards the Rafale specifically no matter how much one may try to paint it.

@VXS1

And second one, if so wouldn’t it be an easy way to slightly nerf the rafales insane off boresight potential especially while in a notch? I genuinely would appreciate it someone had some knowledge regarding this.

This was probably an unforeseen problem on Gaijin’s end, they have to abide by their long-standing policy at the end of the day.

[ILuvAnneHathaway]

There was even some sort of confirmation that dual rails on something like the Su30 would make the missile impact the airframe on launch lol. I can understand the su27sm receiving them as a balancing tool, but with the su30 they got no excuse…

[DirectSupport]

@VXS1

This seems like the forum to ask, is their a reason why the rafale in game has HMD radar queuing in game other than for balance, I’ve seen multiple people discuss the fact the fr3 non exported version never had that.

First question, is that true?

It also should be reiterated that if there’s enough outcry about the Rafale F3R having HMD and 8 MICAs, Gaijin could easily just rename the aircraft to Rafale F4.1, and it would be historical and there would be no justification to complain about its feature. So there’s atleast a pathway here to its capabilities.

[H_ngma]

@DirectSupport

Yes, it’s true that in-service French Rafale F3R did not have HMDs. Why was it given? It’s because Gaijin had a standing policy LONG before the introduction of the Rafale that any aircraft that tested HMD, gets it.

Ok why does it have 8 MICAs?

[DirectSupport]

@H_ngma

Ok why does it have 8 MICAs?

1. Because it is compatible
2. Because loadouts are subject to more consideration than something like IRST/Radar, loadouts are regularly given more capabilities when the situation calls for it, but the same can’t be said for IRST/Radar as that is a rare occurrence and I’m not even sure of any aircraft that have been given more advanced radars/IRST besides prototypes (Mirage 4000 is one case, maybe Yak-141).
3. Because export F3R Indian aircraft had them even though some may object to it being called the F3R standard
4. Because it was given the 8 MICA and HMD long before all the other buffs that it got, so the decision to give it 8 MICA was out of balance consideration. Since then the Rafale had gotten ~24 buffs after being given the HMD and 8 MICAs, 14 buffs in the March patch alone.

[H_ngma]

So other than the HMD the 8 MICAs are not even proven to be on a French F3R Rafale?

[DirectSupport]

French Rafales have been shown with the SP3 pylons having MICA missiles attached at airshows long before the F4.1 introduction. But nothing indicates in-service Rafales (F3R or prior) having these pylons fielded.

[H_ngma]

Ill take that as a yes

[MotorolaCRO]

@DirectSupport

This policy was without regard for balance for any aircraft in the game today or in the future without regard for balance.

Policy that doesn’t take balance as a factor is a bad one and should be rethought.

[I_MiikaL_I]

Gaijin jumped the gun in listening to french whining, another month or two of performance monitoring would have shown the Rafale to be dominant, even with 6 MICAs, having 8 means absolutely no thought goes into target prioritisation like with the Mirages

[DirectSupport]

@MotorolaCRO

Policy that doesn’t take balance as a factor is a bad one and should be rethought.

But again, even if it was a policy that took balance into consideration, it would have still been given evidenced by the subsequent 24 or so buffs that it had gotten after it was given a buff.

[I_MiikaL_I]

And policy with double standard at that, as Eurofighter and now F-15GE have been denied their double racks for ARH Missiles, limiting combat capability where Rafale is not

[DirectSupport]

I think you haven’t been reading. He was talking about the HMD policy.

[I_MiikaL_I]

HMD gets handed around to anything Gaijin feels like, and I agree with motorola, balance often isn’t considered, as seen with JAS-39A release

[fwp88]

In fact if it was left with 6 MICAs and no HMD it would be kind of balanced, against 14.0 mirage at least.
So you could have either absolutely cracked FM and radar
OR
worse both, but with HMD which for a missile with exceptional HOBS capability is a big thing.

Not both.

[DirectSupport]

@I_MiikaL_I

HMD gets handed around to anything Gaijin feels like

Did you not read my post? I know it’s lengthy but it explains in-depth. No it’s not “handed around to anything Gaijin feels like” as that implies that HMD is handed on a selective basis.

@DirectSupport

It’s because Gaijin had a standing policy LONG before the introduction of the Rafale that any aircraft that tested HMD, gets it. It has nothing to do with balance but a policy that applied to aircraft before the existence of the Rafale such as Yak-141, Mirage 2000-5F, Gripen A, and etc. This policy was without regard for balance for any aircraft in the game today or in the future without regard for balance.

[I_MiikaL_I]

Plus it offers notable progression, but not utter dominance. It makes sense to have an aircraft 0.3 br higher to have a smaller tech progression than something with a 0.7 br progression (eg Gripen A → Gripen C), adding another Rafale later down the line (what we have now) would make more sense than what we got