It does not. And it couldn’t use the R-27EA either, which a year ago was being floated as an option before gaijin just decided to release the R-77.
The R-27EA this time around as brought up because people are scrambling to understand how a navalized plain-jane Su-27, with more weight and less performance is somehow going to stack up with EFT’s, Rafales, and whatever the hell the US gets.
I’ve maintained a few theories:
Su-33 is going to get the Avia/Armchair General op-ed from the mid-2000’s treatment, where it was once viewed as the future of the Russian Air Force and Navy, as there was a plan to upgrade the Su-27K’s at the time, and the little bit of footage coming out at the time looked like another canard plane (this was actually the Su-30MKI). So everyone and their mother wrote articles about how it was going to carry the Izdeliye(IZ) 170-1 (later became the R-77-1) that would be some hypersonic world beater, and R-74 which was rumored at the time to be what is now the K-30 (IZ-300). They said it would have AESA and TVC. It was supposed to be basically everything the Su-30SM/SM2 and Su-35S became.
So in summary imagine some super Su-35 wearing the skin of an “Su-33”. They’d never make it as good as an Su-35, but they’d use all the laughably incorrect fluff pieces written in the mid-2000’s to make it a plane it never was. We won’t get R-74, and won’t get a 74M/74M2 anytime soon, and certainly not the K-30/IZ-300 anytime soon at all. I don’t see R-77-1 coming, and if it did, it would certainly be added only to the “Su-33” and only because the devs feel bad handing us this abomination they’d have to make it to actually be viable. In this scenario, the Su-33 is closer to what the Russian MOD originally sought for it to be, it has Bars or some sort of prototype AESA/PESA, canards (that irl were for launching off the Kuznetsov, period) and R-77’s. It would be an equal to the EFT and Rafale in this scenario, even though it never was, it plays well and Ru mains are happy.
They give us the Su-33 as it realistically was supposed to be, but find a way to subtly fudge it so it magically has WVR capabilities it really shouldn’t have, and allow it to shoot ARH’s (N001VEP or something not even PESA, but can shoot ARH’s). It comes with a new ARH, take your pick on what they give us, equally likely R-77-1 or R-27EA. Imo the R-27EA could happen IF they give us the steaming pile of crap that is the Su-33 (comparative to the EFT and Rafale), and somehow that possibly offsets the outrage that an ARH that is kinematically decent enough to pick up some of the R-77 slack (US mains will complain, nothing new). Alternatively, they could give us the R-73M with it as well on the same principle of the plane being a steaming pile.
TL;DR it’s garbage but with a little bit of something to numb the pain. It’s better in this scenario than the Su-27SM because it’s basically an Su-27SM with better WVR, and better than an Su-34 because it’s not a brick that can WVR, and it has HMD. It still lacks a radar to compliment the new ARH, but it gets a new ARH, or a new IR missile.
They give us the Su-33 as it realistically is supposed to be. It’s woefully inadequate. They don’t care, it’s only marginal upside is they cheese the aerial performance for WVR (even though it shouldn’t be that great), and they justify the plane being an equal to the EFT and Rafale because it can WVR and it’s not the Su-34.
They give us the Su-33, probably as a steaming pile, like scenario 2 or 3, but they also give us the Su-30SM, because that’s really the most appropriate choice. We’ve been over why, I can answer more in a follow up.
I could have not say better.
The Bloch prop fighters are the new EBRs, all destined to be wasted in events while being production planes. It’s not like France is lacking of prototypes for this era!
At the very least just give us the M.B. 155 in the tech tree now, this is so wrong…
And I didn’t even speak about the complete lack of WW2 native planes added since years, while so many production planes are still missing in this tech tree.
I’m personally hoping that we are getting the Su-30SM, and they’ve buried the announcement from the leaks. That’s the best case scenario. It would be nice to have it with R-77-1’s, but it can manage without them for a few patches so long as the C5 doesn’t release until then too.
The second best scenario is a Gaijin’d Su-33 that really doesn’t make sense to any Flanker lovers, but is more competitive than it deserves to be. It will probably be the worst plane in the release for new top tier planes, but so long as the BR is appropriate, it will at least make flying top tier flankers a little more fun that it is now.
I can’t emphasize how much fun the Su-34 has been in air ARB, even though it’s a twin seat Flanker with a literal toilet in the back. A mix of that and the Su-27SM would at least be mildly entertaining. Just hard to see how the SPAMRAAM meta changes in this patch without the Su-30SM coming alongside the R-77-1. So until then, I’ll still be spending 8 minutes of fuel notching after take-off before the F-14/15 brainlets run out of EZ mode ARH’s.
Edit: This also presumes not just getting like a MiG-29K or MiG-29M or whatever, which would be better than what the Su-33 should be if implemented properly.
Yeah. I mean it would be fun to play pretend Su-35 in an Su-33, and we’d get nothing but “Russian Bias” salt for a few months, but ultimately, it’s not what that plane is supposed to be, and I’ll eventually feel dirty playing it. So I can’t really hope for scenario 1.
Scenario 2 is just the more palatable scenario 1, and we’re still going to get “muh Russian bias”, but it won’t be that objectively obvious.
Scenario 3 will give us the British main experience, and like I said, maybe I’ll finally morph in Morv when it’s all done.
Scenario 4 is just the best move overall. I’m truly floored we still don’t have a tandem Flanker yet have a flippin’ Su-34.
Likewise I’m hoping some iconic aircraft are saved as a surprise. I can’t see the US and RU getting nothing competitive in top tier in one of the biggest updates in the year, especially when they have plenty of options.
For starters, nothing would unironically be better, as this aircraft is effectively a sidegrade copy paste of the Su-27 at 13.0
Secondly, the Su-27SM is already the 2nd worst 13.7 jet as is, seeing EVERYONE ELSE get something leagues better when you already cant compete just sucks for them.
I’m fine being the junior plane for a patch. If it made all the Flankers more fun to play, I’d honestly accept this outcome. But can we at least get the R-73 fixed, or an R-73M to go with it?
It wasn’t even needed tbh. The Su-30M was the Su-25SM3-but-a-multirole-Flanker-that-we-needed, and like a broken clock, I say it twice a day, this would’ve given China a minor upgrade over the JH-7A in the way of the Su-30MKK which would’ve practically been a clone of the same plane, only with slightly taller (Su-35 length) vertical stabilizers.
Or maybe they could actually give the JH-7A all of its air to-ground ordnance.
I don’t know why Gaijin likes to not give Chinese aircraft its available loadouts.
For example, none of the Q-5s except the A-5 can carry air-to-air missiles ingame, which is false.
J-10 can absolutely carry more than just 2x LGBs.
You get the point.
