No, not that’s not reality.
AIM-54C+ would be cool too (there’s multiple AIM-54 versions and ones with improved boosters that have much higher accel)
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Yeah, not quite sure how that happened, but we probably should shift back onto the topic of the non Iranian F-14’s.
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I wasn’t even aware there were better versions of the Aim-54 than the C. That would help too, as the Aim-54C’s are just so lackluster compared to something like a Fakour.
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Fully agreed. Hopefully, the rumored introduction of the F-14D this summer means Gaijin will finally pay attention to the AIM-54 subvariants and fixes this time.
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Or maybe Gaijin just shove semi-ahistorical AIM-120A/B on F-14D (almost managed to integrate but Congress put that money elsewhere iirc)
Then they would forget those Legacy F-14A/B.
I also prefer a proper fix on AIM-54 tho
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I would not be surprised if that’s the case.
Of course, I would very much like to see AIM-120As on the F-14D, as I am biased toward having that “what-if” armament option. But, I also do not want them to forget about the current state of the AIM-54C.
“Oh beeschurger you worry too much people wont use F-15A at 12.7 as justification for their plane to get some sort of buff”
Dont get me wrong im not against looking at tomcats kit, but hell, the moving of F-15A down to 12.7 and its consequences…
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Unfortunately, that’s the best metric to compare it to.
The F-14A and F-15 came around the same era and are around the same BR in the U.S tech tree. Therefore, I find it best to compare how the Tomcat performs against it, which I don’t think is entirely unreasonable. Especially considering that in this case, the F-14’s are actually severely lacking.
As for BR, many people find the decision to move F-15A down to 12.7 controversional to this day, me included.
As for “came around the same era”, i assume you imply DoI, which isnt exactly good argument to make. Original F-15A (not the one in US TT nor in game as whole) was introduced 4 years BEFORE F-4S conversion began to take place. Yet we dont balance F-4S by comparing it to F-15A.
Its perfectly fine to compare, but lets be honest, F-15A shouldnt be 12.7 to begin with so that massively skews the comparison in favor of tomcat.
As i said i do think tomcats kit deserves a review. No contest there.
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Well- Personally I dislike the idea of giving F-14D AIM-120 because
A. I am worried about the total neglect of the Phoenix fix
B. It is still ‘what-if’, and well with that theory we could get paper vehicle version of Harrier GR.9 with SHAR FA.2’s radar (which also were considered by Parliament and cancelled like F-14D’s AMRAAM.)
I preferred F-14D to come without 120A/B but with a fixed & improved Phoenix.
But oh well
If it comes along with the Phoenix fix, maybe I could admit it.
We also have Yak-141, so it cannot be wrong by itself.
Phoenix and old F-14’s loadout really need to take a look at them.
For me about F-14D, having two individual planes just like JAS39A/C, JA37D/DI, SHAR FRS.1(Early/Squadron) might be best for both?
Make players choose which F-14D you are going to put the talisman in.
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everytime when air event is on, you see Basic 12.7 F14s and Iriafs.
Out of event times both are quite rare to see, atleast it seems like it.
And to be fair, when iriaf was 13.0 and had 4 fakours it was in a lot better place compared to now as it is 13.3 , and having 6 fakours.
It could be dropped back to 13.0 , or is there any 13.0/13.3 plane what has worse radar / rwr compared to it? Not to mention 2 rear aspect ir missiles.
Least B version gets bol pods and 9L’s so there is something better on it.
But overall, all of those really needs a bit of love and tweak.
That is the one main issue, but imagine if deleting Phoenixes from F14A, give it just sparrows ( normal and DF versions) and perhaps 9L’s dropping it on BR, and after that, dropping that B version on 12.7, where it could be used a lot better. Since 13.0 is a bit of a rough place on B.
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I don’t think dropping the Phoenix’s is a great move. The Phoenix’s, while still being mainly useless most of the time, still can net you kills and are unique. Realistically, it can get 9L’s and keep its Phoenix’s at 12.7. Every plane has flares in at least a decent amount, and Aim-9L’s are one flare chumps. Phoenix’s are still also really easy to dodge, and the only way you really get hit is if you aren’t paying attention.
When Nuclear Thunder first came around, F-14’s were everywhere and it was pretty cool, but that was the last time I saw a decent amount of F-14’s since the AMRAAM meta became a thing (besides of course when the IRIAF released).
I think for one they need to fix the radar used on the Tomcats, despite being a radar that was described by pilots to be one of the best until the F-22’s came into service, in-game; it is one of the most lackluster TWS capable radar because of its extremely poor scan angles that mean that the lock retention is some of the worst in the game. This hinders the one thing the plane is supposed to be good at, the BVR combat envelope because it is literally unable to guide in all of it’s missiles because of how much radar ghosting happens due to the poor scan rate, scan angles and etc.
Secondly the RWR, especially on the F-14A. They need to fix the threat database. The biggest issue is just how many targets show up as “?” on the RWR, otherwise it is a normal RWR.
Thirdly, the weird weapon restrictions on the planes. Especially the A having only AIM-9H at 12.7 while we now have the F-15A at the same BR with AIM-9Ms – now was that a good decision? No. Another result of compression, as that BR range is one of the most compressed because it marks the shift from FOX-1/FOX-2 oriented combat to FOX-3 combat
Honestly, in my opinion, the biggest issue the plane currently has is the radar – as this is shared between all the planes of the family, and it feels like some weird, twisted and very artificial balance decision by Gaijin to attempt to balance how many AIM-54s you even guide in to the intended targets. In my opinion, all mechanical TWS radars kinda suffer from having low scan angles, but the F-14A feels unjustly nerfed/gimped considering it’s like 4 degrees for the wider area, and 6 degrees only for the narrow area…
(EDIT) Forgot this, but the ACM on all the Tomcats is STILL the legacy 9km compared to the 19km that LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE has now… It would really help if it could do that as well. Both for sparrows, and possibly even helping the pheonixes a bit especially as a distraction missile.
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This also frustrates me to no end.
The radar is just so meh for a plane that focuses on BVR entirely, especially when it was a ridiculously strong radar that wasn’t really superseded until the FA-18E in 2006 from what I’ve found. A radar than powerful should not have issues with ghosting, phantom locks, or anything like that. It feels severely gimped and I’m not sure whether or not it is on purpose. Would be ridiculous if it is intentionally nerfed.
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It’s 100% intentional, I feel Gaijin gimps late mech radars in general for some reason but the F-14 feels like Gaijin nerfed it to the ground because it used to be really good (they have a past trend of completely butchering vehicles that were overly dominant at one point) and probably because it’a an artificial way to reduce the PTK of the AIM-54s when you cant even guide them in properly.
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for the low price of $80, you could get your very own buffed F14
No way they actually released a premium one…
always expect the worst
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