I have a question regarding the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen in War Thunder.
Sweden officially designates the IRIS-T as Rb 98, and it has been integrated and operated on the JAS 39 Gripen for many years. There are also numerous official photos of Swedish Gripens carrying the Rb 98 (IRIS-T).
However, in War Thunder the Gripen is limited to AIM-9M and AIM-120C-5.
Why is the historically used Rb 98 (IRIS-T) not available on the Swedish Gripen?
Is this because of balance considerations, missing documentation, or are there plans to introduce it in a future update?
I would appreciate an official clarification from the developers.
One more thing that confuses me is the missile naming and selection. Every nation in War Thunder generally uses its own military designations for weapons. Sweden also has its own designations, such as Rb 74, Rb 98 (IRIS-T), Rb 99 (AIM-120B) and Rb 101 (Meteor). However, on the Gripen, the missiles are displayed using their American designations, such as AIM-9 and AIM-120. Why is that the case? Is there a specific historical or technical reason for this, or is it simply a gameplay/UI decision?
Its the next generation of IR missiles, that means that every nation will get this type of missile when every other nation also get theirs. Futhermore the IRIS-T is not exclussive to the grippen so if it were to be added it needs to be added to the eurofighters and the rafale’s.
The balance is already uneven in terms of missile performance. For example, the Soviet aircraft already have missiles like the R-27ET and R-73, with the R-73 offering extremely high agility (up to 40G). France also has the Magic 2, which is an excellent short-range IR missile.
Meanwhile, the Swedish Gripen is still limited to older missile options, despite historically operating newer missiles such as the Rb 98 (IRIS-T).
So why is Sweden expected to wait for every nation to receive its next-generation missile, while other nations already have some of the best short-range IR missiles currently available in the game?
It wasn’t a argument and its just the truth they arent adding IRIS-T to a single nation and like i said everybody is getting next gen IR missiles AT THE SAME TIME
I understand your point, but my question is more about consistency.
Several nations already have missiles that are superior to those of the Gripen in certain aspects. For example, aircraft equipped with the R-73 have significantly better off-boresight capability and maneuverability than the Gripen’s current IR missiles.
So if balance has already accepted differences in missile performance between nations, why should Sweden specifically wait for the next-generation IR missile rollout?
I’m not demanding IRIS-T be added immediately. I’m simply asking why Sweden’s historically used missile is being held back while other nations already have access to some of the best IR missiles available in the current game.
Because those missiles are older yet better, besides that you do have 9m’s which arent horrible. Then again i can say the same thing about the eurofighter no? i mean it uses 9m’s and c-5’s why shouldnt they get IRIS-T they are then also underpowered because they dont have a next gen IR missile
Only two nations have better IR missile which are Russia and France, rest all nations use something similar, R-73 and Magic 2 are not even comparable to IRIS-T or 9X, Direct competition to them would be MICA IR and R-74,
France and Russia just used TVC in their older IR missile and NATO countries used mostly used 9M until they developed their own with TVC and some without TVC
If IRIS-T is added then MICA IR, 9X, ASRAAM, R-74 etc should also be added
That’s a fair point, and I agree that if IRIS-T is added, the Eurofighter should receive it as well.
My question isn’t “Why doesn’t only the Gripen have IRIS-T?”
My question is why aircraft that historically operated IRIS-T, such as the Gripen and the Eurofighter, are still limited to AIM-9Ms in the game, while other nations already have access to some of their best historical IR missiles.
If the answer is simply that Gaijin is waiting to introduce all next-generation IR missiles in one update, then that’s understandable. I was just wondering if there was an official statement confirming that.
I agree that IRIS-T should not be added only to Sweden, and that other comparable next-generation IR missiles such as AIM-9X, MICA IR, ASRAAM and R-74 should be introduced at the same time for the relevant nations.
My original question was mainly whether Gaijin has ever officially confirmed that this is their plan, or whether this is only the community’s assumption.
If there is an official statement about adding next-generation IR missiles together, I would appreciate a link to it.
IRIS-T would make Gripen 15.3 - 15.7, there’s no reason to add it to Gripen when its BR is fine where it stands with its current equally correct load out options.
Munitions are up to balance decisions from the developers, a large majority of the top tier aircraft do not have access to the most modern weapons simply because they would be overpowered at those BR’s.
They have previously stated that the most modern missiles will come to as many nations as possible all at once and very likely when more modern aircraft are added.
the IRIS-T and Meteor are so much better than any other missile currently available to aircraft that it’s not even funny.
The IRIS-T is so maneuverable that it is IRL marketed as a “anti-missile missile” , it can quite literally do a 180 degree turn and shoot down missiles that are chasing you from behind with the help of datalink from the planes RWR (or a friendly planes radar). It also has a IIR images seeker meaning that flares should do practically nothing to it. (this is not yet modeled in the game though)
The Meteor is a variable throttle ramjet missile meaning it can automatically adjust how much fuel it uses depending on how far away the target is and how much the target maneuvers. It uses the amount of fuel it thinks it needs to use to get to the target while still saving some fuel for the last few kilometers to get a big boost of speed and turning power at the end to increase the probability of a hit by quite a lot. The in-game ARH missiles have a “no escape zone” of about 30km, the Meteor is listed as having 100km of “no escape zone”.