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The Phantom is a fighter jet that needs no introduction. One of the most iconic and ubiquitous aeroplanes of NATO and many other countries, from Japan to Iran. The F-4 is a testament to raw power against gravity, the proof that even Snoopy’s doghouse can fly with a big enough jet engine strapped onto it!
On a more serious side, the Phantom is one of the most anticipated modules joining the DCS park. Its first incarnation, the F-4E-45MC, is a circa 1974 update featuring DSCG, M61A1 internal gun, slats, and other features. Despite being a contemporary of the F-14 Tomcat, the Phantom is a third-generation aircraft at its core, and this characteristic is reflected in the crew’s workload.
This video introduces what I have in store so far and the content I will continue to work on in the near future.
In primis shoutout to Heatblur, a huge thank you to the development team and the SMEs who have made this module possible. I feel fortunate to have tested it, and I really feel the need to apologise to them for not being able to do as much as I wanted, especially in the last two months.
As friends and habitual viewers may know, in fact, the last few years, and months in particular, have been quite messy IRL. That’s why I have to rely on AI voicing for example, as the alternative would be no voicing at all.
So, let’s get to business. The F-4E is an incredibly complex machine, and Heatblur has raised the bar significantly higher with this module. Legends say the bar now is hanging somewhere on Earth’s low orbit. Anyway, this factor, plus the intrinsic complexity of a third-gen aeroplane, on top of its mission flexibility, makes the Phantom a tricky module to learn. Ergo, I decided to ditch the air-to-ground part at the moment, leaving it to friends way more knowledgeable than me, and focus on two main aspects: the APQ-120 characteristics and air-to-air.
The first topic covers some peculiarities of the radar system, such as its primary properties and the effects of jamming, countermeasures, and the target’s RCS. The purpose is to go a bit deeper into those aspects, serving as a reference for the other discussion.
The second topic focuses on air-to-air, from intercepts to ordnance employment. The F-4E’s radar system is, in fact, quite limited and does not provide the same search performance as the radars we are used to in DCS, either due to a lack of raw power or a technological gap.
The first video and article, to be released shortly after this one, will discuss the main characteristics of the APQ-120.
Lastly, another shoutout, this time to all the friends on Discord and the various communities and my supporters on Patreon and elsewhere; you should soon* receive early access to the videos almost ready for release.
FlyAndWire 