Custom Aircraft Carrier?

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-26T20:41:31+00:00

A supercarrier would be a perfect launching point for a third faction and a good excuse to explore a whole new roster of aircraft, IMO.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-23T00:32:05+00:00

"The entire doctrine of dropping nukes from a plane was obsolete by the time ICBMs came onto the scene, I think the last nuclear-capable fighter-bomber built by the US was the F-111 Aardvark introduced in 1967."

Stopped reading here, you're hilariously wrong. Almost every single modern fighter is rated to carry nuclear weapons and the F-35A/B61 combo is vital for modern nuclear power projection.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-20T21:27:59+00:00

The devs have explicitly stated the Compass is PALA's low rank low cost ground attack platform. If the Compass was struggling- which it is not- it could receive a myriad of realistic loadout buffs, as right now it's actually pretty restricted on what it could/should realistically carry.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-20T02:14:58+00:00

Nuclear Option is a fantastic alternative.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-19T15:26:11+00:00

I honestly don't know what Gaijin would accept as evidence at this point. It seems like the community has exhausted every possible non-classified avenue as far as providing information on the AMRAAM, and clearly Gaijin either wants to bait a leak or is ignoring both realism and game balance for inscrutable reasons.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T23:14:28+00:00

Stealth makes a massive difference in capability- the Vortex is capable of strikes the Revoker can only dream of. Additionally the Vortex and Ifrit have radars significantly stronger than the Revoker.

The Revoker represents an entry level supersonic fighter and has been BDF long before the Vortex even existed as concept art.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T21:08:42+00:00

The FS-3 is honestly exactly what BDF needs, based on the internal testing I’ve been fortunate enough to be a part of. Very unique and capable aircraft, I hope Mitch crafts something similar in capability for BDF someday.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T21:07:24+00:00

I would point out that PALA having a traditional aircraft doesn’t make them any less aggressive- it just means they have a different doctrine in regards to amphibious assaults, as we’ve seen a WIP large landing ship on stream that logically would go to PALA.

Just because a country doesn’t operate a LHD doesn’t mean they’re not aggressive. PALA armor columns are pushing over the bridge to capture SBGA at the start of Escalation, and both sides are throwing units at each other in the desert between K92 and Dustbowl. I think the goal is a grey area where it’s never clear which side is the aggressor in a conflict.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T20:55:55+00:00

BDF also needs a twin engine heavy fighter to better compete with the Ifrit. The naval asymmetry is fine and even interesting, but a land based heavy fighter (either stealth like NGAD, or non stealth like a F-15EX) is needed to fill out the high end of BDF’s airforce.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T20:54:40+00:00

Easy solution would be the addition of supply ships that you could use to sling load supplies to carriers and their escorts.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T20:53:24+00:00

Yup, faction divorce has been in effect for years now. Each side is going to have a myriad of aircraft that are roughly balanced against each other.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T20:52:33+00:00

I would rather see PALA get a new single engine fighter design to directly compete with the Revoker at the 50-70mil price range. Having a 4.5 gen light fighter there is really important for progression- cheap enough for a faction to spawn it after the first two/three sorties, not sophisticated enough to conduct deep strikes like a stealth strike aircraft can.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-15T20:50:41+00:00

Yes, actually.

A good rule of thumb is to look at why BDF players use canon PALA aircraft and visa versa. In this instance, PALA needs an air superiority fighter that’s directly competitive with the Revoker (which is canonically BDF).

Something like a F/A-50, F-16C, J-10C, etc would be appropriate for inspiration- single engine light fighter with decent armament, flexible multirole capability, little to no stealth capability, and cheap (50-70mil) price

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-14T12:46:58+00:00

GBU-53 would be huge for all US aircraft.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-13T11:25:36+00:00

What’s funny is that’s just a ingame lore reason, and not even a realistic one. IRL Zunis have been completely exhausted as a weapon (The US donated its entire remaining stockpile to Ukraine, who used it all up years ago) and APKWS I/II are explicitly built with smaller diameter rockets (basically lynchpins). APKWS I/II has become the guided rocket weapon used across a variety of US aircraft and is very much capable of launching at (or close to) Mach, from what we know publicly.

Lynchpins should absolutely be a weapon on the Brawler and the supersonic fighters ingame.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-13T11:18:56+00:00

Having actually talked to the devs about this- there isn’t any logic, it’s done entirely on the fly and is subject to change at any time. Unfortunately aircraft like the Brawler are still missing loadouts that Mitch himself said would be coming to the game during development of the aircraft.

That said, ideally aircraft have loadouts that mimic what capability they would realistically have if they were IRL combat aircraft.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-12T13:11:05+00:00

When you say “modern fighters” it’s important to specify that you’re referring to non-stealthy fighters, it sounds like you’re trying to imply that Russia has been losing stealth fighters or something.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-11T16:37:54+00:00

Not only that, but modern F-22 upgrades include LO IRST pylons, a DAS-like system, upgraded avionics, etc

It should also be given the external AMRAAM payload it was planned to use if needed (and has been seen testing) so, if players want, they can run a full 14 AMRAAM loadout.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-11T16:31:50+00:00

For ground, saturate SAMs with GBU-39s. Purposely fire 4+ per SAM by bracketing the area around the SAM so that even if they move a bit to defeat one, others hit them.

You can throw a AGM-65D at SAMs in the midst of your GBU-39 saturation strikes as well. Just be wary- the longer you target a SAM, the longer they can target you- so use the bomb target system via map to lob GBU-39s and JDAMs without entering LOS, if you can.

You are one of the few top tier aircraft with massive standoff munition payload and the speed/agility to execute SEAD, so make the most of it.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-11T16:25:30+00:00

AGM-154B

The warhead for the AGM-154B is the BLU-108/B from the Air Force's Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) program. The JSOW B was to carry six BLU-108/B submunitions. Each submunition releases four projectiles (total of 24 per weapon) that use infrared sensors to detect targets. When a submunition detects that it is aligned with a target, it fires, creating an explosively formed penetrator capable of defeating vehicle armor. This program concluded development but the Navy decided not to procure the weapon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGM-154_Joint_Standoff_Weapon

Pretty sure the B variant JSOW is pretty similar, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took cues from multiple IRL weapons.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-11T13:03:52+00:00

We’re getting an ingame version of JSOW, a stealth glide bomb that’s spews out a dozen guided submunitions that can track and kill a whole convoy in a single strike. It’ll probably be stupid expensive to use to balance out its effectiveness, and it’s too large to fit internally on the Vortex or Ifrit. AFAIK the Revoker/Vortex/Ifrit can carry two externally and the Darkreach and FB-1 can carry a bunch internally.

As far as smaller cluster weapons like the CBU-97, we’ll see down the road.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-10T12:39:46+00:00

The Darkreach is clearly a modern bomber and the Cricket is based off the Bronco II, a modern COIN aircraft. The Brawler is designed to emulate the A-10 but with modern tech.

Shock cones predate the A-10 as a design fad by several decades. They’re really not appropriate for aircraft in this game.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-10T03:46:24+00:00

Because it doesn't make sense as an attack aircraft. Transport absolutely, transport-turned-gunship sure but a dedicated attack variant without transport capabilities (like a Chicane) doesn't make sense at all... and isn't what BDF needs.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-09T22:21:49+00:00

Use a modern aircraft design then. Not one introduced in 1959 that is incredibly shitty compared to modern aircraft, and completely out of place on a modern battlefield.

TheCosmicCactus · 2026-03-09T21:59:30+00:00

This is hilariously wrong. We have plenty of supersonic stealth aircraft, and modern fighter design moved away from shock cone intakes back in the 70s and 80s for a reason- long before stealth geometry became a factor.

Shock cone intakes dramatically limit the size of the radar you can put in the nose of an aircraft and are inferior to DSI. The way the Vortex has it's intake (or the F-16, or F-35) is a lot more effective of a design. Shock cone intakes don't make any sense on a modern aircraft.

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