[B]F111-Aardvark ~ Why you LOVE IT & why we need it[/B]

[Bartacomus]

The F111 Aardvark "PIG" Strategic or Strike Bomber? Interdictor or Interceptor? Fighter or Recon? ..or all of those?

 

The more i read about this aircraft.. the more Awestruck I become. There are several factors that make a DCS plane a Hit.

Looks, Ability, Multirole Capability and Factors Unique to the Airframe.

 

 

Here is a list.. of reasons the F111 Aardvark was the Titan of the Air.

And why DCS should Love It.

 

 

It WAS a Pinpoint Bomber, Nuclear Bomber, Fighter, Fleet Defense, Recon & Interdiction craft

When the Aarvark was was replaced its void was filled by 2 aircraft. the F15 and the B1. Still the F111 was faster than the F15, and did everything a B1 couldnt. Its hitting power was immense. Due to this it flew with B52s as a bomber, not as an escort. But it wasnt limited to heavy duty.

 

 

It has an Internal Canon

Not only does it have Helmet Displays and "over the shoulder" ASRAAM and Sidewinder rails, Not only a Tactical Nuclear load of 4 missiles (equal to the Hustler Bomber). Not only did it carry the best ECM, and carried Phoenix Air to Air missiles. It had a modular INTERNAL CANNON. 2,100 rounds worth of 20mm ammunition.

This rivals the Warthog in capacity

 

 

It has the Bomb-Load of an A10-Warthog

It could carry *48 bombs.. 8-10 CBU's, or it could carry 20 Rockeyes. 100,000/lbs. Max Weight Yes. You read that right. It had a 30,000/lb Payload Capacity. The F111 had an internal bomb-bay and a dedicated laser. Its LOS was not impeded by airframe like the TGP lightning pod or the Elint.Fantasma. The target stays painted until impact no matter what orientation the plane is in. Although it has moving swept wings like an F14, its had 4 FIXED wing spars. Which brings up the next point.

Its a Super Sonic Warthog

*PICTURE BELOW

 

 

Its FAST. Mach 2.5 with Moving Swept Wings, and range

Its faster than the F15 and the F16. Its faster than the F4 Phantom. With a range twice that of the Phantom. 4,200 miles. The frame was so well built the only limiting factors were how good the engines were and.. the melting temp of metal

 

 

 

These are reasons the "Pig" is Unique

 

It flew so fast.. IT WOULD MELT

The Aardvark was so fast, they put a special Alarm in the Cockpit. That would Countdown in Flight. Count down to when the plane would Melt. When the alarm when off, you cut the engines. I dont know about you.. but i would buy a Module just because it COULD melt itself mid air. Model THAT.

 

 

It could blow FLAMES out of its tail 50 meters long. As bright as a FLARE

The move was called the Dump and Burn. Pilots could dump fuel and light it with Afterburners. The fireball was twice the length of the Plane and So bright. it would light up the night.

Thats actual footage.

This is another thing People Would Buy the Module For. Id love to see it modelled like the SUU-25 Flares. I would. Wouldnt you fly a module that was so bright it lit up the DCS battle field like a parachute flare?

*PICTURE BELOW

 

 

THE ENTIRE COCKPIT EJECTED

In an emergency the crew compartment shoots out of the plane under rocket power! A Capsule instead of an ejection seat. The Frame was so rigid.. the cockpit is CUT off the frame by shaped charges! 3 seconds later the Ejection Pod POPS CHAFF! So missiles dont tract the Capsule. Amazing. I buy the plane just so i could eject.. just so i could see it happen. Here is video of the Ejection Capsule

*PICTURE BELOW

 

 

The Aardvark had a RIO

Just like Heatblurs Tommie.. this aircraft had a Weapons ECM Radar officer. This opens up possibility for Multiplayer play and the AI RIO weve all be talking about so much.

 

 

It HAD A HOOK. Thats right, it Can Land on an Aircraft Carrier

The Bmodel and the Australian F111c, affectionately called the PIG, both carry Wire Arresting hooks.

 

 

It could Maintain a 3G turn at Super Sonic Speeds

This information came from a Pig pilot. I didnt read it anywhere, so its anecdotal, but i believe the Pilot. He also said that Crews got the Aardvark/Pig well above mach 2.5, and closer to mach 3!

 

 

It could drop munitions at mach

This is another anecdotal point i heard, but fairly straight forward. the Pigs unique Ground Following Avionics and utterly, unfettered, scathing speed.. allowed dropping munition at very high speed

 

 

It was only recently Retired

in regard to Production. There are Pigs still flying, there are many Pigs on display. There are plenty of Living Pilots who still have a few teeth and some sense. The company who built them is still around. Its doubtful that a license would be denied, given that its not in use. Yet there are still plenty of People who worked and flew around the Aardvark.

 

 

but the best reason of all is

 

ITS ABSOLUTELY AWESOME LOOKING

 

The Plane had a bad reputation in regard to 3 things.

Money. It was Expensive to operate.

Weight. Despite its arresting gear, it was very heavy for Carrier Operations

Maintenance. For every flight hour, there were many Maintenance hours.

Thank Heavens.. DCS doesnt model any of those variable :D

 

 

How can you not Fall in Love with the PIG after hearing all that?

A 2 man Super Sonic Warthog, with twice the bomb-load, Faster than anything in DCS with an 'Im Melting' alarm and 50 meter flames belching from the rear.. it shoots, it nukes, it strikes, it carpetbombs, has a Rocket Propelled Escape Pod and can Land On a Carrier.

 

 

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS. PLEASE COMMENT BELOW, AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

 

Bart

 

 

 

 

Aardvark.. doing the Dump and Burn. People say they can feel the heat on the ground.

 

GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR PIG! (notice flotation bags, its had landing airbags too)

 

48 Bombs on the Py-Lons

 

One Last Pic.. for the Beauty (Air to Air Refueling plumbing visible)

 

Please Comment below

Edited December 27, 2019 by Bartacomus

[Bartacomus]

 

Video of an F111 landing on its belly with no Undercarriage.. in Australia. Tail Hook seen.

 

Any Aces from Oz representin'?

[KlarSnow]

All of that is true but the fighter stuff. Only one of the f-111s could carry Phoenix, the B which never left the development stage. The internal gun comes at the expense of the internal bomb bay ( not that large to begin with) but also if you are talking the later models that could carry pave tack, you would lose that as well if you took the gun. Only air to air ordnance regularly carried was the sidewinder, although it “could” support sparrow, but I don’t think beyond test it ever carried them. It’s radar as operationally deployed was capable of air to air like the viggens, it “could” do it, wasnt really all that great at it.

 

Regarding the Aussie stuff they buried their jets after they retired them, unlikely you would get any specifics needed to make their specific late 2000’s -111, something like a desert storm E/F however would probly be eminently doable

Edited December 24, 2019 by KlarSnow

[Richard Dastardly]

Should point out that a lot of aircraft carry hooks, but aren't reinforced for the near-crash that is a carrier landing. Tornados had hooks, you wouldn't want to put one of those on a carrier... many mil bases have runway arrestor wires.

 

A useful service aircraft is not doing M2.5... the F ( which I guess is the one we'd want ) would be more like 1.5. The fleet defence version was dumped for the Tomcat, to much rejoicing.

 

I don't know if you called the TFR unique, but TFR is certainly not unique to the F-111.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Richard Dastardly

[mrmat01]

Yep awesome aircraft would love to see a Pig in DCS one of my fav all-time RAAF aircraft.

[Cobra747]

Regarding the Aussie stuff they buried their jets after they retired them, unlikely you would get any specifics needed to make their specific late 2000’s -111, something like a desert storm E/F however would probly be eminently doable

 

We have one in a museum down here near where I live. A8-109 which was the last RAAF F-111 to shut its engines down. I believe there are others as well but not certain.

 

Historical Aircraft Restoration Society

 

:joystick:

[mrmat01]

;4150650']We have one in a museum down here near where I live. A8-109 which was the last RAAF F-111 to shut its engines down. I believe there are others as well but not certain.

 

Historical Aircraft Restoration Society

 

:joystick:

 

 

Yep got one in Darwin also :thumbup:

 

Awesome link by the way.

Edited December 24, 2019 by mrmat01

[Bartacomus]

Excellent fellas. Good Pros and Cons talk. Lets keep it up.

 

Now.. to counter some of your points. I gotta do a little interdiction lol

 

1. the Pig B-variant Did complete development. The F111 is Phoenix and Sidewinder capable. (ill include a pic of one i found wearing a AIM9). The problem was, the Navy couldnt use aircraft that heavy.

it has a 100,000lbs max take off weight. With a 4000 mile range, at 2.5+ mach theres no reason TO put it on a carrier.

But give us a Hook.. and DCS will use it lol.

 

2. Speed is absolutely useful. Its the same tactic the F4 Phantom adopted. Shoot and Scoot. And nothing could catch the Phantom. Except the F111 Aardvark.

 

if i can hug the ground (why its called the pig) at mach 2+. drop ordinance at super high speeds.. pull 3Gs at twice the speed of an F18. You have on MY terms.

With this kind of speed, you dictate the battlefield. You decide how, where, and when your enemy has to fight. All the variants were fast.

 

3. and most importantly. in regard to the claim that its a poor Target of Opportunity platform?

During Desert Storm, the F111 had a 3.2:1 Successful mission rate. Higher than ANY other aircraft.

66 F111's destroyed 1,500 tanks. That was 30% of the entire Iraqi Armored Force. The Warthog in comparison? destroyed 900.

Think about that.

 

I love the Warthog, and i havent had the pleasure to fly the Viggen yet. but Neither of those planes measure up to what i just wrote. The F111's Combat Record. i mean ↑ thats just ridiculous-good

 

 

No body realizes just how Awesome this plane really was.

 

Heres the side slung Sidewinders. the 2 Phoenix missiles were carried in the bay. I should mention the Wings would Swing back, but the Wing Pylons rotated to always point forward. Pretty neat

 

AIMs could be loaded on the 5000/lb pylons, but the previous loadout is prefferable to this nonsense

 

 

 

EDIT: Sorry Klar, i totally misread you in regard to the Sidewinder and Desert Storm models. I think even the K model was in service by the late 70's. The Basic Airframes capability should be the same. as the 1991 .

 

then again on another point. We now have the J17. Which is a mid 2000's aircraft, Undoubtedly its simulated specs must include the advantages of current tech.

I hear people say its an old engine in the J17.. but engines develop too. 40 years of engine development, metallurgy, composites, tweaks.. even if its the same model.

I dont know how i feel about that.

Edited December 24, 2019 by Bartacomus

[KlarSnow]

Yes the 111B completed development but it never went into service, if you are looking for a realistic F-111 as it was utilized by the USAF and RAAF and wasn’t utilized by the USN for its entire career the Phoenix/AWG-9 are out of scope. The 111B completed development and was then immediately canned and they started over which resulted in the F-14. No other version of the 111 could do phoenix, or could really be considered an A/A platform.

 

Regarding TFR, no we don’t have TFR in any module in DCS, not in the way the -111 does it. IE automatically flying a set terrain clearance with look ahead zero/zero visibility capability. The viggens “TFR” mode for its radar does not provide that functionality, it allows the pilot to manually clear terrain, but its nowhere near what the F-111 could do. Flying off a radar altimeter also does not provide the same capability.

 

A jet or two in a museum does not full access to its docs and specs equal. you can find -1’s and a few -34s for USAF 111’s out there on the various manual purchasing websites. The Aussies hold a lot more of that stuff close hold for a jet retired in 2013, so other than aviation magazine snippets about “it had this or that capability” you probly aren’t going to find the details necessary to model the systems of an Aussie 2013 pig.

 

While it would be cool to get one with all the latest and greatest toys, its far more likely to be able to get the data for an F-111A, E or F as the USAF flew them.

[Northstar98]

Would love a F-111 I think it would be a perfect candidate for Heatblur (That triggered me so much when you called it Razbam's Tommie :lol:), variable geometry wings, 2 seater, very similar engines as with the -14A they're developing (variant of the same engine). It's essentially a fatter F-14 in many ways minus pretty much all of the fighter stuff... And a supersonic interdictor, in a cool looking platform not really seen in DCS (closest is the F-14B)? It's perfect era for me (~80s Red Storm Rising scenarios)

 

For variants I'd go for basically any US variant (though Aussie ones can do a little more AFAIK), preferably a -111F, though anything goes. An EF-111A would be a great candidate for AI

Edited December 25, 2019 by Northstar98

[CommanderRabb]

I would say go for it, if you can get it. It's probably more realistically obtainable than some of the other stuff people are proposing.

[JUICE-AWG]

And remember, if you Eject over water, your capsule works as a boat!

[Bartacomus]

Im not quite sure what variant we used in the Desert Storm conflict. That variant proved the superiority of the F111 platform.. But for all i know it couldve been coalition C models.

 

For DCS.. the proper model is going to be the one with the widest capability. In that case they would have to talk with the men who worked on the Flight Line. IS a F111c still Phoenix Capable? Were the F models adaptable to similar A2A munitions?

For instance i know they fit Sidewinders on the F111, but you DONT wanna get that close to fighters in the PIG, thats the whole reason to have the fastest plane in the game.. to NOT get that close.

But ASRAAM and AMRAAM are AIM pylon compatible. So.. thats the stuff that you need to talk to the guys in the rear with the gear. Medium range A2A would add a huge capability to the simulation, and the gun of course.. it may have been for plinking, but lord knows ive shot down a few helos in the Warthog.

 

I didnt know that about the Viggen.. i thought it was feature complete. Ground hugging would be a neat thing, but damn.. i wouldnt want to be the one to code that.

 

i cant find much about F111 HUDs either. a HUD is probably a key game element. Though im enjoying the MIrage and its spartan accomodations.

[KlarSnow]

As I've said before and any cursory research on this matter will reveal, the only, ONLY F-111 that ever had any capability for the AIM-54 Phoenix was the B variant, which never entered service. Its nose and radar were specifically designed for the AWG-9/AIM-54 combo, that's why it looks so different from the rest of the F-111's. The radar in all the other F-111's had zero compatibility with the AIM-54, and limited A/A capability at best.

 

The weapons manuals for these aircraft mention the Sparrow, so it may have been compatible, but was never carried operationally. Sidewinders were the only A/A ordnance carried operationally on USAF F-111's of any variety. The USN never operated any variant of the F-111 since the B never became operational.

 

The viggen's "TFR" may very well be feature complete and accurate to the aircraft, but it is not anything like the "TFR" that the F-111 (and later the F-15E and some variants of the F-16/18 or the B-1B) could utilize.

 

For Desert Storm, the E/F would be the two variants that are accurate, would also be the most likely to be the most modern that could be modeled.

 

No variant of the F-111 was compatible with or capable of firing the AMRAAM. If the Aussies modded theirs up to carry ASRAAM to give it greater self protect capability than a sidewinder, sweet; but again, that's not something you are going to find the details on in a useable form for DCS.

 

The F-111's original HUD was very much in a similar vein to the tomcat's, in between the old fixed reticle gun sights used on the F-4 and century series fighters while also giving more data in a very analog format.

 

Again, not really familiar with how the Aussies modified theirs up, so it could very well have eventually gotten something more modern. Again, not gonna find a lot of detailed data on the specifics needed for modelling it in DCS.

[Tobi1304]

It’s no problem they didn’t use the Phoenix on the F-111...just give me a realistic F-111 for some action over the PG. I would take any version they make.

[Xilon_x]

make me understand why the f111 makes that big flame behind it? what is it about?

 

 

i am italian the f-111s were involved in the famous ustica massacre-when a libyan plane (mig23) entered the italian airspace and crashed in the calabria region. do you know anything about the f-111?

[Harlikwin]

make me understand why the f111 makes that big flame behind it? what is it about?

 

 

i am italian the f-111s were involved in the famous ustica massacre-when a libyan plane (mig23) entered the italian airspace and crashed in the calabria region. do you know anything about the f-111?

 

Fuel dump lit by afterburner.

[CybrSlydr]

Oh yeah, I'd love to see an F-111!

[Richard Dastardly]

The viggen has a TWR, iirc ( even the Vulcan had one of those ) and it's not really a big job to make that out of any radar with a ground mapping mode - proper TFR ala F-111 and Tornado ( and before either, TSR2 ) would fly you low level IFR. ASRAAM & AIM-9X share a seeker head, can't imagine it was a big job to fit ASRAAM. AMRAAM is an entirely different class of missile.

Edited December 31, 2019 by Richard Dastardly

[BEHill75]

In regards to the modular gunpod. By that logic, the P-51 has higher capacity than the Warthog. The difference is the pod is 20mm compared to the Warthog's 30mm. Lot less penetration and hitting power, though still sufficient for lighter targets.

 

Also, in regards to it being very heavy for carrier operations...well that's a moot point because this is not a naval aircraft. The F-14, coincidentally the result of the same project (TFX), was what the Navy went with. Several Air Force aircraft have or had tail hooks. This doesn't mean they were designed for carrier use. 100-series aircraft had them as part of an emergency stop system which many airfields are equipped with. In fact, my dad once told me a story where a crewman essentially had his face ripped off because he tried to use a government issue ball point pen instead of the standard quick release pin used to restrain the spring-loaded hook on the F-106.

[Buckshot_AUS]

I definitely would absolutely love to see this aircraft. For all of the reasons stated by the OP, and the reasons described by the guy who suggested that Heatblur would be the perfect candidate. However, the biggest reason for me is the game-play it could generate. Could you imagine penetrating low level, supersonic, at sea level, using your TFR at 200ft above the deck, just to smash a target with pinpoint precision and get the heck out of dodge while being chased down (attempted chasing). It would bring so much OCA/precision strike action to the game that is currently very lacking. I say go for it! I'd commit $1000USD to it's development without blinking.

[Jonne]

I definitely would absolutely love to see this aircraft. For all of the reasons stated by the OP, and the reasons described by the guy who suggested that Heatblur would be the perfect candidate. However, the biggest reason for me is the game-play it could generate. Could you imagine penetrating low level, supersonic, at sea level, using your TFR at 200ft above the deck, just to smash a target with pinpoint precision and get the heck out of dodge while being chased down (attempted chasing). It would bring so much OCA/precision strike action to the game that is currently very lacking. I say go for it! I'd commit $1000USD to it's development without blinking.

 

You mean like exactly what the AJS 37 already does?

 

Not that I do not like the idea of the F-111 in the game, actually I would be quite happy to see it. But its mission is not new to DCS.

[Richard Dastardly]

You mean like exactly what the AJS 37 already does?

 

Not that I do not like the idea of the F-111 in the game, actually I would be quite happy to see it. But its mission is not new to DCS.

 

Well, it doesn't have TFR, but all that does is remove the pilot from the equation :p Tornado & presumably F-111 have somewhat more sophisticated radar than the Viggen, might be worth it for the right mission.

[JamesRothwell]

I'd buy this module for sure, especially if it was made by Heatblur to F14 standards.

[Lt_RAzOr_957]

WOULD ASBOLUTELY LOVE IT