Aviation

[fallow drift]

plane go zoom

there was a romanian podcast talking about our MiG-29's

that said Poland managed to keep enough ties with Russia to keep it's fulcrums alive

our diplomats didn't do the same

[mental lantern]

Yeah Romania distanced themselves

[fallow drift]

the Sniper modernisation program also required MiG's approval, which they didn't give

[mental lantern]

And Poland has ended up giving up a part of its Fulcrums to Ukraine anyway

So, kinda gone to waste

[fallow drift]

meh not really

[mental lantern]

Yeah that makes sense

The license is still under Mikoyan

[fallow drift]

pretty sure they wanted NATO equipment anyway

[mental lantern]

Well they wanted anything they could get

[fallow drift]

well Poland doesn't need many jets rn

Ukraine does

so

[mental lantern]

And when it comes to fighter jets, it's best ti give equipment they're already pretty familiar with

[fallow drift]

they've had F-16's for a while iirc

they're just gonna get more

[mental lantern]

I have my sources from an officer who is in direct contact with Ukrainains they've had to train for the F-16s

And she says it's the worst experience ever

Wirh how incompetent and lacking in discipline the Ukrianians are

[fallow drift]

could be

Eastern Europe after all

but incompetent i kinda doubt

[mental lantern]

She said she'd throw them out instantly were it not for orders from above

[mental lantern]

No, since she has worked with Poles and Slovaks

And they were fine

Ukrainains are cut from the same cloth as Russia

Rude, idiotic, incompetent and always drunk

[fallow drift]

you're going kinda far my dude

[mental lantern]

Maybe, but she did say that they are terrible to work with

[fallow drift]

let's not get into insulting people

[mental lantern]

Eitherway I don't Blame for the situation, it's a nasty war afterall

[mental lantern]

Hey when Ukrianians insult Iranians I find it fine insulting them back lol

[fallow drift]

you can do what you want in private but here's not the place for it

[mental lantern]

Yeah Poland has flown F-16s for a good while and they have put down orders for F-35s

And even with that

They have US Air bases stationed there as well

So if bad comes to worse, they are fine without the Fulcrums

[fallow drift]

yeah

[mental lantern]

They did say it had become hard to maintain them anyway with cut Russian ties

[fallow drift]

if one NATO country is at war, all member countries are

[mental lantern]

Or at least in theory

[fallow drift]

makes sense

as much as i find the Fulcrum much much cooler

the Falcon is the better choice

for pretty much anyone

[mental lantern]

Well, better only because western ties

If Russia wasn't this problematic, fate would have been different

[fallow drift]

yeah there's the relations factor

[mental lantern]

As far as actual planes are concerned

A Fulcrum can be just as good

[fallow drift]

and the age factor

[mental lantern]

Of course

[fallow drift]

Pretty much no one has new MiG's

[mental lantern]

And how well maintained they are

[fallow drift]

the US can provide brand new jets at any time

[mental lantern]

Bar Russia and India

[fallow drift]

ofc

India is another one of those "hybrid" countries

[mental lantern]

Indeed

[fallow drift]

Sukhoi's, MiG's, Rafale's, what more?

[mental lantern]

Alot of different tech

[mental lantern]

And currently developing their own

Tejas

[fallow drift]

oh yeah

[mental lantern]

India is really powerful, and its a bit hard to imagine

But their tech is really impressive

Espiecally with how domestically made they are

For one, the Su-30MKIs that they have

They used permission from Russia to make their own Su-30s which have Russian, Indian, French and even Israeli tech on them

With the I-Derby and Python Missiles developed by Israel which are also compatible

And more

And so much so, Russia brought the Su-30MKI to Russia and made a fully Russian version called Su-30SM

Those planes are beastly

[worthy epoch]

if sweden succesfully join nato

is it so that were getting the F14s and stuff

we already have good jets

and I think its so we are going to have to spend like alot more for the military

when I turn 18+ there will be like the needing for me to do military training

like everyone who's 18+

doesnt matter if you in school teaching students about math

once you get a phone call you have to go immediately to the airport or so

my bald teacher had to once leave us to go

[mental lantern]

It makes sense. It's called conscription

It's a temporary training year or two for the average people to get up to speed on the basics of using said country's essential arsenal

What's good with conscription is that with it, if a war breaks out, almost everyone of the population will be fitting enough to be able to fight if need be

[mental lantern]

Sweden doenst need to buy anything when they themselves make their own jets and even export them

And F-14s? I'm sure you mistook that with something

[worthy epoch]

idk

I dodnt know lot of american jets

[mental lantern]

I understand

But yeah, Sweden is fine in terms of their own weapons

[worthy epoch]

yes

[mental lantern]

Sweden is the quiet kid in the class

While all the Russians and Americans brag about their latest inventions

Sweden is back there with state of the art Gripen Es

[worthy epoch]

sweden beat russias a long time ago

[mental lantern]

Indeed

Sweden is capable

They're the only Scandinavian country to have any large vehicle producing infrastructure

Cars, boats, airplanes and more

[worthy epoch]

and north korea still needs to do something about repaying volvo

idk how much

[mental lantern]

They need to repay Volvo? what for?

[worthy epoch]

idk

they owe volvo for something

[mental lantern]

Hmm, strange

I certainly wasn't aware of that

[worthy epoch]

funny how all the volvo badges are ereased

[fallow drift]

Gripen's are also such gorgeous jets

I need to unlock the ace skin on AC7

[mental lantern]

yeah Gripens are great too

Very good looking, and very capanle

They're Zig's favorite too

Especially in their splinter liveries

[worthy epoch]

So pretty

Maybe in swedish lesson i can write a fact text about this

but thatll be in 2 weeks

[mental lantern]

hehe, it certainly wouldn't be easy

[worthy epoch]

if I listened to my teacher

i think its all about writing the facts

one guy picked a teactor

tractor

[mental lantern]

hehe, very nice then. You could do the same with a plane

[fallow drift]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNZxIIPLfWE&ab_channel=PlaneSpottersBacau

The Ukrainian Su-27 that landed in Romania early last year taking off with it's MiG-21 escort

[worthy epoch]

pretty

I love jets

[fallow drift]

Something i found on Wikipedia, the size difference between the F-2 and the F-16 upon which the F-2 is based

the F-2 is much cooler imo

For context, the F-2 Viper Zero is the license-built variant of the F-16 built in Japan by Mitsubishi

although it's very different from the F-16

[worthy epoch]

I like the Jet that the reventon was based off

uhh

f22 raptor

[fallow drift]

Lockheed C-130H of the romanian air force

I visited an airbase as a kid in kindergarten and remember seeing them parked on the ramp

[worthy epoch]

I saw one fly over my apartment

it looked like that

the noise it made man

[fallow drift]

yeah i had a hercules fly near me a couple of days ago

loud

i get mostly A400's and F-16's nowadays tho

both loud af

[worthy epoch]

or was it that one

[fallow drift]

Wikipedia says Sweden only operates the Hercules

not the Atlas

so the first one

weird font

[worthy epoch]

ah that one

Ми 24 looks crazy

[mental lantern]

Hmm, that's a suprise

[mental lantern]

Yeah I find the F-2 cooler

[mental lantern]

That's a really cool . camo

[fallow drift]

how so?

[fallow drift]

definetly one of the coolest attack choppers

along with the Apache

except when it has a radar dome on top of the rotor that looks ugly

[mental lantern]

Didn't think a Ukrainain plane would go to Romania

[mental lantern]

Indeed

[fallow drift]

it happened in the first days of the invasion iirc

It's base was attacked while it was flying and the pilot decided to fly to Romania

[mental lantern]

Hmm, interesting

Couldn't it fly to another base?

[fallow drift]

it was intercepted by F-16's and forced to land

[fallow drift]

good question

i don't think many details are known

perhaps it was too low on fuel

[mental lantern]

It probably was an error I suppose

[worthy epoch]

it reminds me of this bastard

[mental lantern]

It seems easier to be able to fly to an inland base than fly all the way to Romania

[fallow drift]

looks like a mix between a Commanche and an Apache

[mental lantern]

Indeed

[fallow drift]

Romania and Ukraine share a border

[mental lantern]

Even still

[fallow drift]

idk man

could be error

could be confusion

[mental lantern]

Most likely an error

Ukrainian pilots aren't exactly known for professionalism

[worthy epoch]

yes

[fallow drift]

could be a "my base is attacked, so is the nearest one, the comms are a shitfest, the fuck do i do"

[mental lantern]

At least the air frame was saved

That's good

[fallow drift]

idk about that one

depends i guess

[mental lantern]

Unless it's already been shot down at last

[fallow drift]

yeah

it was allowed to fly back after some negociations

without weapons

[mental lantern]

Hmm, guess even with the given conditions they didn't give it an easy time

[fallow drift]

international law forbids it

thought i believe the weapons were given back via land

by truck or something

[mental lantern]

Unless you're US of course

[fallow drift]

then you're the law lmao

[mental lantern]

Yeah indeed

Cause fuck the law when you're the one which dictates it anyway

[fallow drift]

Yeah

[mental lantern]

At least they weren't taken away

[fallow drift]

yeah

could be worse

Romanian Hurricane

[mental lantern]

Back when liveries were more unique

Due to nor having to worry about regulations and camo

[fallow drift]

https://theaviationist.com/2022/03/01/ukrainian-su-27-returns-to-ukraine/

[fallow drift]

it's RAF camo overpainted with yellow Axis identification bands and (axis) Royal Romanian Air Force markings

[mental lantern]

Ukrainians sure gave their planes a lovely livery though

[mental lantern]

It's cool still

[fallow drift]

"Another question that has remained unanswered is why the jet was forced to make the risky maneuver of landing in Romania in the first place. One of the factors that may have prompted this move was the reported destruction of Ukrainian airfields by Russia on the first day of the fighting. Unconfirmed reports said the fighter may have even been running away from two Russian fighter aircraft chasing it."

[fallow drift]

For sure

they do know how to paint a plane

[mental lantern]

I guess those are valid theories

"Grupnik is confused, I think may not be in Ukraine at all anymore"

[fallow drift]

I remember someone talking about the reasons why it fled but i can't find it rn

[short mantle]

split second?

[worthy epoch]

Yes

[fallow drift]

Mitsubishi F-4EJ Phantom Kai. I have a scale model of a similar if not this exact plane.

MiG-29 of the Russian Test Pilots Aerobatic team

aka JESTER's MiG-29A in AC7

Romanian Air Force MiG-21 LanceR A attacker

Romanian MiG-21 LanceR C's and USAF F-15C's

Focke-Wulf Fw-190D-9 of the Platzschutzstaffel (airfield defense) of Jagdverband 44, 1945

[worthy epoch]

nice

[mental lantern]

Very very nice

[fallow drift]

stop it i'm gonna get a boner

[worthy epoch]

too late

[mental lantern]

Hehehe

[worthy epoch]

oo

O?

[fallow drift]

ooo that Flatpacc

[mental lantern]

Yeah it is

Flatpack, Burket and Felon

The pillars of the Russian 5th gen fighter program and how it evolved

[worthy epoch]

the black one is pretty weird looking

[fallow drift]

you mean Berkut?

[fallow drift]

it is indeed

[worthy epoch]

I wonder how good it was

[mental lantern]

It was quite a special thing

It was at the end of the day only a technology demonstrator and not actual production plane

The backwards wing design did help with extreme maneuverability and agility

But it caused more drag reducing the speed of the aircraft and it made the wings more brittle

And thr aircraft less stable and harder to handle

[fallow drift]

model of the IAR-95, a fighter jet design from Communist Romania, eventually dropped and the plans were given to China, eventually becoming a Chinese/Pakistani fighter (JF-17)

IAR-93 Vultur (Eagle), an attacker designed and produced by Romania and Yugoslavia

[fallow drift]

Nakajima Kikka, Japanese Fighter jet prototype from WW2

Mitsubishi J8M Shusui, Rocket interceptor based on the German Messerschmitt Me-163B Komet

Another Japanese prototype from WW2, J7W1 Shinden

Dornier Do-335A

Dumitru Baciu standing next to his Messerschmitt Bf-109Ga-6, built in Romania, Red 8 "Țumpi-Bumpi Floștomok!", of Grupul 1 Vânătoare (1st Fighter Group). On 4th May 1945, he achieved Romania's last aerial victory of WW2, above Hungary. After saluting a group of American P-51 Mustangs, they were attacked by a pair of Soviet Yak-3's, either mistaking them for german 109's or just by spite. In the ensuing dogfight, Baciu downed one Yak before being downed himself. This kill made him an ace.

[mental lantern]

huh, Really? So the JF-17 was originally a Romanian design? That's pretty crazy to be honest

maybe it would ahve been better to have made that considering the JF-17 is actually quite good

Gota say these are pretty nice stuff

[fallow drift]

yes

well it's speculation

but realistic speculation

[mental lantern]

It is quite interesting

[fallow drift]

https://twitter.com/Ukraine_AF/status/1645019107899629569?t=iH6EGLoE6YQ1-nvMAfIRcA&s=19

MilitaryAviationInUa (@Ukraine_AF)

Не я б'ю - верба б'є !

Likes

672

Twitter · Apr 9, 2023, 11:01 AM

Mig 29 with a shark mouth

Judging by the main colour I'm guessing it's one of the ones donated by either Poland or Slovakia

[mental lantern]

Now that's sick

I didn't know there were MiG-29s with shark mouth

[fallow drift]

neither did i

[mental lantern]

It's sick

[fallow drift]

https://eurasiantimes.com/they-can-fly-not-fight-ukraine-receives-defective-mig-29-fighters-slovakia-says-russian-engineers-sabotaged-them/

[mental lantern]

Hmm..

I did hear about this

It's strange

Slovakia didn't know about the issues that the air frames had before sending them

The issues got found out after they arrived

[fallow drift]

judging by the dark colour of the upper side, it seems to be an ex-Polish Fulcrum imo

since original Ukrainian Fulcrum's all had the white and grey digital camo i think

[fallow drift]

Im' guessing they trusted the russian mechanics too much

and didn't check after they left to see if they had done their job properly

[mental lantern]

They haven't changed the markings

So they're still flying with Polsih emblems

[mental lantern]

Yeah the colors were white and grey

[fallow drift]

could be yeah

i don't see them bothering to repaint them entirely

[mental lantern]

To be fair they didn't think that this might happen. Russians were smart to have predicted this far

[mental lantern]

Yeah there's no time to even paint on the Ukrainian emblems

[fallow drift]

that i think they will do

i doubt they've already sent the new migs to the frontline

they're probably different to the ones the Ukrainians had

more modernized

[mental lantern]

That is true

Especially the Polish ones

The issue would be however, that apparently the sent planes aren't as good as they were hoping for

Which makes no sense when their own MiGs are barely held together

[fallow drift]

well they seem to have been working ok so far

that and ukraine hasn't had good relations with Russia for a while now

which means maintenance difficulties

[mental lantern]

It's exactly what's causing more problems

[fallow drift]

At least they have an excuse lmao

wink mig-21 lancer wink

this is a cool shot

Old and ne-... not-that-old

[mental lantern]

It's a great plane

[mental lantern]

Hehe, yup the Viper isn't that new either

[mental lantern]

I love the paintjobs they've been given

[fallow drift]

in theory

in practice it keeps falling out of the sky

there have been so many crashes in the past few years

[mental lantern]

Damn, sorry about that

Guess it has alot of issues..

[fallow drift]

mostly due to age/wear and maintenance

[mental lantern]

It makes sense

They're very old

Romania probably should make their own Fishbeds from scratch

Or make a new plane

[worthy epoch]

@fallow drift

[fallow drift]

Vulcan

nice

[worthy epoch]

Yes

[fallow drift]

Well that's why the F-16's are here

The LanceR's were meant to be grounded a while ago

then this year

now next year

There was political interest in the F-35, but that dropped

Which is good, Romania has bigger issues than it's Air Force

[worthy epoch]

vulcan sounds so loud in camera

imagine irl

jeez..

[fallow drift]

Yeah

The Falcons flying above my house are already loud af

[mental lantern]

One can only hope more can be procured

[fallow drift]

there are more on the way

the ones in service rn are from Portugal

and more are being bought from Norway

[mental lantern]

Can't directly buy from US huh?

[fallow drift]

Could

but buying new planes is more expensive than 2nd hand

[mental lantern]

that is a fair comment

Especially for Romania isn't that rich

[fallow drift]

and the politicians gotta be careful with the money otherwise there won't be much to steal and put into their pockets

[mental lantern]

heh..

[fallow drift]

It's not poor

it's just led by idiots

[mental lantern]

it's the cancer of modern age politics..

[fallow drift]

the money just disappears instead of being invested

[fallow drift]

yeah

[mental lantern]

Romania sounds particularly bad on this case

[fallow drift]

it is

[mental lantern]

Death in the shape of a panzer battalion

[fallow drift]

what song is that again

it's not ghost division

[mental lantern]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayjVxUC2qDE

[fallow drift]

nor panzerkampf

ah yes that

[mental lantern]

it's one of their older songs

and it certainly shows

With the way it was sung

[fallow drift]

bit weird to make a song about tanks in the gulf war

[mental lantern]

I see you're a sabaton fan too

A man of culture

[fallow drift]

or well irak

[mental lantern]

Well, it wouldn't be their first time

As you said yourself, Ghost Division

And Panzerkampt

Tanks are their shtick

[worthy epoch]

I remember how Romania stopped a Nato train

https://youtu.be/7jCPgFOqtMI

[mental lantern]

the balls on Romania, good work

[fallow drift]

yeah

not my favorite band, but definetly good

[mental lantern]

I don't know many music bands so they're definitely a favorite

[fallow drift]

I listen mainly to Spiritbox and Avenged Sevenfold rn

and Skeler since he released a new Night Drive playlist

[fallow drift]

about that war i mean

I quite like Stalingrad from them

probably because i am slightly biased

my great-grandfather was at Stalingrad

[mental lantern]

I don't wanna sound stupid, but I assume he survived it

anyone who survived it is considered to have made a deal with the devil

[fallow drift]

Yeah

well he wasn't in the city

i don't think

wasn't the job of our army

but i know he walked to the city

probably covered the flanks

i have met him so he did survive

fought both with and against the germans

[mental lantern]

Amazing

That battle is really quite something

[fallow drift]

i however am not so much of a warrior lmao

[mental lantern]

Not an issue however

if any band made a song about the Iran Iraq war

i'd be biased for that too

[fallow drift]

i can imagine

[mental lantern]

But overall quality of Sabaton songs is high so all their songs are good to me

[fallow drift]

i'll take a wild guess and say you wouldn't cheer for Irak

[mental lantern]

Well..

yeah I guess I wouldn't

[fallow drift]

lol

[mental lantern]

For one, I am iranian, and for two, Iraq was the invader

[fallow drift]

yup

one of the most ironic fighter plane usages of all time

Israel using Messerschmitt's

or well worse versions of them

[mental lantern]

Hehe, indeed

to be fair

Nobody is more ironic than the IRIAF F-14s

The planes which not even US could use tyhat well

Were proven by iranians instead

[fallow drift]

nah

wouldn't go that far

i'd say Israel using planes made by the people who were hoping to exterminate them is more ironic

[mental lantern]

yeah it is Ironic no doubt

The guy next to the plane seems to think that too

with that massive grin

[fallow drift]

lmao

probably quite the bruh moment

especially when they found out the czechs didn't synchronize the 13mm cowling machine guns

and so they were destroying the propeller as they were firing

that and they were fighting Spitfires

[mental lantern]

Jesus christ

They were rather outgunned

[fallow drift]

yet it worked out

[worthy epoch]

Hello Nima and Asap

[mental lantern]

Quite the miracle

[mental lantern]

hellooooooo

[fallow drift]

hi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs6K3ErDPCU&ab_channel=Rex'sHangar

[mental lantern]

BEEP BEEP, Oh what's that?!

OH THAT"S JUST THE "YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP" ALARM

[fallow drift]

huh?

[mental lantern]

it's hard to make someone believe the Israelis managed to save themselves with German technology

Whcih is why one would say you can't make this up

[fallow drift]

oh yeah

[fallow drift]

i have to confess that's a dope livery

[mental lantern]

hehe, glad you like it

The blue does look rather nice

[fallow drift]

it doess

[mental lantern]

the MiG is such a pretty plane

[fallow drift]

it is

[mental lantern]

the only issue with it, is that it was made by USSR and not US

[fallow drift]

The only western planes i really like are the F-22 and F-14

[mental lantern]

hehe, man of culture

[fallow drift]

apart from that, the ruskis have the coolest looking jets

they just look sinister

[mental lantern]

And yeah i do prefer these designs over western planes

[mental lantern]

Exactly lol

they fit perfectly into being the bad guy plane based on looks alone

the MiG-29 looks like an angry little bruiser

And the Su-27 looks like a hunched back serial killer

Su-27 was labeled "eagle killer" when it came out afterall

[fallow drift]

i mean just look at it

that's a chinese variant

[mental lantern]

Indeed. its design looks like it is hunched

[fallow drift]

but still a flanker

it just looks cool

[mental lantern]

very gleefully evil

....

[fallow drift]

yup

[mental lantern]

Gleevil

[mental lantern]

yeah the Chinese J-11, J-15 and J-16 are no slouches

Perhaps even better than actual Russian Flankers

As it stands, China has more Flankers than Russia

[fallow drift]

this is my favorite flanker

probably because of ACX

pity it doesn't exist anymore

[mental lantern]

China has in total numbers adding up every Flanker variant they've got
Su-35S, Su-30MKK, Su-30MK2, J-11A/B/D, J-15A/B and J-16 is higher than Russia's

[mental lantern]

lovely game that is

And yeah the su-37 is quite a pretty thing

[mental lantern]

Doesn't exist?

Su-37 is still in their museum of aviation

[fallow drift]

i read it crashed

like 20 years ago

stabilizer broke off due to g fatigue and pilot ejected

[mental lantern]

hmm, let me look into it

[fallow drift]

it crashed when i was born

The flight-test programme was ended on 19 December 2002, when the aircraft's port horizontal tail broke off during a high-g manoeuvre, leading to its crash at Shatura, near Moscow. The structural failure was caused by repeated exceeding of the aircraft's design load during six years of testing.[26] The pilot Yuri Vashuk ejected safely

[mental lantern]

Hmm, shame then

I didn't know it had crashed

[fallow drift]

it's still kinda unique in a way

i don't think any land-based single-seat canard-equipped Flankers exist

[mental lantern]

But hey, at least its destruction was not in vain

[fallow drift]

the Su-30 and 35 kinda derived from it

[mental lantern]

Seeing as the canarded design followed into the Su-30MKI program

and the TVC would be incoperated into both the Su-30MKi and Su-35S

[fallow drift]

yeah

They're not called "Terminator" though

can't get more badass than that

the Turkish named their upgraded Phantoms "Terminator-2020" but it ain't the same

Flanker > Phantom

[mental lantern]

hehe, true

[mental lantern]

yeah the Turkish Modernized Phantoms are called Terminators

[fallow drift]

this thing so sexy

how the Sniper ended up it's days

Restored Bf-109G-6

[worthy epoch]

Oh

[fallow drift]

Hangar10's Bf-109G-14, converted from a Ha-1112 Bùchon

Hispano Aviacion Ha-1112M-1L, a Bf-109G-2 airframe with a Rolls-Royce Merlin Engine (ironically), assembled in the 50's.

Focke-Wulf Fw-190A-5, the only example sent to Japan

Royal Romanian Air Force Messerschmitt Bf-108 Taifun & Bf-109E's

[mental lantern]

Such a shame

maybe should have been kept in a hanger

In another world, the SNIPER was successful

[fallow drift]

Luftwaffe Bf-109G-6 captured and used by Romanian Forces in 1944-45

[fallow drift]

i wish

Alexandru Serbanescu's Bf-109G-6 (Late fuselage with early canopy) in July 1944, not long before his death. The Axis Romanian markings were painted straight over the Luftwaffe crosses

[fallow drift]

Serbanescu was shot down on 18th August 1944 by USAAF P-51 mustangs, with 47 victories to his name. Today a RoAF Airbase is named after him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q3AYBBzo4A&ab_channel=RumbleFrançais

Indian Navy MiG-29K Take-off

[mental lantern]

Indeed

quite sick to be honest

I love the MiG-29K

[fallow drift]

Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16AM J-063, the "MiG Killer"

This aircraft shot down a Serbian MiG-29 during the Yugoslavia crisis (1999). The MiG pilot ejected and survived.

[mental lantern]

Huh, i didn't know that

Goddamn though

an actual air to air kill

that's an honor

[fallow drift]

yeah

pretty cool

used an Amraam missile

so not really a dogfight

[mental lantern]

Even then

[fallow drift]

I was excited about seing F-35's in the air this year until i realized they'll stay in the USA for training until 2025

welp

Long Live the Falcon i guess

Speaking of the Falcon

[fallow drift]

Maverick has 5 tho :thonk:

[mental lantern]

Hmm, that's a bit of a shame

Guess you'll wait a bit

[mental lantern]

hehe

Maverick is a lucky motherfucker

[mental lantern]

That's really cool looking

I love that paintjob

Superbly badass

[fallow drift]

nah

that's just what happens when you fly the best plane ever made

you get plot armour

Apparently Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland are joining their Air Forces

interesting

[mental lantern]

Hahaha

Yup

[mental lantern]

Yeah I did hear about that

Basically making their air forces effectively into one larger air force

Logistically might be difficult since they each operate different equipment

But it's still cool

[fallow drift]

just had a couple F-16's fly by my home

couldn't see them

but man that sound

gives me shivers every time

[mental lantern]

That's sick

Quite the honor

[worthy epoch]

I miss hearing jets

and looking out of balcony and seeing a christmas tree of them

Each december they pull up

[mental lantern]

Hehe, that's really nice

Perfect formation

[worthy epoch]

Yes

miss the feeling off loud growls from the sky

hearing

**

[mental lantern]

They're loud indeed

Quite cool they are

[worthy epoch]

yes!

[mental lantern]

Very loud and very badass

I've seen some fighter jets in flight too

[worthy epoch]

o

[mental lantern]

Always alot faster and louder and lower than airliners

[worthy epoch]

Yes

[fallow drift]

F/A-16 / A-16 Test aircraft, intended as replacement for the A-10 Thunderbolt II

[mental lantern]

I didn't know about this thing

Does look really cool in that camo though

Well, even without being a dedicated attacker

The F-16 as a multirole platform still proved superior to the A-10

[fallow drift]

Indeed

Imo in general the F-16 is a bland looking plane

Especially in grey

That camo fixes it

Not as good as a F-2, but almost

[mental lantern]

Indeed

Air superiority grey is just very boring

Unless you put it on planes which usually don't come in that color to begin with

Like the Grey and Black J-11s look cooler than camo Su-27s because of how unusual that look is

[fallow drift]

Not sure i agree

The dark grey is alright

But i prefer the camo

I really need to install DCS

I want it just to fly flankers and fulcrums and take pictures lmao

[mental lantern]

Same

It'd be amazing

[mental lantern]

It is at least interesting

But camo is always cooler in my book as well

[fallow drift]

🤝

[mental lantern]

You know what I could do actually?

I've made custom skins before on ACX

I could make a custom skin for the Romanian air force wirh a plane they never had

[fallow drift]

Hell yeah

That implies using an emulator i suppose

I mean i have modded Pilot Academy on PSP but not sure i can do that with AC

[mental lantern]

Indeed

I did those J-11 skins abovr

And some others

[fallow drift]

nicee

i thought it looked familiar

those are really nice tho

[mental lantern]

You knew them from before?

[mental lantern]

Thanks alot, I am glad you like them and think highly of them

glad I managed to do good

[fallow drift]

Not the skins

But the game

I thought it looked familiar, probably an old AC game

But didn't realize it was ACX

[mental lantern]

ahh, hehe

yeah it is ACX

Fantastic game

Especially since it is so easy to emulate it on PC

unlike any of the PS2 games

[fallow drift]

I've never tried emulating any of the Ps2 ones

Guess i should

Can't be an ace combat enthusiast without the holy Trinity

I wish the port of AC5 or Zero, whichever one it was, they released on PS4 was on other platforms too

[mental lantern]

hehe, yeah they are great games but PS2 games in general are just difficult to emulate thanks to the main emulator being pretty terrifically bad

Though I do hear PSCX2 has been improved and become more user friendly

[fallow drift]

Could be

I tried to emulate GT4 once

Also #1021375803134591046

[mental lantern]

hehe

[fallow drift]

mmmh yes so sexy me want

i do have a question

what is the current camo scheme? grey or desert?

there's this guy that makes romanian skins for every plane on DCS and i fucking love him

there's no way i'm learning to fly that tho

or spend that much money on a single plane

This one isn't even that far from being real

[mental lantern]

Hahaha, that's amazing

brilliant Tomcat

[mental lantern]

Well from what I do understand, it's both

[fallow drift]

oh

even better

[mental lantern]

IRIAF F-14s when they were purcahsed by the Shah when it was the Imperial Iranian Air Force were purchased in this desert camo

They were hastily prepared for the Iran Iraq war so there waas no time to change their livery since the Shah days

but when things got more settled, they changed their colors to these both as a change and as part of their repair process since the Iran iraq war

Iran's air superirority and air to air fighters tend to be in this blue/grey color scheme as seen on their MiG-29s and Mirage F-1s

However, out of the 40 something operational air frames, two were modernized and upgraded to the F-14AM program standards

[fallow drift]

that's what i thought, it looks like the mig-29 camo

but less coloured

[mental lantern]

That and this are the two modernized F-14AM fighters with a slightly different style of desert camo

but most of tthe F-14s still remain in their F-14A status and in that blue/grey color

[mental lantern]

Indeed. it is the color which the up coming Su-35S are thought to be coloered in

[fallow drift]

not sure how i feel about it on the flanker tbh

[fallow drift]

so only two tomcats have been upgraded to AM?

i'm guessing it's a home-made improvement, not an official upgrade kit from the USA

[mental lantern]

Yeah it's domestic

From what was stated, it gives the Tomcats PESA radars equivalent to the ones on the MiG-31 and Su-35

And also the capability to carry the Iranian version of the AIM-54, the Fakour 90

Though I do believe all Iranian Tomcats can carry those

[mental lantern]

This is what someone interpreted them to look like with a fan made DCS skin

[fallow drift]

looks alright i guess

not my favourite flanker skin

[mental lantern]

It's closer to the MiG-29 color scheme

Someone else interpreted them to look like this instead

[fallow drift]

kinda weird how they followed the american naming convention

[fallow drift]

that looks cooler

[mental lantern]

It is worth being noted

That these air frames planned to be sold and transferred to Iran were originally meant for Egypt

Named Su-35SE for that

Since that deal didn't go through, Iran bought them instead

So both of these liveries carry the same design and pattern that was on those Egyptian planes

But in different color schemes

[fallow drift]

hmm

interesting

[mental lantern]

https://images-ext-1.discordapp.net/external/5toktsCF_g9Y9aMnRAkCxEDZFMlIaQHRAEFGwaEr2Sk/https/pbs.twimg.com/media/EpEkxakWMAEgJLk.jpg

As you can tell, the patterns are the same

Just different colors

[fallow drift]

yeah

[fallow drift]

Su-27 seen from a Luftwaffe Typhoon

Taken around today

Or yesterday at the earliest

[mental lantern]

Goddamn

I guess one decided to fly too close to the other's air space

And so the other went up to intercept and escort out

[fallow drift]

Seems to happen every day around the baltic see

Russian craft violate airspace all the time

Or i guess they just don't communicate

https://twitter.com/Team_Luftwaffe/status/1646885697075159040?t=piCJLRgXpaDM6oUhq0Mc4Q&s=19

Team Luftwaffe (@Team_Luftwaffe)

Alarmstart in EST! Die Alarmrotte aus Ämari hat heute eine IL-20 abgefangen. Der 🇷🇺 Aufklärer ohne Transpondersignal wurde von zwei SU-27 Kampfjets begleitet. Unsere #Eurofighter haben sie identifiziert und ein Stück über der Ostsee begleitet. #VAPB #SecuringTheSkies @GermanyNATO

Likes

383

Twitter · Apr 14, 2023, 2:38 PM

Dis is da sauce

[worthy epoch]

oh its real

🙈

I thought ace combat 7

[fallow drift]

Ofc it's real

Bruh

[fallow drift]

Il-20 intercepted because it had no transponder, escorted by 2 Su-27.

The Eurofighter's indentified and escorted them for a short while

This is also pretty cool, Finnish Hornets and German Eurofighter's flying together

Or This one, Typhoon and F-2

[mental lantern]

Hehe, these air space intrusions have become so usual

[mental lantern]

It's always cool seeing these planes together

[fallow drift]

Yup

[fallow drift]

2 of the coolest planes around

same vibe

[mental lantern]

Beautiful

And indeed

The Flanker and Mriya

[fallow drift]

Civilian Su-27 in the USA

Civilian MiG-29UB, also in the USA

[worthy epoch]

Nfs hpr/2010 plane

[mental lantern]

Wait what?

Civilian Su-30?

I am so confused

[mental lantern]

There are actually F-14s in HP2010 surprisingly

[worthy epoch]

I saw a couple

on the desert road side

[mental lantern]

It's pretty cool frankly

Lobe the attention to detail with these

[worthy epoch]

yes

Gas station makes noises as well

[mental lantern]

I didn't mkow that actually

[worthy epoch]

I love this game sense of speed on bumper cam

[fallow drift]

two seat su-27

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/a-quick-look-at-the-su-27-flanker-fighter-jets-evaluated-by-western-countries/

[mental lantern]

That's su-30

[fallow drift]

What is certain is that two Su-27UB combat trainers were purchased from the Ukrainian Air Force in 2009, becoming the first-ever privately owned Flankers. The aircraft were previously in service with the 831st GvIAP in Mirgorod as ’61 Blue’ (c/n 96310408027, f/n 05-02) and ’66 Blue’ (c/n 96310418210, f/n 11-05). In accordance with US and Ukrainian legislation the Flanker-Cs were demilitarised before they were exported, being airlifted to the USA by an An-124-100 transport of the Ukrainian carrier Antonov Airlines. However, the weapon control system (WCS) was not completely removed — the OEPS-27 IRST/LR ‘ball’ was missing but the head-up display in the front cockpit remained in place. As is usually the case with warbirds of eastern origin, western communication and navigation equipment was fitted.

[mental lantern]

This sure is a suprising one..

So this could very well be a case of an Su-27 Sniper

[fallow drift]

how would they get an su-30

ukraine wouldn't have any

belarus idk but they probably would'nt give them

[mental lantern]

Su-30 is the derivative of the Su-27UB

Therefore

Every Su-27UB is an Su-30

[fallow drift]

wut

[mental lantern]

It's the same bloody design

Okay ill be specific then

Su-27UB

Sorry

[fallow drift]

aight

[fallow drift]

pretty

are iriaf fulcrum's modernized or original?

[worthy epoch]

Wait civilians can have jets too?

[fallow drift]

as long as they can't shoot

[worthy epoch]

ohh

damn

so cool

[fallow drift]

there is a P-40 in NZ that has working guns tho

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiChPhNGYJ8&ab_channel=jcoo1

[worthy epoch]

daamn

[mental lantern]

Sorta kinda

Tthe Fulcrums sold to Iran were the lowest tier variants of the export models of the plane

But they were modernized over time to a relatively good standard

Indigenous radar and armaments

[fallow drift]

cool

the soviets only ever exported worse versions

which kinda defeats the purpose of having satellite states defending you

when their equipment isn't really amazing

[mental lantern]

Every country always exports worse versions

F-14As that were given to iran were worse than the F-14As US itself had

[fallow drift]

makes sense

but were they as bad as russian exports?

[mental lantern]

probably

it's not an unusual thing to downgrade certain aspects of the planes when being exported

And the MiG-29 wasnt taht downgraded either in return

slightly smaller radar without an air to air refueling probe and slightly worse FCS

It is still pretty much as useful as the original MiG-29A was

And given iran's ability to overhaul and upgrade them, the current MiG-29As in Iran should be up to a relativiely decent standard

[fallow drift]

good then

[mental lantern]

Yeah I reckon they'd do for what they need to

but to be honest, does anything ever actually do?

iran is admittedly not a world power

it is up there, certainly more than say somewhere like New Zealand

but when the American satans can produce tech so terrifyingly advanced it makees you wonder whether if they actually do keep aliens and UFOs in Area 51 or not

They clearly cannot be the ones to be directly attacked

So their proxy goons like ISIS and Saudi become the next best thing

But regardless of how feelings and politics may be, in a modern world like this with especially a situation like Iran's where it's just so sanctioned and left to rot

It has to make some form of a formidable power

[fallow drift]

what the fuck is that

it's so cursed

[mental lantern]

Hahaha

Now taht is what we call

Very very early model of the Flanker

[fallow drift]

it looks like a reptile version of a F-15

[mental lantern]

It did indeed look quite weird

the eventual finalized look was certainly much better

[fallow drift]

that's putting it bluntly

[mental lantern]

XD

The Flanker always was an interesting case

[fallow drift]

F-15J Maverick

[mental lantern]

Hehe, I yeah I remember this

They painted one or their F-15s in the colors or Maverick's plane

[fallow drift]

Cooler than the hornet

[fallow drift]

Avro Arrow, probably one of the largest interceptors ever designed

Flankers are large too but the Arrow is on another scale

[mental lantern]

No doubt

[mental lantern]

The Arrow is so large it makes the Flanker look rather pathetic indeed, it's quite insane.

the Avro Arrow, despite all lost bravado, is still a rather tragic story frankly.

The aircraft that could have been Canada's greatest feat of aviation, ended up being scrapped for good, forgootten for ages.

[fallow drift]

At least you can fly it in project wingman

And drop nukes on defenseless civilians

[mental lantern]

Indeed, so that's a good thing. Glad Project Wingman of all things decided to shed some light on it.

[fallow drift]

I think it's there because Ace Combat Fan requested it

As a perk of funding the game

[mental lantern]

It is?

I didn't know Ace Combat Fan was a fan of the Avro Arrow

Though to be fair, it isn't unlikely. since Project Wingman is filled with planes which fans have been aching for to be featured in the AC franchise itself.

The harrier, the Viggen, the Arrow, J-20 sorta.

[fallow drift]

It's got a good plane selection

I do wonder if any of the unfinished planes will ever be added back

[mental lantern]

They have promised that tehre will be a large update for the game to add a whole new heap of content including all the cut unfinished planes that are still in the codes

[fallow drift]

A-10 (seen in trailer), J- ... (Seen in trailer), P-996 Lazer, Su-57, Rafale, ...

[mental lantern]

But they've said that for a long time and it's been almost 2 years

I doubt it's coming any time soon now

[fallow drift]

F-22 was added back from the demo as a mod which is cool

I follow the dev on twitter

He did show some new visuals etc

[mental lantern]

how long ago was it

[fallow drift]

But when you're alone working on a game those things take a long time

[mental lantern]

it's just been extremely quiet from my end.

[fallow drift]

This year

[mental lantern]

Hmm, guess the project is still goiung on

[fallow drift]

https://twitter.com/RB_Dev2/status/1586368185896665089?t=C4c14Lmi6-xPzNe7SxmF5w&s=19

RB-D2 | Project Wingman (@RB_Dev2)

Melting GPUs

Testing out some dynamic cloud masking with some of the bigger explosions. It's also fully dynamic in terms of size and location.

We're working on a lot of things :)

#gamedev #UE4 #indiedev #ProjectWingman

Likes

3475

Retweets

565

▶ Play video

Twitter · Oct 29, 2022, 2:43 PM

[mental lantern]

That's good to hear.

[mental lantern]

Especially on a game like this

Which scarcely differs from an actual triple A game in terms of its polish and quality

I've said it before and I'll say it again taht Project Wingman is the most high budget and best represented indie game ever to exist

[fallow drift]

https://twitter.com/RB_Dev2/status/1511180088225964032?t=MeDQ1Qs7q0ZXkgoN_1T3VQ&s=19

RB-D2 | Project Wingman (@RB_Dev2)

While AO maps aren't exactly a new thing, during the dev cycle of the game there wasn't enough time to RnD the full workflow and integration process for terrains.

Recently discovered a process that may work for new and old terrain.

#ProjectWingman #UE4 #Landscapes #indiedev

Likes

406

Twitter · Apr 5, 2022, 3:13 AM

[fallow drift]

Last year*

Still 2022 in my mind

https://twitter.com/RB_Dev2/status/1517170702331564033?t=76sDC8TdzAWIfkT44VUSHg&s=19

RB-D2 | Project Wingman (@RB_Dev2)

Salvemini Vineyard

#ProjectWingman #UE4 #WIP #indiedev #eventually

Likes

736

Retweets

107

Twitter · Apr 21, 2022, 3:57 PM

[mental lantern]

Well tehn, I'll keep out an eye for the time being

[fallow drift]

Su-27 seen from Romanian F-16

[mental lantern]

it really is a beauty of a plane.

It even flew in armed.

[fallow drift]

Ukrainian Flanker

[mental lantern]

Their liveries are super cool

Thats a great photo too

[fallow drift]

https://twitter.com/RoyalAirForce/status/1651212835140120577?t=1asZiBlxIPvQ9Fx_V6kCwg&s=19

Royal Air Force (@RoyalAirForce)

RAF and German Air Force Typhoons scrambled together from Ämari Air Base in Estonia yesterday to identify aircraft over the Baltic Sea close to Estonian airspace. The aircraft, part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing Mission, intercepted 3 Russian military aircraft.
#NATO 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇪🇪

Likes

330

Twitter · Apr 26, 2023, 1:13 PM

[mental lantern]

Hmm, the Russian jet isn't even armed

[mental lantern]

Those look fantatsic

[fallow drift]

2nd hand bookstores are amazing

[mental lantern]

ooooh

these are super cool, I had never seen books such as these.

Now I wish i did find such.

[fallow drift]

They had a bunch of issues

They're from the 70's

They're pretty neat

[mental lantern]

This is so cool.

[fallow drift]

They're quite nice indeed

Even though they are made for modellers

And are quite outdated

[mental lantern]

Yeah of course

but despite its weirdness

I just appreciate things like this

They appeal to my inner greb

[fallow drift]

It appeals to us nerds lmao

[mental lantern]

Indeed, we are all nerds afterall xd

[worthy epoch]

omg i wan

t

[fallow drift]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrqY3letssu/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

fahad.rihan

RSAF
HNIOXOS EXERCISE 2023

Likes

210

Instagram

The second shot of that post is amazing

SU-30, Tornado, F-16, Rafale, Typhoon, F-15, F/A-18, F-4, Mirage in one formation

[worthy epoch]

blackhawk

I think

[fallow drift]

yup

nice

[mental lantern]

Siiiiick

[mental lantern]

Man.. if only it'd load

[mental lantern]

Thank youuu

man this is so cool

I love that

Everything is together

Which Ace Combat nation is this xd

@vestal hull

[fallow drift]

also goes to show how massive the flanker is

[mental lantern]

hehe, indeed

it's a very wide thing

And the sexiest plane in that entire formation

[fallow drift]

yep

size matters

[mental lantern]

XD

[worthy epoch]

I can agree

[mental lantern]

It's always a shock to me how goddamn wide the Avro arrow is

It's like a flying football field

and seeing it next to the B-52 really gives an idea of their scale.

[fallow drift]

That is ... Not an Arrow

Right manufacturer though

[mental lantern]

Oh sorry, I meant to say Avro Vulcan

[fallow drift]

Np

[worthy epoch]

Woaa

[mental lantern]

That joke is perfect

[worthy epoch]

omg

[worthy epoch]

jets

[mental lantern]

They are rather hard to tell what they are.

[worthy epoch]

Jas ig

[mental lantern]

Rather cool if so

[worthy epoch]

I saw the squads fly like 3 times now

in just 3 hours

[vestal hull]

Looks like F-16's to me

@worthy epoch you're Romanian?

[worthy epoch]

uh

no

[vestal hull]

What country

[worthy epoch]

press my profile and check

[vestal hull]

It might be the Polish F-16'S

They are on patrols for Russian ships

[mental lantern]

Hmm..

Seems to early to act on the statement espiecally an area with no sea

[fallow drift]

u sure those aren't just gripen's

i can't tell

[mental lantern]

Nor can I

Seeing as he is in Sweden

It is probable

[vestal hull]

They really do look like F-16's tho

[mental lantern]

They hardly look like anything to be honest

They just look like some sort of planes

[vestal hull]

Look at the other pictures

Shape is very much like F-16

[mental lantern]

It clearly only has the one vertical stabiliser

[vestal hull]

And the large cockpit

And the vent

[mental lantern]

And given where this is, it's either a Gripen or an F-16

[mental lantern]

How can you tell anything

Eitherway ir would make no sense for there to be F-16s in Sweden

Unless they're Danish F-16s which went there for an excerise

That or Norwegian ones

[mental lantern]

I guess I see something now

Weird then that there F-16s flying over Sweden

[fallow drift]

Stuff like that happens

probably an exercise

i've had apache's fly over my home

Belgium doesn't have apaches

[mental lantern]

Yeah it is probable that it's some sort of joint exercise between neighbours and such

And Swedish neighbours do have that plane

[worthy epoch]

:0

[worthy epoch]

I have no idea

i wish you was here with me and my friend

I bet you could spot what jets they were immideatly

as if they were cars

[fallow drift]

Since tomorrow is VE day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp0rL5h4ikM&ab_channel=MarkFeltonProductions

[mental lantern]

Hmm

[fallow drift]

i have a bit of an obsession with end of the war stuff

like fighting on the last day, not surrendering etc

[mental lantern]

I don't blame you, it's really cool to me too

[fallow drift]

This is the situation for Germany by the surrender

Pretty impressive that they got 3 kills on the last day

[mental lantern]

And imagine how many they lost

[fallow drift]

Almost a poetic end

Pretty sure all of them were aces

[mental lantern]

it is probable yeh

[fallow drift]

Thyben had over 100 kills

Hartmann got his 352nd

Stehle was flying the 262