The armory went back to school. Until now the air-to-air family flew as painted tubes with a red cone glued on — recognizable only by the label on the HUD. Put the reference photography on the bench and the differences are glaring: a Sidewinder is not a Sparrow is not a Phoenix. Now they aren’t.
- Every round wears its own fins. The Sidewinder gets its dark seeker dome, nose canards and the rolleron wheels on the tail tips; the Sparrow its mid-body deltas; the Phoenix its fat motor and long strake wings; the AMRAAM its clipped fins. The Soviet and shipboard rounds got the same treatment.
- Rocket fire out the back. A launched round now burns — a live exhaust flame off the nozzle and a thick white ribbon while the motor runs, then flame-out and a thin drifting trail as it coasts. Each type burns for its own motor time; a Phoenix burns like a Phoenix.
- The swing wing found its voice. The Tomcat’s gloves used to travel in silence. Press S and the hydraulics answer — steel on tracks as the wing moves between 20° and 68°.
Fox three and watch it go: fins, fire, and a proper smoke column off the rail. — HB
Two rules of the air war are now painted right on the glass. First: this is an air-to-air fighter — the lock system simply will not offer a firing solution on surface contacts. The shadow sub and the raft are still out there on the scope, and the gun still settles arguments with them, but the T-key no longer tones up anything sitting on the water.
- Green means hold. Civilians, friendlies and unidentified bogeys can still be acquired — you have to track a contact to identify it — but the diamond, the lock circle, the off-screen arrow and the banner all paint green, with a flashing DO NOT FIRE advisory at full lock. Hostiles lock up red with SHOOT, exactly as before. Friend from foe is now a glance, not a memory test.
- The Tomcat carries the Sparrow. The F-14's 1994 fleet fit is modeled for real: two Phoenix, four AIM-7M/P Sparrows, two Sidewinders. The Sparrow reaches past 25 km and hits harder than a 'Winder — but it is semi-active: FOX 1, then hold your radar lock all the way in. Break the lock for more than a heartbeat and the round goes ballistic — SPARROW LOST — RADAR LOCK BROKEN.
- Fire-and-forget has a price. The AIM-54 lets you crank away the moment it leaves the rail; the AIM-7 asks you to stay pointed at the bandit and eat the closure. Pick your shot: Phoenix for the sniper work, Sparrow when the merge is coming and you can afford the commit.
Four Sparrows, one rule: the lock is the weapon. — HB
