Eagle Dynamics has brought the DCS community a very good 2022, we had the Apache release, all the work on the F16 Viper, the Mirage F1, Syrian map, Channel map updates. Plus countless other improvements and changes.
The video they released DCS 2023 and Beyond has me looking forward to a lot of content!
I had to watch it several times to see the little hints and pieces that are coming. Beside the stated improvements I am looking forward to like multi-core support and graphics improvements I am literally planning buying at least 3 new modules. The F4 Phantom, The F15E and the F4U Corsair! The F4U being my favorite of any aircraft ever created. Also I saw an F6F a the end of the video and I have to admit I was a VERY excited for more WW2 content.
My first taste of aviation came when I was 5 years old and my grandma was watching me, she gave me the "A" encyclopedia they had (yes they were still being used then) and I open the book to the glossy part of "Airplane" and found the most beautiful depictions of aircraft from 1906 to 1973. There it was the F4U Corsair! Blue and shiny with the distinctive wings that screams speed, power and lethality. I was more excited than Ralphie and his Red Rider BB gun. I knew then I would be a pilot someday.
This beautiful airplane is to me, the sexiest bird ever!
The F4 Phantom is an icon of the Vietnam / Cold War age, super fast and also with a very distinctive tail assembly. I got to see one up close and get in to the cockpit of one that was being restored for a museum. The F4 Phantom was used as recently as desert storm as a the F4G variant for wild weasel missions and attack.
F4 Phantom
The F15E is the Air Force's work horse, it is a complete air superiority / attack craft. Pure badassery if you ask me. The F15E came into service in 1988 and there are over 500 of them in service today. It is capable if fighting it's way in to fighter infested areas, taking out SAM sites and bombing targets then fighting it's way back to safety. In my opinion the best 4th Gen aircraft of the 4th Generation.
The F15E
There is much more coming up in 2023, I was excited to see the Chinook and C-130 as well as the WW2 version of the Marianas map. Wishing the dev team at Eagle Dynamics a happy and safe new year so they can squeeze out all these new features. Thank you, Eagle Dynamics!