A couple of news items emerging at the end of this week courtesy of DCS World Weekend News as well as a separate update from the folks at Aerges on the Mirage F1 with some new roadmap information. Let’s have a look!

F-15E status update

There’s not too much new contained in this latest status update, however, I still always pay close attention to items that are contained within the latest DCS World Weekend news updates as they tend to give us hints of what’s coming down the pipe next.

According to the update, RAZBAM are working on finishing touches. Those include the HUD, UFC, MPD (the cockpit displays) as well as working towards completion on the AN/APG-70 radar and working on the soundset for the jet. There’s also mention of the flight model which is still in progress and is seeing tune-ups to the control augmentation system which helps smooth out pilot inputs and keeps the F-15E controlled.

We’ve learned in this update that the “Blended Mode” which enables the Terrain Following Radar (TFR) mode will come soon after the early access release.

They also report that the majority of the 3D model is complete and ready for early access with minor enhancements to be done later.

Although we’ve been saying for months now that the F-15E is looking complete, this does still serve as a reminder that looks can be deceiving and that the module is still in the process of coming together. It does sound like they are reaching the finishing stages on all of these items. Release doesn’t seem as imminent to me right now but its still definitely closing in on the final steps. Months away and not weeks but getting there nonetheless – something that we should probably expect from a complex bird like the Strike Eagle.

Read the full development update from report from Eagle Dynamics here.

Aerges F1 roadmap

I’m a fan of the work that Aerges have done on their Mirage F1 CE and EE models since the initial early access release. Aerges have laid out a roadmap for the next stages of development on the F1 as they bring us the BE, a two-seater variant of the CE, and the modernized Mirage F1M.

According to their roadmap, here are the items that they are broadly working on with some work left to do on the CE and EE which also affect the BE and M models:

• INS overhaul.
  • Improved alignments.
  • Improved drift.
  • General bug fixes.
• RWR sounds.
• Radar overhaul:
  • BZ mode.
  • Dynamic noise model (including gain adjustment).
  • IR missile radar slaving.
  • Elevation control in V1 mode for 7 and 15 nm ranges.
• IR missiles logic/tone improvements:
  • Cage/uncage logic.
• Radar and Optical Sight test modes.
• New pilot model.
• Finishing flight manual.
• More missions.
• Campaign.

Other versions:

• F1 BE.
• F1 M.

Payload additions:

• BRP-250 bomb.
• BME-330 bomb.
• CC-420 cannon pod.
• PHIMAT.
• JL100 rocket pod.

All of this gleaned from an update coming out of Aerges on their section of the DCS World forum.