F-4E Phantom II

Description
The F-4 Phantom II is a twin-engine, all-weather, fighter-bomber. The cost of a new one during its age was 2.4 million. The aircraft could perform four tactical air roles — air superiority, interdiction, close air support and fleet defense — as it did in southeast Asia. First flown in May 1958, the Phantom II originally was developed for U.S. Navy fleet defense and entered service in 1961. The USAF evaluated it for close air support, interdiction, and counter-air operations and, in 1962, approved a USAF version after it was discovered to be over 100 miles per hour faster than the F-104 Starfighter. The USAF's Phantom II, designated F-4C, made its first flight on May 27, 1963. Production deliveries began in November 1963. In its air-to-ground role the F-4 could carry twice the normal bomb load of a WW II B-17. USAF F-4s also flew reconnaissance and "Wild Weasel" anti-aircraft missile suppression missions (the latter had a specialized variant known as the F-4G). Phantom II production ended in 1979 after over 5,000 had been built--more than 2,600 for the USAF, about 1,200 for the Navy and Marine Corps, and the rest for friendly foreign nations, including to Israel, Iran, Greece, Spain, Turkey, South Korea, West Germany, Australia, Japan, and Great Britain. The F-4 was used extensively in the Vietnam War, where its numerous dogfights with North Vietnamese MiG fighters earned it the nickname "the world's leading distributor of MiG parts." Later versions of the aircraft were still active in the U.S. Air Force inventory well into the 1990s. F-4s are no longer in the USAF inventory but are still flown by foreign nations.

The aircraft is still used by the USAF in an unmanned drone form (the QF-4E) for training in air-to-air gunnery. In one particular incident, a flight of four F-22A Raptors were on a training mission where they had to 'intercept' a QF-4E. Each Raptor fired missiles at it, but for some reason, all of them missed, despite the QF-4E flying in a straight line the whole time. Finally, all four Raptors fired missiles all at once and finally shot down the aging Phantom. A veteran pilot on the ground was known to have said "So it takes four Raptors to shoot down one Phantom...".

Starting in 1973, F-4E's were fitted with target-identification systems for long-range visual identification of airborne or ground targets. Each system is basically a television camera with a zoom lens to aid in positive identification, and a system called Pave-Tack, which provided day and night all-weather capability to acquire, track and designate ground targets for laser, infrared and electro-optically guided weapons. Another change was a digital intercept computer that includes launch computations for all AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-7 Sparrow.

Aces

 * William (STFS/AC)
 * Super Fly (Usean Rebel Force/AC2)
 * Dryade (BAF/ACZ)
 * Lanze (BAF/ACZ)
 * Silber 1 ( BAF/ACZ)
 * 207th Tactical Fighter Squadron (AAF/ACX)
 * Manta (LAF/ACX)
 * Korol (EAF/AC6)

Standard Weapons

 * Gun: 1 x 20mm M61A1 Vulcan Cannon
 * Missiles: AIM-9L Sidewinder

Special Weapons

 * NPB: Mk-77 (AC04, AC5, ACZ & ACX)
 * SAAM: AIM-4 Falcon (ACZ) AIM-7F Sparrow (ACX)
 * UGBM: Mk-83 (AC04)
 * UGBL: Mk-84 (ACZ & ACX)

Air Combat

 * Stability: 50
 * Defense: 20
 * Offense: 20
 * Power: 50
 * Mobility: 20

Ace Combat 2

 * Power: 50
 * Defense: 33
 * Mobility: 35
 * Stability: 70
 * Climbing Ability: 45
 * Air-to-Air: 40
 * Air-to-Ground: 40

Ace Combat 04

 * Speed: 35
 * Mobility: 35
 * Stability: 35
 * Defense: 55
 * Air-to-Air: 45
 * Air-to-Ground: 35

Ace Combat 5/Zero

 * Speed: 63
 * Mobility: 32
 * Stability: 46
 * Defense: 56
 * Air-to-Air: 25
 * Air-to-Ground: 50

Ace Combat 6
This aircraft cannot be flown by the player.

Ace Combat X

 * Speed: 66
 * Air-to-Air: 51
 * Air-to-Ground: 15
 * Mobility: 30
 * Stability: 39
 * Defense: 45

Comparable Aircraft

 * English Electric Lightning
 * F8U-3 Crusader II
 * Su-15 Flagon
 * MiG-21bis Fishbed
 * MiG-21-93 Fishbed
 * J-8 Finback
 * Mirage V
 * Neshir