F-4F KWS LV (Germany)

This page is about the German jet fighter F-4F KWS LV (Germany). For other versions, see F-4 Phantom II (Family).

◄F-4F KWS LV

◄F-4F

◄F-4F KWS LV

◄F-4F

Germany

VIII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
13.0	13.0	13.0

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:420 000

Purchase:1 120 000

Description

The ◄F-4F KWS LV (ICE) Phantom II is a rank VIII German jet fighter with a battle rating of 13.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Seek & Destroy".

ICE (Improved Combat Efficiency) or KWS (Kampfwertsteigerung) program for Luftwaffe F-4F Phantoms introduced due to delays in the Eurofighter development,  this upgrade package brings massive improvements to the sensor suite and arments of the rugged Phantom airframe.

General info

Flight performance

Arrestor gear

Accelerates braking by grabbing the brake cable on the deck of the aircraft carrier

Air brakes

Allows you to dramatically reduce the flight speed by releasing special flaps

Drogue parachute

Reduces braking distance when landing on any runway

Max speed

at 12 192 m2 140 km/h

Turn time26 s

Max altitude16 000 m

Engine2 х MTU Aero Engines J79-MTU-17A

TypeJet

Cooling systemAir

Take-off weight24 t

With the flight performance being the same as its predecessor but sitting at much higher BR and facing much superior airframes and missiles, F-4F KWS LV finds itself being massively outclassed in dogfights and might struggle to properly defend itself against modern missiles if those are launched under a certain distance.

Characteristics	Max speed (km/h at 12,192 m)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	2,058	2,015	16000	28.3	28.3	162.7	153.0	850
Upgraded	2,219	2,140		24.8	26.0	223.9	192.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
1458	463	607	583	463	~11	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 810	< 750	< 700	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Basic mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
MTU Aero Engines J79-MTU-17A		2	14,375 kg		398 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)			Max Gross Weight
Weight (each)	Type		8m fuel	20m fuel	27m fuel
1,724 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		15,941 kg	18,196 kg	19,595 kg	24,471 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (WEP)
Condition	100%	WEP	8m fuel	20m fuel	27m fuel	MGW
Stationary	5,200 kgf	8,008 kgf	1.00	0.88	0.82	0.65
Optimal	5,200 kgf (0 km/h)	10,170 kgf (1,400 km/h)	1.28	1.12	1.04	0.83

Survivability and armour

Flares/Chaff

Aircraft countermeasures to distract IR and radar-guided missiles and also AA radar

Crew2 people

Speed of destruction

Structural1 458 km/h

Gear463 km/h

Similar to its predecessor and most modern aircraft, F-4F KWS LV boasts no relevant armor at all and instead relies on not being hit in the first place. 

To this end, it is equipped with AN/ALE-40 flare/chaff dispenser and AN/ALR-68(V)3 RWR. 

AN/ALE-40 flare/chaff dispenser provides the aircraft with 60x standard countermeasures and 30x large caliber countermeasures, with no restraints being placed on selection of chaff or flares. 

AN/ALR-68(V)3 RWR is for in-game purposes the same as the AN/ALR-68 RWR found on its predecessor. It is a digital RWR which means that beside the usual abilities like track and launch detection of radar guided missiles, it is able to display the specific type of enemy radar that engages the aircraft and discern between friend of foe.   

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB3 303 → 4 462

RB9 503 → 12 838

SB11 200 → 15 131

Total cost of modifications336 000

510 000

Talisman cost3 300

Crew training320 000

Experts1 120 000

Aces3 800

Research Aces1 430 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

90 / 320 / 500 %

262 / 262 / 262 %

Modifications

Flight performance	Survivability	Weaponry
Compressor Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 430 New boosters Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 470 Wings repair Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 630 Engine Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 670	Fuselage repair Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 430 Airframe Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 470 Cover Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 670	Flares/Chaff Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 430 Mk82 Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 430 M60_belt_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 430 LAU-3/A Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 430 M117 Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 470 M60_new_gun Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 470 LAU-10/A Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 470 AIM-9L/I Research: 12 000 Cost: 18 000 470 G-suit Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 630 Mk83 Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 630 Gun pod SUU-23/A. Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 630 Gun pod SUU-23/A. Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 630 40px AGM-65D Research: 16 000 Cost: 24 000 630 Mk84 Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 670 Mk118 Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 670 40px AGM-65G Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 670 AIM-120A Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 670

Pilots should direct their research priority towards unlocking the Flares/Chaff modification due to the nature of threats F-4F KWS LV faces and chaff being almost mandatory to properly defend.

With those unlocked, pilots should aim (pun intended) for the AIM-120A modification in order to unlock the full potential of the aircraft, with flight performance modifications being researched along the way. 

Armaments

Ballistic Computer
CCIP (Guns)	CCIP (Rockets)	CCIP (Bombs)	CCRP (Bombs)	EEGS

Offensive armament

The F-4F KWS LV (Germany) is armed with:

• 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon, nose-mounted (640 rpg)
• 30 x large calibre countermeasures
• 60 x countermeasures

20 mm M61A1 cannon remains one of the better cannons found on top tier aircraft, with a hearty ammo supply compared to its contemporaries. 

Large caliber countermeasures offer increased effectiveness over standard countermeasures, both in burn time and luminosity in case of flares, making them superior choice most of the time. Limited supply might be an issue, but proper countermeasures management largely negates this issue. 

Suspended armament

The F-4F KWS LV (Germany) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1,200 rpg)	1										1
250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs	6	3				6				3	6
500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs	6	3				6				3	6
500 lb Mk 82 Snakeye bombs	6	3				6				3	6
750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs	3	3				5				3	3
1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs	2	3				3				3	2
2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs	1					1					1
3,000 lb M118 bombs						1
BLU-27/B incendiary bombs	1					2					1
FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets	57	57				57				57	57
Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets	12	12				12				12	12
AGM-65D missiles		1								1
AGM-65G missiles		1								1
AIM-9L/I Sidewinder missiles			1, 2						1, 2
AIM-120A missiles				1	1		1	1
600 gal drop tanks						1

Default weapon presets

1 x 600 gal drop tank 2 x 20 mm GAU-4 cannons (1,200 rpg = 2,400 total) 2 x AIM-9L/I Sidewinder missiles 4 x AIM-9L/I Sidewinder missiles 4 x AIM-120A missiles 24 x 250 lb LDGP Mk 81 bombs (6,000 lb total) 24 x 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs (12,000 lb total) 24 x 500 lb Mk 82 Snakeye bombs (12,000 lb total) 17 x 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs (12,750 lb total) 4 x BLU-27/B incendiary bombs 13 x 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs (13,000 lb total) 3 x 2,000 lb LDGP Mk 84 bombs (6,000 lb total) 1 x 3,000 lb M118 bomb (3,000 lb total) 285 x FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets 60 x Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets 2 x AGM-65D missiles 2 x AGM-65G missiles

20mm GAU-4 gunpods - additional gunpods with M61A1 cannons, providing 1,200 rounds per gun.

Air-to-air

AIM-9L/I - essentially AIM-9M without the smokeless motor. While easier to detect than AIM-9M, it is still a potent short-range missile due to being a Sidewinder with high G pull and suspended animation IRCCM.

AIM-120A - main weapon of the F-4F KWS LV, AIM-120As offer never before seen (at least in the German tech tree) capability of engaging enemy aircraft. While incredibly potent, they are not without drawbacks and several things need to be taken into account to ensure a successful launch.

Air-to-ground

FFAR Mighty Mouse rockets - Providing decent performance against ground targets, these rockets sport 290 mm of penetration, and as such they can easily get through roof armour of most vehicles in-game, though some ERA equipped tanks can survive a few hits. While not having enough explosive mass to score kills with indirect hits, the ballistic computer can help with their aiming, and as the plane can equip up to 285 of them, pilots can easily compensate accuracy with quantity.

Zuni Mk32 Mod 0 ATAP rockets - Major upgrade over Mighty Mouse rockets, their HEAT warhead provides up to 457 mm of penetration and thanks to their explosive mass equivalent to 8.91 kg of TNT, they can severely damage light targets with indirect hits.

AGM-65D missile - Fire and forget anti-tank missile with IR guidance. Its single-stage HEAT warhead can penetrate up to 830 mm of armor. Depending on the altitude and speed of launching aircraft, it can be launched from stand-off distances. As it is fire and forget, it is great to use in contested airspace, though plane can carry only 2 of them at once. Magnification on its in-built optics is rather low and as such long-range shots are difficult.

AGM-65G missile - Fire and forget anti-tank missile with IR guidance. Swapping HEAT for SAP-HE warhead, this missile acts more like 50kg rocket boosted bomb. While devastating to light vehicles, heavier targets might be able to withstand its hit. Depending on the altitude and speed of launching aircraft, it can be launched from stand-off distances. As it is fire and forget, it is great to use in contested airspace, though plane can carry only 2 of them at once. Magnification on its in-built optics is rather low and as such long-range shots are difficult.

Bombs - As is tradition with Phantom airframes, F-4F KWS LV can bring a wide assortment of unguided bombs, ranging from 250 lb to 3000 lb. Beside standard freefall bombs, the plane has access to 500 lb Mk82 Snakeye bombs with high-drag tail fins for low altitude bombing or BLU-27/B napalm bombs..

Usage in battles

Air Battles

While the ICE program introduced potent radar and AIM-120s to the Phantom, it did not include any improvements to the Phantom's flight performance. As such, F-4F KWS LV is more oriented towards beyond visual range combat.

Luckily, the F-4F KWS LV kit is more than sufficient to perform well there. AN/APG-65GY radar is, without a doubt, the most potent radar that can be found in the German TT. 

When compared to N019E of MiG-29 9.12A/G

• It is extremely hard to notch properly 
• Unlike the aforementioned contemporary, its antenna can rotate while in TWS mode, meaning it can maintain soft-lock while defending
• Has nearly twice the range (120 km as opposed to 65 km)
• Much wider horizontal scan angle (120° vs 60°), but lower vertical can angle (6° vs 30°)

Next centerpiece of its kit are AIM-120A missiles. While they lack peak speed of R-27ERs found on MiG-29 9.12A/G (4.0 M vs 5.8 M) and the on-paper maximum range (80 km vs 100 km in head-on), they can pull the same peak G overload (35 Gs for both missiles) and most importantly, AIM-120As are ARH (active radar homing) missiles, meaning pilots don't need to maintain radar lock in order for the missile to guide itself towards the target. 

However, their active guidance does not mean that the pilot can always fire and forget these missiles and rely on them to shoot down the enemy.

Active radar homing activates once they reach a distance of 16km from the enemy. If AIM-120As are not fed targeting data from the plane radar through data-link, they travel in IOG mode, ie. according to the last known speed and heading of the target, meaning that if the enemy takes defensive action between launch and the activation of active guidance, they might miss entirely.

Thus, to ensure the highest chance of the missile connecting, pilots should always feed targeting data to the missile (ie. keep the radar pointed towards the enemy), as long as it is safe. 

Another important piece of information is that AIM-120s don't need hard-lock in order to launch like one would need with semi active radar homing missiles, meaning they can be fired in TWS mode with soft-lock. This is extremely important, since it allows the pilot to engage up to 4 targets simultaneously in TWS mode, and also they dont trigger the "LAUNCH" warning of the enemy RWR until they go pitbull (ie. active their own radar).

Another thing for pilots to note is the range of the missiles. While on-paper AIM-120As boast a rather impressive range of 80km, it highly depends on altitude and speed of both attacking and defending aircraft. In combat conditions, the actual range of AIM-120s is closer to 30 km against non-maneuvering targets and 16km against maneuvering ones in head-on situations, and 8 km in tail-chase situations. 

With only 4x AIM-120s available, pilots should always think about what target they are engaging. Targets already notching or about to enter a notch or targets going cold will most likely evade the missile, depending on range, altitude and speed. Similarly, planes flying near hard cover such as mountains and canyons and valleys can use those to hide behind in order to defeat the incoming missile.

Another thing for pilots to note is that with AIM-120s being active radar homing, it is extremely dangerous to launch them into furballs, as they lack any sort of IFF identification and once the missile is off the rails, the pilot can't do anything if the missile decides to go for a friendly plane. 

Defending against enemy ARHs in Phantom can be quite challenging at times, due to the obsolete airframe with its associated poor flight performance. Distance, altitude and speed of both attacking and defending aircraft need to be taken into account. 

Generally speaking, for long distance attacks, notching the enemy ARH missile, combined with deploying chaff in the last few seconds of attack, can be sufficient defense. However, pilots might get caught off guard if they underestimate the distance at which the enemy missile was launched. As such, going cold will almost always be a reliable defense against enemy ARH missiles without need to deploy chaff (unless the attacker has a massive altitude advantage). If the enemy ARH missile was launched at extreme ranges of 35 km and higher, pilots could also try a F-pole maneuver ( “zig zag” flying towards the enemy, ie. turning towards one direction while keeping the enemy on the 2 or 10 clock, continuing flying in that direction for a few seconds, then turning again to 2 or 10 clock).

Alternatively, if the map permits, pilots can use the terrain to their advantage. While pilots can't rely on multipath cover like previously, they can use mountains, canyons and valleys and other natural obstacles as hard cover to hind behind in order to defeat the missile.

For mid to close range, the aforementioned poor flight performance complicates things, as the pilot might not have enough time to properly defend against enemy ARH missiles. As such, at ranges of 20 km and less, pilots should approach their target already cranking (keeping the enemy in the absolute gimbal limit of the plane radar) and immediately deploy chaff and go cold as soon as they spot the enemy missile being launched. Alternatively, a high speed high G barrel roll might defeat the incoming missile, but as the pilots will encounter rather advanced missiles with high G overloads, this might not be a reliable way of defending oneself. 

Within visual range combat dogfight is where the F-4F KWS LV suffers the most. The aforementioned obsolete airframe with associated  poor flight performance, coupled with lack of HMS, thrust-vectoring missiles and mere 90 countermeasures available means that most opponents most likely will win any dogfight Phantom enters. As such, it is imperative for the F-4F KWS LV pilots to keep their distance from any enemy, unless they can ambush them from a much more advantageous position. 

AIM-9L/Is are relatively good missiles for such scenarios, but the aforementioned lack of HMS and thrust-vectoring means that pilots need to keep some minimal distance from their target, otherwise the missile won't have time to pull towards its target. 

90 countermeasures available also need to be taken into account in dogfight more than in beyond visual range combat, as all missiles found at the top tier have either suspended animation of FoV gate counter-countermeasures installed and either require excessive pre-flaring or dropping a lot of countermeasures in specific ways to defeat the incoming missile. As such, it is best for the F-4F KWS LV to not get shot at at all.

Ground battles

F-4F KWS LV is the first true modern multirole jet found in the German TT (meaning it can be fully equipped for air-to-air combat while retaining some sort of air-to-ground capability) and as such can be extremely useful in ground battles, only being held back by the limited amount of AGM-65s it can carry. 

Pilots can either take CAP (Combat Air Patrol) missions, where they provide air cover for ground units against enemy planes. To this end, aforementioned AIM-120s and AIM-9L/Is coupled with potent radar ensure that the enemy plane has to either first deal with the Phantom, or fly much more cautiously and lower to the ground, exposing itself to the ground based air defense assets. 

Or pilots can take CAS (Close Air Support) missions, providing support directly to the ground troops. To this end, F-4F KWS LV can equip two AGM-65s in either D variant with HEAT warhead or G varian with SAP-HE warhead. Both are potent and it comes down to personal preference which one they should use, as they both have their place in the game. Only two missiles however limit Phantom's usability as CAS aircraft. While it can carry other weapons such as Zuni rockets or unguided bombs, these have limited usefulness at the BR Phantom is placed at, due to the fact the plane needs to get well within the weapon range of ground based air defense assets to use them, and those ground air defense assets being rather potent at close range. 

As previously mentioned however, F-4F KWS LV can also do both CAP and CAS at once, due to the fact that AGM-65s use their own rails and don't interfere with air-to-air weapons.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good kit for beyond visual range combat
  • Gets access to AIM-120A and AIM-9L/I missiles.
  • Extremely potent radar
    • Radar is hard to notch properly
    • Radar can mantain TWS "soft-lock" while defending.
    • Radar can provide targeting info to up to 6 data-link enabled missiles.
  • Good RWR
    • RWR has Friend or Foe indentification
    • RWR is able to display specific type of enemy radar
• Gets access to AGM-65D and G Mavericks
• New Br. 13.0 (really Fun to play now)
• Many people think they can kill you easy-> if well played really good
• In a fully downtier it´s a war crime (F4S Players suffer)

Cons:

• Poor within visual range combat performance
  • Obsolete third-generation airframe that exclusively fights fourth-generation aircraft
    • Poor handling
    • Bad acceleration
    • Inferior top speed compared to other aircraft
  • Only gets access to 90 countermeasures
  • No HMS
• Limited CAS potential
  • Can only carry total 2 AGM-65s
  • No TGP
  • Unguided rockets and bombs have limited potential for effective CAS at such high BR
• Lacks IRST

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Devblog

In the early 1980s, the Luftwaffe initiated a program to improve the combat effectiveness of the F-4F Phantom II then representing Germany's spearhead in air defense. Being launched due to delays in the development of what would eventually become the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F-4F ICE as it became known, was intended to fill this gap until the more advanced aircraft became available. The main goal of the ICE program was to extend the service life of the F-4F by modernizing its avionics and electronic equipment as well as upgrading its radar to enable the aircraft to carry the powerful AIM-120 AMRAAM missile.

The upgrade process began in October 1988 and was carried out in several stages. The first finalized aircraft under the new program were commissioned in the early 1990s. The F-4F KWS LV (ICE) would then continue its service with the Luftwaffe until 2013 before it was ultimately phased out in favor of its successor, the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] F-4F KWS LV (ICE): Arch-Phantom!

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation
Jet Fighters	F2H-2 · F3H-2
	F-4C Phantom II · F-4E Phantom II · F-4J Phantom II · F-4S Phantom II
	F-15A · F-15C MSIP II · F-15E
Strike Aircraft	AV-8B Plus · AV-8B (NA)
Helicopters	AH-6M
Export/Licensed
Aircraft	◄F-4F Early · ◄F-4F · ◄F-4F KWS LV · Phantom FG.1 · Phantom FGR.2 · F-4J(UK) Phantom II · F-4EJ Phantom II · F-4EJ ADTW · Kurnass · Kurnass 2000
	F-15J · F-15J(M) · Baz · Baz Meshupar · F-15I Ra’am
	▄AV-8B Plus
Helicopters	Lahatut
	The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation merged with Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas Corporation. Later it was merged with The Boeing Company in 1997.
See Also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries