The new definition of dominance. The Kadett Ri-5 “Oxar” is an all-weather, 4.5 generation, air superiority multirole heavy fighter. From its genesis, the Ri-5 was designed to combat the world’s “irreplaceable” F-15’s and Su-27’s. It does this by being able to haul more, fly farther, fly faster, fly better, consistently, for considerably less money.

DEVELOPMENT:
Under the “MRAS” (Multi-role Air Superiority) program, Kadett began design in 1970 and had its maiden flight in the fall of ‘73. Originally, it was designed to fill a strict air superiority role, yet came to prove great promise for a capable ground attack fighter as well. Durability was greatly in mind during the project, and being able to fly home wounded was a priority. Because of this, the Oxar is able to stably fly with only a single primary wing remaining. Early on, the plane was destined to be in a weight class of its own, coming in at an eye-watering and scale-obliterating 85,400lbs loaded (and 70,600lbs unloaded). Developing landing gear strong and durable enough yet not complex nor heavy proved to be a huge struggle for Kadett’s design bureau. Also coming with such an unbelievable weight, the plane was deemed woefully unresponsive, and resembled more of a heavy bomber than a fighter. Large rear horizontal stabilizers along with flaps with a maximum deflection angle of 35 degrees (giving it the ability to pull over 25 degrees of AoA at low speeds) were put in place along side never-before seen advanced avionics in order to make the Oxar still feel useable and alive in dogfights.

ARMAMENT:
It’s clear that the Ri-5 isn’t here for a fair fight. Boasting 12 hard points in this configuration with the capacity for about a dozen more, armament is no issue. However, quantity is meaningless without quality; the Ri-5 was designed in tandem with the N-45 Short Range Infrared Missile (SRIM) and N-90 Beyond Visual Range Missile (BVRM) missiles, and in this configuration it comes with 6 each. They both deliver best-in-class range with great maneuverability. Moreover, the N-90 carries a huge 90 pound high-explosive warhead, so while the missile may seem slow off the line, it is sure to leave its mark. The six N-45’s cover closer range threats with great targeting accuracy and fast lock times. Also equipped with a powerful autocannon, the Ri-5 still holds its amazing dogfighting abilities seen in its predecessors.

DESIGN AND (in-game) PURPOSE:
Truthfully, huge, heavy fighters like F-15’s and Su-27’s always captured my interest, and for the longest time I’ve tried to make one of my own in game. Limited to my IPhone, I wanted the plane to feel realistic enough while still keeping it relatively low-part. I really tried to make it feel somewhat realistic to fly yet still good enough to somewhat compete against other more agile creations. I did this by making it fly at a very high angle of attack (cuz it’s cool), accelerate somewhat realistically, and have its design and armament capabilities be realistic. The missiles have the stock guidance capabilities of their vanilla counterparts, and the N-45’s have a very small warhead to make its impacts not absolutely (and unrealistically) eviscerate enemies. I made it hold a relatively low amount of flares and have a slow auto-deploy so longer range combat takes some brains. Originally, I wanted it to fly in a way that made its weight clear to the user, but found it honestly not fun and hard to fight AI opponents with. I plan to make many, many, MANY variations of this plane, and make a version for every role imaginable. I’m very proud of the overall design and appearance of it and want to utilize it for a bit. It’s by far my best and highest part count build of all time and I am extremely proud of it. I spend roughly a month on it, start to finish and have learned so much through it. If you read this, I humbly thank you for your time. I’m pretty new here, so any support is greatly appreciated.