Alpha Jet − Combat Trainer
The Shooting Range In this episode: Pages of History: Swedish Tender for Best MBT Tactics & Strategy: Winning in Tank Football And Metal Beasts: The New Trainer We’d like to continue talking about the new vehicles added this spring. Today we’re going to focus on the namesake of the Alpha
Strike update. Please welcome! A light attack jet and trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Germany and France: the Alpha Jet. Our game offers two modifications, but today’s feature will be limited to the German version. This aircraft is pretty similar to the Italian AMX Ghibli that we talked about not so
long ago. Still, comparing them would be a questionable idea: despite sharing some design features and class, these aircraft belong to different weight categories. An empty Alpha Jet has half the mass of its Italian counterpart, so it’d make more sense to compare it to another combat trainer, the Swedish
Saab 105. The Alpha’s power plant is a twin turbojet engine with an afterburning power of around 2,500 kilogram-forces. It’s not much, it’s but good enough for such a lightweight machine. While you shouldn’t expect impressive dynamics, you can still very well achieve around 1000 km/h near the ground if
you’re patient. Just try not to make any sudden movements at that speed. Combine a pitch and a roll, and you can kiss your wingtips goodbye. In air combat, this plane has no armament choice to
It has an ammo pool of 150 rounds, which is more than on the high-ranking Gripen. It offers a good rate of fire, amazing accuracy, and great damage. After getting used to its low fire density, downing targets with short bursts becomes easy. There’s one surprising bonus as well: countermeasures.
At a battle rating this low, they’re a luxury. The Alpha Jet doesn’t see a lot of radar-guided missiles so you wouldn’t need a lot of chaff, but flares certainly wouldn’t hurt. And now, for the juiciest part: close air support. The aircraft won’t surprise anyone with its payload: just
six bombs or blocks of rockets. What makes it appealing though is a ballistic computer for all available ordnance. This means the Alpha Jet can deliver precision strikes while staying outside the range of most anti-aircraft guns. You might say: “Can’t the targets just drive away from the bombs?” And
you’d be right! But experience tells us that most tanks don’t bother with repositioning, and some anti-air gunners never even leave the spawn point. When you spend all the bombs and rockets, you can still use the cannon. Your ballistic computer will help you even with that. The AP belt
will go through light vehicles like a hot knife through butter and might even find a flaw in heavy armor. The Leopard 2 was originally developed for use in another world war. The Fulda Gap, an area between the two Germanies, was expected to decide the fate of Europe and
the rest of the world in a massive battle between Western armies and Soviet tanks. Thankfully, the plan never had to be executed, and once the Cold War was over, the tank race shifted into competing for clients and their wallets. By the early 1990s, Sweden’s park of heavy armor
was pretty outdated. Even the latest Centurions and S-tanks couldn’t impress anyone, while their own MBT program died down. That’s why the government announced a tender in 1993 and opened it to manufacturers from all over the world. The American General Dynamics brought its Abrams, the German Krauss-Maffei, the Leopard
2, and the French GIAT offered its Leclerc. There was one more contestant that felt out of place though… With an economic crisis threatening to go haywire, Russian officials decided to make a bold move and take part in this tender, offering the T-80U. Sweden evaluated the vehicles in five
metrics: mobility, fire control systems, tactical data systems, reliability, and survivability. According to reports, Western tanks successfully passed all trials, while the T-80 only passed the mobility test. Experts noted the outdated fire control systems but deemed the tank good enough for daytime. The T-80 did have night vision devices,
but its NVDs were clearly inferior to the rest of the competition. Its reverse speed was also remarkably low, which limited its application in certain combat scenarios. Last but not least, Sweden wasn’t impressed by the T-80’s firepower. They believed that even 105-mm cannons armed with modern ammo offered equal
performance to the tank’s 125-mm discarding sabot shells. Armor was also tested with a bit of good old shooting. The Leopard scored the highest. Its modular wedge-shaped turret was so good that most of it was basically invincible. The Leopard also won the chassis tests thanks to its reliability and
a more efficient engine. By the way, the Abrams scored the lowest in this part due to its fuel-hungry gas turbine engine. The German tank also made a good impression in the ‘firepower’ part of the trials. Even before the tests were complete, it was clear that the Leopard was
far ahead. The T-80 was eliminated, and neither the Leclerc nor the Abrams managed to shorten the gap. The outcome was unsurprising. In 1994, Sweden purchased more than a hundred old Leopard 2 tanks. The A4 modification was designated Stridsvagn 121, while fresher A5 versions were adjusted to Swedish standards
and accepted into service as the Stridsvagn 122. Why don’t we take a break from the endless battles? Let’s check out a nearby stadium! Touch some grass, play ball… Besides, the Tank Football event is hot right now! To make this fun chaos a bit more educational, we’ll throw in
some tips and tricks to help you get to that Queen’s song. So, there are two types of games in this event: 3v3 for solo players and 4v4 for squads. Tactics are better employed with friends, of course, so we’ll be playing the squad tournament tonight. The game starts with
the orange team’s initiative. With some skill, you can launch your first attack right from the center of the field. The forward player just needs to move the ball to a comfy position for a strike. All it takes is driving straight and pushing the ball twice. Move it between
the goalposts and the attacker to give them a chance to accelerate and give the ball a strong kick. Let’s see what it looks like for the attacker. They accelerate towards the kicking point in advance and shoot the ball to give it some extra force. Done correctly, this will
launch the ball towards the opponent’s goalposts. With some practice, you can even learn how to direct the ball into a specific corner. Of course, sending the ball there is cool, but the other team has a goalie and doesn’t intend to sit idle. That’s where the other two players
come into play: they’re just as important. They spawn next to the goalposts for those cases when the plan goes awry and your team needs to defend. One of them should guard the goal line, while the other one needs to move to the center of their side of the
field and get ready to both attack and defend. The defending team can’t attack first, but they can still seize the initiative very quickly if they know what to do. The goalie has the most straightforward position: they spawn next to the goal line, and all they need to do
is reposition their vehicle for the best result. Two more ‘athletes’ mirror each other on the left and the right. Their main task is to head to the center of the field, speed up, and block the attacker in a jump. These two players can become the first line of
defense. You can also turn your tank sideways to improve your coverage. A blocked ball would often ricochet to the opposite side of the field, and the teams would trade initiative. But let’s say the block was unsuccessful. Then, you need your second line of defense: the fourth player who
spawns the furthest. Their best position is in the center of their side of the field. This allows them to both help the goalkeeper and support an offense depending on the situation. And finally, here’s a couple more tricks. You’ll often see the ball next to a wall where multiple
players from both teams try to push it out. It’s tempting to get inside this chaos and show everyone who’s the real dribbling master… But more often than not, leaving a single player inside the mess while the rest wait for a good chance is a more effective approach. Sooner
or later, the ball will come out, and the more players are ready for a coordinated attack, the better. Another great skill is redirecting the ball to the enemy goal. You don’t often get a chance for a good kick in the middle of a round, so the second best
option is a corner pass. One player needs to speed up along the wall while others wait next to the goalpost. Do you have any tips and tricks of your own? Share them in the comments! We hope you all score spectacular goals and have a great time! Meanwhile, we’ll
answer some of your questions. The first question was sent by a player called GHOSTDOG: “What’s the best loadout for the Su-25?” Hi Ghost Dog! If you mean the earliest Su-25, we’d probably go for the most popular loadout: eight S-25O rockets and two R-60M missiles. We also talked about
other great loadouts in the Arsenal sections dedicated to the Su-25. Not rook asks: “Why do some Vautour bombers have a bomb sight, while others don’t?” Hey, Not Rook! Not all Vautours are bombers. Some are attack aircraft and interceptors, and those don’t have bomb sights. Another question comes from
Toe1000: “Where are the best places to put bushes on the M1A1?” Hi Toe! It depends on the size and number of bushes. We’d probably go for the gun mantlet first to hide the turret cheeks and lines. Then you can mask the turret ring and the hull. GuyNate2000 writes:
“I’d love to see the A-1H or the AM-1 in the Pages of History.” Hello Nate! We’ve actually talked about them before, in episode #313! Check it out when you get a chance! That’s it for today. You’ve been watching the Shooting Range by Gaijin Entertainment, and the next episode
will premier the following Sunday at 4 PM GMT or noon Eastern time. Subscribe and click the bell if you don’t want to miss our next videos. Don’t forget to recall your internal Messi, leave a like, share your thoughts and comments… and see you next week!
