Military Flight sims

1942 The Pacific Air War
303 Squadron: Battle of Britain
A-10 Attack
A-10 Cuba
  • A-10 Cuba
  • date_range 1996
  • precision_manufacturing Parsoft Interactive  
  • content_pasteA-10 Cuba by Eric "Hellcats" Parker is a fluid and exciting sim which ran well on modest PC's. This sim was one of that rare breed which begged to be flown! The handling from taxiing to landing is pure flight sim joy! The wealth of detail, smoothness and sense of speed added up to an addictive experience The handling from taxiing to landing is pure flight sim joy!
  • tagMilitary
A-10 Tank Killer
  • A-10 Tank Killer
  • date_range 1989
  • content_pasteThis sim may look primitive today , but bear in mind the the CPU speeds in 1989 were 8MHz, computers had 640k of RAM and there was no dedicated video hardware. To put it in perspective, a standard PC only 10 years later ran at 3,000 MHz with 1,000,000 k of RAM and a video card that is probably more powerful than the host PC!.
  • tagMilitary
A-10 Tank Killer 2: Silent Thunder
A-10 Warthog
  • A-10 Warthog
  • date_range 1999
  • precision_manufacturing Janes Combat Simulations  
  • content_pasteThe Flight Sim Museum sadly remembers Jane's A-10 Warthog, the best sim that never took flight. A-10 Warthog was the greatest sim that never took flight. The crack team at Janes Combat Simulations had the rug pulled out from under their feet just before the 'Hog flew. Sim fans worldwide were bitterly disappointed when, in July 1999, Jane's announced the cancellation of the project. All we are left with are these tantalising glimpses of what may have been.
  • tagMilitary
ACE
ACE 2
Ace Combat
Ace Combat 2
Ace Combat 3: Electrosphere
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown
  • date_range 2019
  • precision_manufacturing Bandai Namco Entertainment  
  • content_pasteHigh paced and great looking aerial action which could be a modern 'Strike Commander' if it supported HOTAS and TrackIR. It no doubt serves console players well but excludes itself from the running for those coming from the sim end of the field because of these issues. Bizarrely though, Bandai-Namco did a deal to support a specific Ace Combat model joystick from Thrustmaster. This left me looking forlornly at my top-of -the-range Thrustmaster Warthog HOTAS and TRP rudder pedals and wondering why I couldn't join the party?
  • tagMilitary
Aces Collection
Aces of the Pacific
Aces over Europe
Advanced Tactical Fighters
  • Advanced Tactical Fighters
  • date_range 1996
  • content_pasteAdvanced Tactical Fighters was the sequel to Marine Fighters, and third in the series. It introduced stealth and vectored thrust aircraft. I remember the first time sat in my hom-buil cockpit and booted it up on my 486 DX-66. I leapt into the Grumman X-31 and headed for the clouds. For a while I was convinced there was something wrong with the program because this aircraft just seemed too fast!
  • tagMilitaryNATO
Aero Elite: Combat Academy
  • Aero Elite: Combat Academy
  • date_range 2002
  • precision_manufacturing SEGA  
  • content_paste"... last game in the AeroWings series, and was also considered the best: quality graphics, very detailed and animated 3D plane models, over 60 planes to fly (including Mig 29, SU27, Mirage2000, Harrier, A10, Tornado, etc.), challenging missions and new original features like the "scramble" mode - a random interception mission where a player must take off, intercept an unknown intruder plane, take pictures to identify it, then return to the base and land to finish the mission. " - Wikipedia
  • tagMilitary
Aero Fighters Assault
  • Aero Fighters Assault
  • date_range 1997
  • precision_manufacturing Video System Co. Ltd.   Paradigm  
  • content_pasteAeroFighters Assault was developed by Paradigm Entertainment and published by Video System Co. Ltd. for the Nintendo in 1997. It was released in Japan as Sonic Wings Assault.
  • tagMilitary
Afterburner
  • Afterburner
  • date_range 1988
  • precision_manufacturing SEGA   Activision  
  • content_pasteThe PC port of this game didn't look as good as the arcade machines, but bear in mind that these were the days of 386 25 Mhz processors and 2 MEG RAM! Although this was definitely an arcade game rather than a sim, it is worth a mention because it had a pretty good moving cockpit in the arcades and probably got many people interested the flight sim genre. Anyway the fact remains that if you tell someone that you're into Flight Simulators there is a pretty good chance they'll say "Oh, yeah, you mean like: Afterburner!". It is an iconic game.
  • tagMilitary
AH-3 Thunderstrike
Air Combat Classics
  • Air Combat Classics
  • date_range 1993
  • content_paste Air Combat Classics is a collection of absolute classic flight sims from LucasArts released in 1993. It contained: Battlehawks 1942 | Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe | Their Finest Hour (Battle of Britain).
  • tagMilitary
Air Combat Yugekioh II
  • Air Combat Yugekioh II
  • date_range 1990
  • content_pasteAir Combat Yugeki-oh II was developed by SystemSoft for the NEC PC-9801 series of PC's in Japan. The player is a mercenary pilot working for the Asian Pacific Economic Network (APEN).
  • tagMilitary
Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers
Air Conflicts: Secret Wars
Air Conflicts: Vietnam
Air Fighters
Air Missions: HIND
Air Navy Fighters
Air Power
  • Air Power
  • date_range 1995
  • precision_manufacturing Rowan  
  • content_pasteSimilar in style to the 2000 sim Crimson Skies, Air Power was a sim set in a fictitious land and set your colourful planes against zeppelins and other nasties!
  • tagMilitary
Air Power Cold War
Air Strike USA
  • Air Strike USA
  • date_range 1985
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Integration   Digital Integration  
  • content_pasteAir Strike USA was published by Digital Integration and released on on the PC in 1985. Really an arcade game rather than a flight simulator it is mainly of interest because the Publisher / Design Team Digital Integration went on to produce some of the finest PC Flight Sims ever to grace screens worldwide. From humble origins grew one of the giants in air combat sim development.
  • tagMilitary
Air Support
  • Air Support
  • date_range 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Psygnosis  
  • content_paste"Don't be misled by its title and the illustration of twin Tornado ADVs soaring across the cover of Psygnosis' latest battle-in-a-box. Air Support is not a screaming, seat-of-the-pants combat flight simulator, It's more like a tedious, and less enjoyable version of their own previous release Armour-Geddon."
  • tagMilitary
Air Warrior (Public Domain)
  • Air Warrior (Public Domain)
  • date_range 1990
  • content_pasteAir Warrior was introduced to the gaming public as a free - public domain - piece of software which could be downloaded and played in practice mode at home. You then logged on to a dedicated server in your city via modem and played in a virtual war.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War II
Air Warrior III
  • Air Warrior III
  • date_range 1998
  • content_pasteAir Warrior 3, released in 1998 is a popular on-line World War 2 Air Combat sim running in Windows '95 and '98.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War II
Air-Sea Battle
Airfix Dogfighter
  • Airfix Dogfighter
  • date_range 2000
  • precision_manufacturing Paradox Entertainment  
  • content_pasteWho as a child didn't use their plastic model aircraft to stage furious dogfights? Airfix Dogfighter recreates that simple and joyful world!
  • tagMilitary
AirForce Delta Storm
ARMA
  • ARMA
  • date_range 2001
  • precision_manufacturing Bohemia Interactive  
  • content_pasteARMA may be described as a military | physics | AI sandbox. It supports air, land and sea operations as infantry and in all sorts of vehicles and has a massive user base.
  • tagMilitary
ARMA 3
  • ARMA 3
  • date_range 2013
  • precision_manufacturing Bohemia Interactive  
  • content_paste"Combat gameplay in a massive military sandbox. Deploying a wide variety of single- and multiplayer content, over 20 vehicles and 40 weapons, and limitless opportunities for content creation"
  • tagMilitarySandbox
ARMA 3 Helicopters
  • ARMA 3 Helicopters
  • date_range 2014
  • precision_manufacturing Bohemia Interactive  
  • content_paste"'Arma 3 Helicopters, the second premium DLC for Arma 3, features the highly detailed CH-67 Huron and Mi-290 Taru heavy-lift helicopters, a Sling Loading showcase scenario, and four exclusive helicopter Time Trial challenges. The DLC is complemented by a major free platform update for Arma 3, which lands the new Support MP mode, sling loading, RotorLib, firing from vehicles, and more."
  • tagMilitarySandboxRotary Wing
ARMA 3 Jets
ATF II
Avenger A-10
  • Avenger A-10
  • date_range 1991
  • precision_manufacturing Spectrum Holobyte  
  • content_pasteLars Gramkow Nielsen reported " From what I've been able to make out, it was supposed to be released after Falcon 3.0, as the second of the Electronic Battlefield Series sims - of which Falcon 3.0 was the first. "

    MiGMan's industry sources reported that the main problem was the low altitude rendering of terrain by the graphics engine.
  • tagMilitary
Avro Vulcan for CFS2
  • Avro Vulcan for CFS2
  • date_range 2002
  • precision_manufacturing FlightCraft Simulations  
  • content_pasteA classic marque which deserves a rich sim environment in which to stretch it's legs, Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 2 merely muzzles it. The developer acknowledges this and I concur that the Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 version looks like the way to go for full Vulcan enjoyment.
  • tagMilitaryAdd-on
B-17 Flying Fortress
B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty Eighth
Back to Baghdad
  • Back to Baghdad
  • date_range 1996
  • precision_manufacturing Military Simulations Inc.  
  • content_pasteBack to Baghdad was an F-16 simulation set in the Gulf War (1991) . It was a DOS sim with claims to high fidelity of flight model and weapons systems modelling and was priced about 30% higher than other PC sims at the time. The publishers Military Simulations Inc. went on to specialise in military sims and released no more products for the home market. It was unique in that it supported a second monitor for the radar display - and this while running in DOS !
  • tagMilitary
Battle for Midway
Battle of Britain (Rowan)
Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
Battle over Europe
Battlestations: Midway
Battlestations: Pacific
Birds of Prey
  • Birds of Prey
  • date_range 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Activision  
  • content_pasteIn 1992 16 bit processors had just arrived and we were plunged into an exciting world of flying polygons! The weapons were destructive to any object, no matter what the device or target. I have witnessed a Forger get hit AFTER launching from a carrier by a Mk83 slick released by a B-1B Lancer." Pretty good for a sim that came on ONE floppy disk - 720K !
  • tagMilitary
Black Knight Marine Strike Fighter
  • Black Knight Marine Strike Fighter
  • date_range 1998
  • content_pasteFirst impressions (1998): "Black Knight Marine Strike Fighter SE was distributed as a shareware demo in 1995 with some functions disabled. The graphics were VGA (300 x 200). The publisher was FormGen. The flight recorder played back your flight from various angles. It runs very fast on a 486 and is worth a look at as an introduction to jet combat sims." MiGMan
  • tagMilitaryCold War
Carrier Command
Carrier Deck
Carrier Landings
Check Six
  • Check Six
  • date_range 1993
  • precision_manufacturing Pegasus Japan  
  • content_pasteCheck Six was the first flight simulation from Pegasus Japan on the NEC PC-9801 Series. In this game the player is a mercenary pilot who gets rewarded for successful missions and can buy aircraft. Screen resolution is 640 x 400 pixels and 16 colors. It gives a similar impression to Air Combat III.
  • tagMilitary
Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat
Close Combat Series
Comanche
  • Comanche
  • date_range 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Novalogic   THQ Nordic  
  • content_pasteThe graphics engine used "Voxel" technology which was a novel way of treating pixels to gain more detail and speed. Rather than applying bitmaps to 3D terrain, each pixel actually contained it's own altitude data. The result was the most exciting terrain seen on a PC to that point in time. It excelled at producing a sensation of low altitude flight.
  • tagMilitaryRotary Wing
Comanche 3
Comanche 4
Comanche Gold
Combat Air Patrol
  • Combat Air Patrol
  • date_range 1993
  • precision_manufacturing Psygnosis  
  • content_paste"This was a late addition to the long line of flight sims for the Amiga, and it was also one of the best. The whole sim was based on the 1991 Gulf War ( Desert Storm ) and you could take to the skies in either the mighty Grumman F-14A Tomcat or the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet."
  • tagMilitaryEuropean Theatre WWII
Combat Air Patrol 2
  • Combat Air Patrol 2
  • date_range 2017
  • content_paste 2016 simulation of the AV-8B Harrier. This sim could pick up where SVGA Harrier Assault left off in 1992, with a flyable AV-8B Harrier and a dynamic campaign!
  • tagMilitary
Combat Helo
  • Combat Helo
  • date_range 2001
  • content_paste"Since 1996, crazed rotor-heads have wanted more of that paranoid, heavy metal, hi-tech thrill-ride that is Longbow 2. FIVE years on and the uber simulation of helicopter combat is still as exciting as it ever was, unfortunately our desktop computers and operating systems have moved on making it difficult at best, impossible at worst, to fly our favourite sim."
    Richard "Flexman" Hawley, October 15, 2001
  • tagMilitaryRotary Wing
Combat Jet Trainer
Combat Lynx
Combat Squadron
Combat Wings
  • Combat Wings
  • date_range 2008
  • precision_manufacturing CI Games  
  • content_paste"It’s the 4th of June, 1942, and Japanese bombs are raining down on Midway – and you. This lethal assault is a prelude to an invasion whose success gives the enemy control over the Pacific. You are one of the American airmen who hold the outcome of this decisive battle in their hands."
  • tagMilitaryWorld War IIPacific Theatre WWII
Combat Wings: Battle of Britain
Crimson Skies
  • Crimson Skies
  • date_range 2000
  • precision_manufacturing Zipper   Microsoft  
  • content_paste Set in a parallel universe in 1937, the game sets up a world where the USA is divided into small nations and Air Power rules the day. Jordan Weisner has combined elements of the swashbuckling 1930's pulp fiction hero with, in his words "Air Combat with everything taken out except the fun!".
  • tagMilitary
D-Day: Operation Overlord
  • D-Day: Operation Overlord
  • date_range 1994
  • precision_manufacturing Rowan   Virgin Interactive  
  • content_pasteReleased in 1994, this was one of the very first flight sims to make use of the brand new S3 graphics chipset. This chipset enabled a doubling of the screen resolution from 300x200 pixels to an amazing 600x400 pixels. It was quite difficult to get running as I recall, requiring many hours of struggling with the graphics drivers. I remember clearly seeing a looping demo of it running in the local games shop. A Spitfire approached a German radar post and attacked. I couldn't believe my eyes at the graphical detail with trees, fences andd irt pathways. I would stand there for hours watching this thing until I splurged the couple of hundred dollars to upgrade my graphics card. I had only bought my first PC 2 months before and it already needed upgrading. That's progress!
  • tagMilitaryWorld War II
Dam Busters
Dam Busters (2002)
Dawn of Aces
Dawn Patrol
DCS (Digital Combat Simulator World)
  • DCS (Digital Combat Simulator World)
  • date_range 2017
  • precision_manufacturing Eagle Dynamics  
  • content_pasteSuccessor to Flanker 1.5, Su-27 2.0, LOMAC and others, this sim continues the mission of presenting a high quality combat flight sim environment. " DCS is a true "sandbox" simulation that is also designed to cover multiple time periods of interest such as WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, Gulf War and others."
  • tagMilitaryCold War
Delta Wing
  • Delta Wing
  • date_range 1984
  • content_pasteDelta Wing by Creative Sparks was released in 1984 for the Sinclair Spectrum. It included a special two player version that you play with two Spectrums, two interfaces and two TVs.
  • tagMilitary
Desert Fighters
Dogfight
  • Dogfight
  • date_range
  • content_pasteI bought the Atari version and was blown away by the smooth and "complex" graphics and variety of gameplay, even though the graphics looked nothing at all like the splash screen, the gameplay being instead state of the art early 1990's shaded polygon models. One outstanding innovation for the time was the inclusion of virtual cockpits with padlock view.
  • tagMilitary
Dogfight 1942
EF 2000
  • EF 2000
  • date_range 1995
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Image Design  
  • content_paste EF 2000 first saw the light of day (a gloomy Scandinavian day at that! ) in 1995. It's roots lay in F-29 Retaliator and TFX but it went much, much further, breaking new ground in combat flight fidelity. From engine start, sorry, I mean TWO engine starts, you knew this was a new kind of flight sim experience. Taxiing quickened the pulse as the Eurofighter bobbed and bounced on its suspension. Sunlight glinted through the canopy, wheel brakes on, engine spooled up and the beast was straining at the leash.

    "Brakes off and the tyres rumble, 120 knots and the dragon leaps into the air."
    - an ode to EF 2000 - MiGMan, 1999
  • tagMilitary
Elite
Enemy Engaged 2
Enemy Engaged Apache vs. Havoc
  • Enemy Engaged Apache vs. Havoc
  • date_range 1998
  • precision_manufacturing Razorworks   Empire  
  • content_pasteEnemy Engaged: Apache vs. Havoc had arguably the most successful modelling of dynamic battle environments ever seen on a PC in the 1990's. It featured not one, but two of the premier Helicopter Gunships, created in stunning detail and placed in dynamic combat environments. The world of EECvH is so dynamic and interesting that it invites you to get in there and look around, beyond the attraction of flying missions. It really set a gold standard for this kind of sim environment that has still not been matched some 20 years later.
  • tagMilitaryRotary WingNATODynamic Campaign
Enemy Engaged Comanche vs. Hokum
  • Enemy Engaged Comanche vs. Hokum
  • date_range 2000
  • precision_manufacturing Razorworks   Empire  
  • content_pasteIt was early April 2000... and two of the world's most fearsome helicopter gunships landed on home PCs worldwide. One of the best pieces of news to me was that 'Enemy Engaged: Comanche vs Hokum' is backward-compatible with Enemy Engaged - Apache vs Havoc, meaning you still have access to the campaigns and flyable helos from AvH. That of course is if you have AvH installed - if you don't, and you have a PC 300 Mhz or faster and a 3D graphics card, then run out and get it!
  • tagMilitaryRotary WingNATO
Energy Airforce
Eurofighter (Alphasim)
  • Eurofighter (Alphasim)
  • date_range
  • content_pasteThe AA radar allows real intercepts to be made, commonplace in combat sims but a first for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.
  • tagMilitary
Eurofighter (Alphasim)
  • Eurofighter (Alphasim)
  • date_range
  • content_pasteThe AA radar allows real intercepts to be made, commonplace in combat sims but a first for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.
  • tagMilitary
Eurofighter Typhoon
Eurofighter Typhoon: Operation Icebreaker
  • Eurofighter Typhoon: Operation Icebreaker
  • date_range 2002
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Image Design   Rage  
  • content_paste15 new missions and enhanced weather effects enhance the sim - but the real value lies in the inclusion of the original Eurofighter Typhoon and the excellent strategy guide in the package. The Eurofighter Typhoon - Operation Icebreaker CD contains the original Eurofighter Typhoon and a new scenario set immediately after the original campaign. It also adds rain, snow, lightning, Carrier Operations, Windows WP compatibility, New multiplayer games, Enhanced declutter HUD mode, Stealth radar mode. The new scenario starts after the Eurofighter Typhoon campaign and assumes that you lost Iceland to the Russians. Based on an aircraft at the North West tip of Iceland you are thrown in the deep end with frantic air combat from the first mission. I think the difficulty level is way too high to begin a campaign. After struggling through the first 4 missions, and aided by the excellent strategy guide, I decided to replay the original campaign first.
  • tagMilitaryNATO
European Air War
Evasive Action
  • Evasive Action
  • date_range
  • content_pasteThe Software Toolworks is an established developer of games: board, simulation, adventure. They needed a flight sim in their catalog, and Particle Systems did for them. The game was called Evasive Action, a curious choice in 1994, when flight sims were on the rage. Evasive Action proposed four different scenarios: 1917: The Great War, 1942:WWII, The Air Dominance Era, 2064: Space Combat.
  • tagMilitary
F-117 Nightstorm
F-117A Stealth Fighter (add-on)
F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0
  • F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0
  • date_range 1993
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteF-117A Stealth Fighter has been referred to as "the mother of all sims" due to the many innovations it presented and the atmospheric way the sim is presented. It set standards of game-play which have probably never been exceeded.The sim was a major enhancement and re-release of F-19 (1988) by Sid Meier. F-117A runs very well on a 386 and is a "thinking person's sim" emphasising tactical thinking over reflexes.
  • tagMilitaryNATOStealth
F-14 Tomcat
  • F-14 Tomcat
  • date_range 1990
  • precision_manufacturing Activision  
  • content_pasteThe opening scenes to this 1990 flight sim from Activision are an accurate time capsule! The PC hardware of the day was only capable of displaying a limited number of polygons and colours, and the sound made good use of the latest sound card technology. Note that in the game you could also fly in cockpit view.
  • tagMilitary
F-15 | Janes Combat Simulations
F-15 Strike Eagle I
  • F-15 Strike Eagle I
  • date_range 1985
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteThe original code for this flight sim weighs in at a hefty 53 K. That is NOT a misprint, not 53Mb or 53 Gb. To put it in perspective, that is the size of an email. This was one of the first sims published by Microprose and launched many a lif-long fascination with flight and flight simulation.
  • tagMilitary
F-15 Strike Eagle II
  • F-15 Strike Eagle II
  • date_range 1989
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteIn 1989 F-15 Strike Eagle II had one of the richest and most interactive sim environments ever seen.The world was full of activity from enemy fighters and ships. Who can forget "Director Mode", which let you sit back and watch as the sim followed the action. Pour a cup of coffee, grab a donut and watch the action unfold!
  • tagMilitary
F-15 Strike Eagle III
  • F-15 Strike Eagle III
  • date_range 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteF-15 Strike Eagle III was a ground breaking simulation of the premier Strike Fighter and one of Microprose's greatest achievements. It was also one of the few sims that enabled two people to fly in the same aircraft over a network, in this case as pilot and Weapons Systems Operator.
  • tagMilitary
F-16 Aggressor
F-16 Combat Pilot
  • F-16 Combat Pilot
  • date_range 1989
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteThe simple graphics of this sim belie the amount of information it presented to the pilot in real time, a milestone achievement for flight sims of the era. I first played it in the 1980's on an Atari ST. I used to fly on instruments most of the time and play with the comprehensive information available on the 3 Multi-Function Displays. It was the first flight sim with a dynamic battlefield.
  • tagMilitary
F-16 Fighting Falcon
F-16 Fighting Falcon (Digital Integration)
F-16 Fighting Falcon (Mastertronics)
F-16 Multirole Fighter
F-18 Carrier Landing
F-19 Stealth Fighter
  • F-19 Stealth Fighter
  • date_range 1988
  • content_pasteF-19 Stealth Fighter was the first version of the wildly successful release "F-117A Stealth Fighter". The smoothly profiled aircraft you can see on the box was based on aerospace industry observer's best guesses about what the mysterious 'Stealth Fighter' actually looked like. Bear in mind that the F-117 was flying in secrecy for about 10 years before the general public got a look at it! Quite a remarkable achievement. The Atari version had digitised sounds, I distinctly remember the "click" of the recon camera. The manual was probably the largest and most informative we had ever seen for a flight sim. Playing this sim on my Atari ST prompted me to get back into scale modelling, so I went out and bought a 1/72 scale F-117 model, which although more accurate in general shape than the F-19 guesses, still wasn't quite right, being too short and stubby.
  • tagMilitary
F-22 Air Dominance Fighter
F-22 Interceptor
F-22 Lightning 3
F-22 Lightning II
F-22 Raptor
F-22 Total Air War
  • F-22 Total Air War
  • date_range 1998
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Image Design  
  • content_pasteTotal Air War (TAW) is an aptly-named product. More than a combat flight simulator, it offers a strategic component based on modern air warfare theories first applied in the 1991 Gulf War. In addition to a detailed simulation of the F-22 fighter, TAW simulates a near-future war in the Red Sea region (northeast Africa and Saudi Arabia). It does so many things so well, that the player could easily concentrate on any of several single aspects of the sim and still find a lot of depth and fun.
  • tagMilitaryDynamic Campaign
F-29 Retaliator
F/A-18 | Janes Combat Simulations
  • F/A-18 | Janes Combat Simulations
  • date_range 2000
  • content_pasteJane's F/A-18 (JF18) is the successor to their magnificent F-15 simulation. It models the US Navy's next-generation F/A-18E Super Hornet in great detail. As the F/A designation suggests, the Super Hornet is built for both Fighter (Air-to-Air) and Attack (Air-to-Ground) missions. In this sim, you operate your F/A-18 from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the Arctic Sea, flying missions over Russia's North Cape area.
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
F/A-18 3.0
F/A-18 Hornet | IOS
F/A-18 Interceptor
F/A-18 Korea
  • F/A-18 Korea
  • date_range 1997
  • precision_manufacturing Graphsim Entertainment  
  • content_pasteKorea was one of the most realistic flight sims around 1n 1997 and it ran very well on a modest (Pentium) system. Royal Australian Air Force pilots regard this sim as a very accurate portrayal of the Hornet flight model. The flight model was one of the most fluid around and energy management in a dogfight became a desperate necessity! This sim was worth buying just for the in-game training tutorials. The Hornet was conceived from the word go as a dual-role aircraft, hence the designation F/A-18, which means Fighter-Attack. It was meant to supplement the role of the F-14 Tomcat, providing shorter range Air defense and to totally replace the A-7 Corsair and A-6 Intruder.

    This sim reflects the dual role with an incredible array of Air-to-Ground weapons and systems. It was an updated and 3DFX enabled version of F/A-18 3.0.
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
F/A-18 Operation Iraqi Freedom
F/A-18 Precision Strike Fighter
F/A-18E Super Hornet
  • F/A-18E Super Hornet
  • date_range 1999
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Integration   Titus  
  • content_pasteThis sim demanded your full attention. It detected you were not giving full attention... and then turned around and bit you hard! The computers did their best to fly the plane where you pointed it, but couldn't rescue you from gross errors of judgement like my full loops at low altitude! From a hard-core point of view I like this... it forced you to correct sloppy habits and get into the checklist mentality.. getting into a "landing state of mind" when landing... not dwelling on the fantastic dogfight you just had / didn't have. This indeed is the essence of creating an immersive sim!
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
Fair Strike
Falcon
  • Falcon
  • date_range 1987
  • precision_manufacturing Spectrum Holobyte   Spectrum Holobyte  
  • content_pasteFalcon was created for the Atari ST, IBM PC and Commodore Amiga and Apple Mac by Gilman Louie's Spectrum Holobyte team in 1987. In Falcon you piloted the F-16A Falcon on 12 preset missions. Falcon was my initiation into hard-core simming and like many others, I've only looked back since to check six.
  • tagMilitaryNATO
Falcon 3.0
Falcon 4.0
Falcon 4.0: Allied Force
Falcon BMS
Fighter Ace 3.5
Fighter Bomber | Strike Aces
  • Fighter Bomber | Strike Aces
  • date_range 1990
  • precision_manufacturing Activision   Accolade  
  • content_pasteStrike Aces was also titled 'Fighter Bomber' was released in 1990 on the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga and PC. It was published by Activision and Accolade. The sim was set in a bombing competition inspired by Gen. Curtis LeMay's training events. It featured an unusual mix of flyable aircraft: F-4 Phantom , F-15E Strike Eagle, F-111 Aardvark, MiG-27 Flogger, RAF and Luftwaffe Tornado and the Saab Viggen.
  • tagMilitaryNATO
Fighter Pilot (Digital Integration)
  • Fighter Pilot (Digital Integration)
  • date_range 1983
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Integration  
  • content_pasteFighter Pilot was the first combat flight simulation from the British developer Digital Integration. The game earned the distinction of being the first attempt at simulating the undoubtedly complex F-15 Eagle interceptor. Not a very impressive attempt by today’s standards, but in 1983 the coding was fairly complex and the result quite respectable. There were a number of successive versions created for several platforms over a period of a few years, which makes it harder to determine the release date of the original, but it was probably in 1983. - MiGMan thanks Marc Pajak for the overview.
  • tagMilitary
Fighter Wing
  • Fighter Wing
  • date_range 1994
  • precision_manufacturing Gemsoft   Merit  
  • content_pasteOne of the very first Russian authored sims to reach the western market. The sim had good scenarios, a variety of aircraft and was oriented towards multiplayer. The graphics requirements proved too much for my hardware (this was pre 3DFX) and my copy ended life as a hangar queen.
  • tagMilitary
Fighters Anthology
  • Fighters Anthology
  • date_range 1998
  • precision_manufacturing Electronic Arts  
  • content_pasteFighters Anthology brought the DOS sims US Navy Fighters, Marine Fighters, Advanced Tactical Fighters, NATO Fighters and the Windows sim USNF '97 into one collection under Windows. It gave you over 100 different aircraft types to fly! It was the culmination of an ambitious series which bought hours of fun to flight sim fans the world over. A great introductory sim series. It was extremely ambitious in scope and I for one spent many hundreds of hours in the virtual skies of this series. The method of presenting flight information in user defined windows still hasn't been improved on 10 years since the series started. The reference CD is worth the price alone.
  • tagMilitaryCarrierNATO
Final Flight
  • Final Flight
  • date_range 1983
  • content_paste" This is a real-time flight and landing simulator for a small plane similar to a Cessna. You're approaching the air strip, and must use your instruments and the view from your cockpit to land safely. You control pitch (angle with the ground), yaw (angle about the plane's vertical axis), and power with your joystick. You may choose flying conditions and decide whether or not to use your instruments. Overall, this is an excellent and convincing simulation." - courtes of Digital Antic Project .
  • tagMilitary
Fleet Command
Fleet Defender
  • Fleet Defender
  • date_range 1994
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteFleet Defender, released in 1994 by Microprose, was the most thorough treatment of Carrier Fleet Defense ever seen to that date on a personal computer. The graphics were VGA 320 x 200 and based on the F15 Strike Eagle III graphics engine. This sim gets about as much detail as it's possible to get out of VGA.
  • tagMilitaryCarrierNATO
Flight Commander 2
  • Flight Commander 2
  • date_range
  • content_pasteFlight Commander 2 (FC2) is not really a flight simulator at all ... but rather a turn-based, tactical, jet-age air combat war game. So what is FC2 doing in the Flight Sim Museum? It's here because it shares many of the elements of combat flight simulators, and appeals to many of the same people who enjoy flight sims.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War II
Flight Gear
  • Flight Gear
  • date_range
  • content_paste"The FlightGear Flight Simulator project is a free, open-source, multi-platform, cooperative flight sim development project. Source code for the entire project is available and licensed under the GNU General Public License. The FlightGear project is working to create a sophisticated flight simulator framework for the development and pursuit of interesting flight simulator ideas. We are developing a solid, basic sim that can be expanded and improved upon by anyone interested in contributing. "
  • tagMilitary
Flight of the Intruder
  • Flight of the Intruder
  • date_range 1990
  • precision_manufacturing Spectrum Holobyte   Rowan  
  • content_pasteFlight of the Intruder, released in 1991, is one of the classic combat flight sims of all time! It was developed by two teams, one in the USA and one in the UK. Flyable aircraft were the A-6 Intruder, F-4 Phantom, MiG-21 - this was the first time I got to fly a MiG-21! I remember flying head-to-head against my brother - he in the F-4 Phantom and myself in the MiG-21. Somehow he could always tell which aircraft was piloted by me despite my best efforts to send in the drones first! Until Falcon 3.0 was released, Flight of the Intruder led the pack in features. I remember getting FOTI for the Atari ST, sometime after I came across Falcon, and being amazed at the depth of the simulation, especially the mission planning options.
  • tagMilitaryCarrierExternal ViewsCold War
Flying Tigers: Shadows Over China
FreeFalcon
Front Line Fighters
  • Front Line Fighters
  • date_range 1998
  • content_pasteCollection containing four titles by Digital Integration: F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-16 Fighting Falcon Afghanistan Campaign, Hind, Apache Longbow.
  • tagMilitaryCollection
Gunship
  • Gunship
  • date_range 1987
  • content_pasteIn Gunship there were no external views available, just a cockpit with a bedazzling array of engine sensors and weapons displays. Engine start left, Engine start right then drop the clutch to start the rotors spinning. Collective up and the rotor blades bite savagely into the air. With a leap and whoops, you're airborne! 1987 had never been more exciting!
  • tagMilitaryRotary WingNATO
Gunship (pub 2000)
Gunship 2000
  • Gunship 2000
  • date_range 1991
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteGunship 2000 was an Apache Gunship sim released in 1991 by Microprose. As usual with their products, a strong sense of atmosphere was maintained by seamless menu screens and music. You could also fly the A H-1 Cobra, OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, MD 530MG, UH-60 Blackhawk, RAH-66 Comanche and AH-64B Apache Longbow. 1998: "If you only have a 386 and want some exciting chopper action then get this!"
  • tagMilitaryRotary WingNATO
Harrier Jump Jet
  • Harrier Jump Jet
  • date_range 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_paste"You'll never get closer to the real thing. Your only other option would be to join the Air Force". So sayeth the box blurb from Microprose's 1992 Harrier Jump Jet sim. In the early 90's PC's had finally come into their own as games machines, with Sound Cards and powerful CPU's of the 386 variety! Harrier Jump Jet pushed the machines of the day with it's smooth rolling terrain. Those were the days! A 270 page manual printed on glossy stock and well bound in a size ideal for throne room reading. As well as heaps of tables detailing air-to-ground weapon effectiveness there was diagram after diagram on air combat manoeuvres. Not to mention the 3 full - colour maps!
  • tagMilitaryNATOS/VTOL
Harrier Jump Jet (pub 2002)
  • Harrier Jump Jet (pub 2002)
  • date_range 2002
  • precision_manufacturing Just Flight  
  • content_pasteHarrier Jump Jet 2002 adds 20 aircraft including Harriers, Skyhawks, Mirage and Pucara to Microsoft Combat and Civil flight sims. It also contains a 20 mission campaign for Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 1 and 2. The lack of 3 essential elements in the Harrier dogfight - VIFFING, IR and Radar guided missiles and appropriate countermeasures makes you wonder why bother trying to recreate this scenario? Having said that, I nonetheless had a lot of fun with this package. This sxhibit serves as a good snapshot of the state of graphics in 2001 within the world of Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.
  • tagMilitaryAdd-onS/VTOL
HAWX
Helicopter Simulator
Hind
Historical Landings
Homeworld
iF-16
iF-22
iF/A-18E Carrier Strike Fighter
IL-2
IL-2 Eastern Thunder
IL-2 Forgotten Battles
  • IL-2 Forgotten Battles
  • date_range 2003
  • precision_manufacturing 1C Maddox  
  • content_pasteThe sensation of speed at low level is the best yet in a flight sim. I enjoyed whizzing past excellent ground textures, individual trees, small stands of trees and whole forests of trees, vast cities (Moscow alone has 500,000 buildings in the sim), flying through clouds, fog, rain and snow, and all with a smooth frame rated with no s-s-stuttering at all on the test system. All this would be an impressive achievement for a civil flight sim, to create a world in such detail and still enjoy a sedate and fluid sensation of flight. But IL-2 is a combat sim and once you add multiple aircraft manoeuvering vigorously, tanks, trucks and ships, bombers, anti-aircraft fire you would expect the sim performance to take a severe hit. Not so. Without a doubt the most outstanding World War 2 flight sim of the 2000's.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War IIEuropean Theatre WWIIMultiplayer
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946: Battlefield Airborne Tactical
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946: Rebirth of Honor
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946: The Fires Above
IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946: Wings over Citadel
IL-2 Sturmovik: Battle of Stalingrad
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover BLITZ
IL-2 Sturmovik: Wings over Jungles
  • IL-2 Sturmovik: Wings over Jungles
  • date_range 2008
  • home IL-2  
  • precision_manufacturing PlusWave Expansions  
  • content_pasteWings over Jungles is a campaign pack containing four separate campaigns for the flight simulator PACIFIC FIGHTERS (PF). 1. ’Monkey’ (US3) where you take the role of a WWII US Navy Fighter pilot flying from aircraft carriers. 2: ’Angel’ (US4) in which you are flying for the US Marine Corps as a dive bomber and later as a fighter pilot. 3: ’Kyuden’ (IJ3) which lets you fly as a Japanese Navy fighter pilot from aircraft carriers. 4: 'Katana’ (IJ4) which leads you as a Japanese Navy fighter pilot to various assignments.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War IIMultiplayer
IL-2 Sturmovik: Wings over Waves
  • IL-2 Sturmovik: Wings over Waves
  • date_range 2008
  • home IL-2  
  • precision_manufacturing PlusWave Expansions  
  • content_paste" Wings over Waves (WOW) is the first of a series of campaign addons for the flight simulator PACIFIC FIGHTERS (Version 3.0+) (PF). It will also be playable under IL-2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles + Ace Expansion Pack + Pacific Fighters merged install. (Version 2.0+) (FB+AEP+PF) and under IL-2 Sturmovik: 1946."
  • tagMilitaryWorld War IIMultiplayer
Incoming
Intercepteur Cobalt
Interdictor
  • Interdictor
  • date_range 1989
  • precision_manufacturing Simis  
  • content_paste"Interdictor marked the studios first release in 1989 and is credited as the first flight simulator to be released for the Acorn Archimedes. Interdictor put you at the controls of a fighter plane heading towards enemy lines, your mission was to push the enemy away from their location by taking over its airfields one by one and eventually destroying their headquarters. Beyond rewarding the player for their mastery of the flight controls, strategic elements were included involving details like demolishing bridges to prevent supply trucks from crossing and keeping an eye out for ships moving up-river with supplies to repair them. The depth of the game was unparalleled at the time and was critically acclaimed for being ‘as near to the real thing as you could get’. British publication The Micro User stated ‘The realism is stunning’." - from guildford.games/developers/simis
  • tagMilitary
Interdictor 2
  • Interdictor 2
  • date_range 1990
  • precision_manufacturing Simis  
  • content_paste"... one of the first flight simulators to ever feature 3D terrain, utilising the powerful new ARM processors of the day. Interdictor 2 was built with a complete set of proprietary object and world building tools, which later went on to find a life of their own as Flight Sim Toolkit.’" - from guildford.games/developers/simis
  • tagMilitary
Israeli Air Force
Jagdverband 44: Screaming Eagles
  • Jagdverband 44: Screaming Eagles
  • date_range 1999
  • precision_manufacturing Hammer Technologies   Blackstar Interactive  
  • content_paste"It is hard for me to be as negative as I'm being with the (to my knowledge) only flight sim made in Spain, but the love for air combat and good gameplay prevails over patriotic feelings. Let's say J44SE is a good idea badly done, that died of sheer ambition: its 3D engine would work well for sports or racing games, but it's not suitable for an 'serious' flight sim." - Francisco J. Campos
  • tagMilitaryWorld War II
Janes Advanced Strike Fighters
  • Janes Advanced Strike Fighters
  • date_range 2011
  • precision_manufacturing Trickstar Games   Maximum Games   Deep Silver  
  • content_pasteIf EA/Janes had literally rebooted the mission content of their own US Navy Fighters sims into this game engine they would have had a blockbuster. Instead we are left with arcade style scenarios with swarms of enemies and unlimited fictitious weapons. What a missed opportunity. The PC sim crowd expects more, especially from a sim with the Janes name attached. Undoubtably a good contender in the console arena, but I found it a disappointing end to the Janes Combat Simulations legacy.
  • tagMilitary
Janes Attack Squadron
Jet
  • Jet
  • date_range 1985
  • precision_manufacturing SuBLogic  
  • content_pasteMichael Woodley developed the scenery for Flight Simulator II. He recalls: "The game 'Jet' was developed by Charles Guy using Bruce Artwick's technology. He adapted it for the IBM-PC. I don't recall any version of it for any other platform but that was years ago so it may have slipped my memory. It had the interesting feature of being able to run Scenery Disks developed for Flight Simulator." My readers found several cross-platform editions, check out the exhibit for more info.
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
Jet-Pilot
  • Jet-Pilot
  • date_range 1996
  • precision_manufacturing Vulcan Software  
  • content_paste"As far as I know, this was the only computer simulation based on the Lightning aircraft. Had it been fully developed much earlier, it might have been a useful training aid for the RAF. It could have helped ground radar operators and controllers appreciate the pilots problems, etc." Jet Pilot was a high fidelity air combat sim developed and published in 1996 by Vulcan Software for the Commodore Amiga platforms.
  • tagMilitaryCold War
Jetfighter Full Burn
  • Jetfighter Full Burn
  • date_range 1997
  • precision_manufacturing Mission Studios   RD Technologies  
  • content_pasteJetfighter FullBurn was a standalone expansion of Jetfighter III. It had Russian and U.N. Forces, and you could fly for either side. It continued the Jefighter tradition of fast and furious action within a storyline. Four CD's with lots of full-motion video in the campaigns added to the atmosphere and sense of a storyline. Campaigns were set in the Nordic states and the terrain corresponded impressively closely to real-life operational navigation charts (ONC). Verdict: very atmospheric and a lot of fun.
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
Jetfighter II
Jetfighter II: Advanced Mission Disk: Operation Lightning Storm
Jetfighter III
JetFighter IV: Fortress America
JetFighter V
  • JetFighter V
  • date_range 2003
  • precision_manufacturing Mission Studios   Interactive Vision  
  • content_pasteJetFighter V was released in 2003 under the title of "Jetfighter". It is a stunning looking sim which still serves the purpose of providing an action arena for neophytes to the genre, but old hands will be frustrated by the lack of controls and options.Unfortunately the Jetfighter dynasty seems to end not with a bang but a whimper. It's as if there were two design teams - one who set out to make a fully functioning virtual cockpit and one who vetoed the implementation - the whole sim is like that. Heaps of potential but nothing much is finished.
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
JetFighter: The Adventure
Joint Strike Fighter
Jump Jet
Jet Warrior Vietnam
  • Jet Warrior Vietnam
  • date_range 1998
  • precision_manufacturing Kesmai  
  • content_paste"September 8, 1998. KESMAI'S JET WARRIOR - VIETNAM, the latest installment in the legendary Air Warrior flight simulator series will recreate the aircraft and campaigns of the Vietnam Conflict."
  • tagMilitary
Ka-50 Hokum
Ka-52 Team Alligator
  • Ka-52 Team Alligator
  • date_range 1999
  • precision_manufacturing Simis   GT Interactive  
  • content_pasteSporting what was probably the most detailed low level environment ever seen in a flight sim, the sim looks fantastic and should have been a flagship product for the publisher. Sadly it was released without fanfare and at a budget price in April 2000. Unfortunately an early build of the code appears to be the one shipped to consumers.
  • tagMilitaryRotary Wing
Korean War
Korean Combat Pilot
Lago F-16
LHX Attack Chopper
  • LHX Attack Chopper
  • date_range 1990
  • precision_manufacturing Electronic Arts  
  • content_pasteThe cockpit is simple looking now, but in 1990 it was state of the art! You could configure the MFD's to your taste as well. You could fly the Apache, Blackhawk, Osprey or the LHX. The Boeing Osprey VTOL which was featured in the novel "Hammerheads" by Dale Brown . This was the only simulation of the Osprey until the year 2000.
  • tagMilitaryRotary Wing
Lock On: Modern Air Combat
Longbow
Longbow 2
Longbow Anthology
Longbow Gold
MACE
  • MACE
  • date_range
  • content_pasteMACE(Modern Air Combat Environment)is a physics-based, full spectrum Computer Generated/Semi-Automated Forces (CGF/SAF) application with a large and user-extensible order of battle, capable of many-on-many simulation yet having very high fidelity at the engagement level.
  • tagMilitary
Marina Militare
Marine Fighters
  • Marine Fighters
  • date_range
  • content_pasteMarine Fighters was an add-on pack to US Navy Fighters. It added 4 new player aircraft and a campaign set in the Kurile Islands. Marine Fighters was an add-on pack to US Navy Fighters. It added 4 new player aircraft and a campaign set in the Kurile Islands.
  • tagMilitaryNATO
Mech Commander
  • Mech Commander
  • date_range 1998
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_pasteBased on the popular Sci Fi mech warrior board game franchise this first foray into PC games was a challenging RTS style implementation.
  • tagMilitary
Megafortress
Megafortress
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator
  • Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator
  • date_range 1998
  • precision_manufacturing Microsoft  
  • content_paste"Microsoft's first foray into combat flight sims is a class act. This sim combines the famous attention to detail seen in Microsoft Flight Simulator 98 with photo-realistic scenery generation and challenging missions. The missions are full of action and the photo-realistic scenery adds to the adrenaline rush whether you're in a dogfight at 5,000 feet or strafing a train at 50 feet! By designing an open architecture sim Microsoft have encouraged 3rd party developers and there are already custom aircraft and missions proliferating on the net.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War IIEuropean Theatre WWII
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2
Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
  • Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3
  • date_range 2002
  • precision_manufacturing Microsoft  
  • content_pasteThe third in the series from Microsoft, the sim raised the bar again with a detailed and fast low altitude environment suitable for ground attack missions, and a dynamic campaign. On September 18th 2002 I interviewed Scott Lee, product manager from Microsoft's Aces Studio, and checked out the beta version of Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 3.
  • tagMilitaryWorld War IIDynamic Campaign
MiG Alley
  • MiG Alley
  • date_range 1999
  • precision_manufacturing Rowan  
  • content_pasteMiG Alley is a simulation of Air Combat operation in the Korean War June 1950 to January 1951. MiG Alley achieved very close to a perfect blend of action and graphical realism as a simulation of the air war in the Korean conflict. In November 2001 Rowan released the source code, so expect the sim to keep developing in the hands of dedicated fans.
  • tagMilitary
MiG-29 Fulcrum (Domark)
  • MiG-29 Fulcrum (Domark)
  • date_range 1990
  • content_pasteIn 1990 the MiG-29 had only just been revealed to the west at the Farnborough Airshow. It seemed to be a sexy mystery machine which could perform spectacular manoeuvers such as the "tailslide" and "cobra". Despite only having 6 missions, this sim bought countless hours of fun to flight sim fans on multiple platforms.
  • tagMilitary
MiG-29: Deadly Adversary of Falcon 3.0
Mini Jetfight
Nightflite
Nuclear Strike
Over G Fighters
PBY-5 Catalina
Pearl Harbor (2001)
  • Pearl Harbor (2001)
  • date_range 2001
  • content_pasteExpansion for Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2 that recreates the events and atmosphere at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.
  • tagMilitaryAdd-on
Project Wingman
  • Project Wingman
  • date_range 2020
  • precision_manufacturing Humble Games   Sector D2  
  • content_pasteAn action-sim-lite which satisfies the need to turn and burn!
    Just don't expect to land... or take off. But that's par for the course with this genre. HOTAS are easy to configure, this should be a role model to other developers in the combat-sim-light space. If TrackIR was supported natively it would be perfect in that regard. Project Wingman does what it sets out to do, providing a console oriented shooter with heaps of eye candy and a massive quantity of ordnance!
  • tagMilitary
PSION
  • PSION
  • date_range
  • content_paste"This is where it all started, looking at three dials and flying at night on a crummy TV !!!"
  • tagMilitary
Red Baron (1992)
Red Baron 3D
Red Baron Mission Builder
Red Jets
Rise of Flight United
Royal Air Force 2000
Sabre Ace
Skychase
Skyfox (1985)
Snowstrike
Stealth Mission
Strike Commander
  • Strike Commander
  • date_range
  • content_pasteStrike Commander was a revolutionary flight sim and one of the all-time best selling. The strong story line and role-playing elements meant that it's appeal extended far beyond that market segment whose main interest lay in the simulation aspects.
  • tagMilitary
Strike Fighters 2
Strike Fighters 2: Complete Edition
Strike Fighters 2: Europe
Strike Fighters 2: Expansion Pack 1
Strike Fighters 2: Expansion Pack 2
Strike Fighters 2: Israel
Strike Fighters 2: North Atlantic
  • Strike Fighters 2: North Atlantic
  • date_range
  • precision_manufacturing Third Wire  
  • content_paste"1979 hypothetical "Cold War gone Hot" scenario - what if the Soviet Union had decided to invade West Germany in 1979? Join the US Navy and USS Nimitz Carrier Battle Group sent to reinforce the Iceland defense, protect the carrier from Soviet long-range bombers, and strike the Kiev battle group of the Soviet Northern Fleet!"
  • tagMilitaryCold War
Strike Fighters 2: Vietnam
Strike Fighters Gold
Strike Fighters Project 1
  • Strike Fighters Project 1
  • date_range 2001
  • precision_manufacturing Third Wire  
  • content_pasteThird Wire Productions was formed by ex EA/Janes and Microprose programmer Tsuyoshi Kawahito. Their first sim was called 'Project 1' and focussed on the "classic" jets of the 1950's and '60's. After signing with a publisher in 2002 the sim was renamed to 'Strike Fighters Project 1'.
  • tagMilitary
Su-25 Sturmovik
Su-27 Flanker
  • Su-27 Flanker
  • date_range 1995
  • Strategic Simulations Inc.  
  • content_pasteSu-27 Flanker was designed by a team of Russian programmers to run on 386 and low end 486 machines. The project was taken on by SSI and revised to SVGA graphics resolution. The Russian designers didn't have access to the faster PC's, and as a result their code was very efficient and it ran very smoothly despite being state of the art! The sim recreates the Crimean peninsula in great detail and pits you, in the Su-27 Flanker, against the latest Russian and NATO aircraft, armour, ships and SAMs. All control surfaces move during flight and the attention to detail is extraordinary!
  • tagMilitary
Su-35
Super Air Combat
SVGA Harrier
  • SVGA Harrier
  • date_range 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Domark  
  • content_pasteThis was the first SVGA sim, which meant that instead of VGA graphics of 320 x 200 pixels, we now had 640 x 400. The visuals were similar to what we had previously only seen in military simulators and were rendered in a beautiful set of pastel colours. SVGA Harrier had immense replay value as the campaign never played the same twice, and it was entirely up to you as to how you won the ground war. Or didn't. SVGA Harrier had immense replay value as the campaign never played the same twice, and it was entirely up to you as to how you won the ground war. Or didn't. This was the first sim I connected to MiGMan's home-built cockpit, and I spend night after night flying it, in the dark and with a flight suit, helmet and nomex gloves!
  • tagMilitaryS/VTOLDynamic Campaign
Team Apache
  • Team Apache
  • date_range 1998
  • content_pasteTeam Apache was a fun chopper sim which gave a real adrenaline rush as you flew nap-of-the-earth, (hopefully) avoiding enemy fire and pounding enemy locations with rockets. It was one of the earliest 3DFX sims and looked gorgeous. Brian Walker, a US Army helicopter pilot, was involved with the development.
  • tagMilitaryRotary Wing
TFX
  • TFX
  • date_range 1993
  • precision_manufacturing Ocean  
  • content_pasteTFX is an acronym for 'Tactical Fighter Experimental'. When you look at the graphics available in the other early combat flight sims it is easy to see why TFX caused so much excitement on it's release. The flight model could be adjusted from 'arcade' to 'military' and play modes ranged from arcade levels to the "UN Commander" mode. As UN Commander you planned missions, selected the aircraft and flew the Eurofighter, F22 or F117 Stealth Fighter.The later versions run straight from CD Rom and in a DOS box under Windows '98. It will run very smoothly on a '486 and is strongly recommended for beginners.
  • tagMilitary
Thunder Wolves
Thunderhawk
  • Thunderhawk
  • date_range 1991
  • content_pasteA good representative of the state of DOS, AMIGA and ATARI flight sims at the beginning of the 1990’s.
  • tagMilitaryRotary Wing
Time Gate
TLK-39
Tomahawk
Top Gun
Top Gun: Fire at Will
  • Top Gun: Fire at Will
  • date_range
  • content_pasteTop Gun: Fire at Will was a light sim based on the movie starring Tom Cruise. It was originally released in 1995 then again in the Microprose "Powerplus" series in 1998. The sim introduces the player to basic concepts of Air Combat with plenty of commentary and advice coming from your back-seater and instructors.
  • tagMilitaryCarrier
Top Style
Tornado
  • Tornado
  • date_range 1993
  • precision_manufacturing Digital Integration  
  • content_pasteOne of the all-time classic flight sims. The training missions covered every aspect of operating the Tornado and you were wise to work your way through them... this sim gave you more opportunities to "buy the farm" than most! Player aircraft were Tornado IDS (Interdiction/Strike) and Tornado ADV (Air Defense Variant).
  • tagMilitary
Ultra Fighters
US Navy Fighters
  • US Navy Fighters
  • date_range 1993
  • precision_manufacturing Janes Combat Simulations   Electronic Arts  
  • content_pasteThis sim was the successor to the wildly popular Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat and started a series that ran to the end of the 1990’s.

    Get an overview of the series in the Fighters Anthology exhibit. The combat focussed gameplay was enhanced by the atmospheric and user friendly interface. The ability to tweak most aspects of the sim from the graphics to mission waypoints and loadouts made you feel in control without overwhelming you with detail.

    It still remains a model of good interface design. The first mission of the Ukraine campaign remains for many fans a reminder of just how atmospheric a sim can be. Check out the videos, showing the entire first mission from briefings, through mission planning, arming, carrier takeoff in the F-14, intercept and carrier landing.

  • tagMilitaryCarrier
US Navy Fighters Gold
USAF
  • USAF
  • date_range 1999
  • precision_manufacturing Pixel   Electronic Arts  
  • content_pasteThe sequel to Israeli Air Force and another popular sim from Janes Combat Simulations.
  • tagMilitary
Vector Thrust
Vertical Strike Endless Challenge
War Thunder
  • War Thunder
  • date_range
  • precision_manufacturing Gaijin  
  • content_paste"War Thunder is the most comprehensive free-to-play, cross-platform, MMO military game dedicated to aviation, armoured vehicles, from the early 20th century to the most advanced modern combat units. " - Steam
  • tagMilitary
Wargasm
Wings
Wings of Heroes
Wings of Prey: Special Edition
Wings with Wires
WWII Fighters
XFS
Yager