The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a carrier-based, multi-role/air-superiority fighter jet used exclusively by NATO's naval aviation wings in ArmA 3. It was added as part of the Jets DLC.
The F/A-181 Black Wasp II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft. The aircraft was designed primarily as an air superiority fighter, but also has ground attack capabilities. This aircraft is fitted with required equipment for carrier operations. Additional external hardpoints allow this aircraft to carry a large variety of weapons configurations.
This is a premium asset that requires ownership of the Jets DLC.
The Black Wasp is a twin-engined stealth fighter that uses a clipped delta wing design with a reverse sweep on the rear. It has both conventional and fully-stealthed variants; the latter can only store up to eight weapons internally and does not have any external hard points.
Armament
By default, the Black Wasp is armed with a 20 mm rotary cannon[CfgVh 4] that feeds from a 450-round belt[CfgVh 5] loaded with armour-piercing (AP) shells.[CfgAm 1][CfgAm 2] The Black Wasp's twelve pylons (eight for the stealth variant) all support dynamic loadouts:
The baseline minimally-stealthed Black Wasp with external hardpoints is equipped with:[CfgVh 6]
2× AMRAAM D medium-ranged, radar-guided air-to-air missiles
2× GBU-12 laser-guided bombs
Both variants of the Black Wasp also have targeting cameras with integrated laser designators that are located in the EOTS module just beneath the cockpit/nose.[CfgVh 8] The slaved laser designator[CfgVh 4] can be used to provide self-designation capability when used in conjunction with guided munitions like the GBU-12.
Landing on the flight deck of the USS Freedom. Note the barely retracted tailhook at the rear of the fuselage.
Features
Like the UCAV Sentinel, the Black Wasp has a retractable tailhook that can be lowered or raised to assist in performing carrier landings, and can have its wings folded to allow for easier storage and transportation aboard aircraft carriers.
Compared to the CSATTo-201, the Black Wasp is slightly better when it comes to avionics and Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air combat. The fully-stealthed Black Wasp can also carry one extra missile in its internal bay. The majority of these pylons, both on the baseline and stealthed variants, support long-range AAMs in addition to glide bombs in the form of SDBs.
The minimally-stealthed Black Wasp is also technically capable of carrying more weapons for close air support despite having fewer external pylons, as most of its air-to-ground munitions have an alternate double-racked variant (like Macer II AGMs).
Drawbacks
Its flight model is slightly more sluggish and is unable to match the To-201's agility in close-range dogfights. Arming the Black Wasp for CAS also means that most of its BVR advantages will have to be sacrificed, since it will need to utilise all of its (already limited) number of pylons for ground attack weapons instead of AAMs.
Last but not least, the dedicated stealthed variant is unable to carry anti-radiation missiles (as opposed to the To-201), which prevents it from being able to engage SAM batteries at stand-off distances like its CSAT counterpart.
Crew Capacity
The Black Wasp has a maximum seating capacity of one for just the pilot. It is unable to transport any additional passengers.
Minimal stealth variant. It has a total of twelve pylons (four external) that support dynamic loadouts. It is configured to use a multi-role loadout by default.
Dedicated stealth variant which cannot mount external munitions. It only has a total of eight internal pylons that support dynamic loadouts and is also configured to use a multi-role loadout by default.
Camouflage[]
Dark Grey
Dark Grey (Camo)
Dark Grey - Stealth
Dark Grey (Camo) - Stealth
1/4
Dark Grey: Pattern-less scheme that uses a dark ghost grey paint colour.
Dark Grey (Camo): Two-tone dark grey/ghost grey paint scheme designed for low observability.
Protection: Hitpoints[]
Both variants of the Black Wasp have base armour values of 60.[CfgVh 9][CfgVh 10]
LEGEND[SCR 2] Green = Hull Orange = Engines Violet = Fuel tanks Maroon = Instruments Gold = Control surfaces (ailerons) Yellow = Control surfaces (elevators) Dark blue = Control surfaces (rudders)
Note that the baseline minimal stealth and dedicated stealth variants share the exact same hitpoint layouts (with the exception of the wing pylons that are removed on the latter).
Hull[]
The Black Wasp's hull can withstand up to 210 points of damage.[CfgVh 11][Formula 1] The hull takes 300% additional damage from high-explosive (HE) type munitions.[CfgVh 12] Depletion of its integrity will always result in a total loss.[CfgVh 13]
Engines[]
Both of the Black Wasp's engines can take up to a maximum of 180 points of damage before they fail.[CfgVh 14][CfgVh 15][Formula 2] The engines take 450% additional damage from HE-type munitions.[CfgVh 16][CfgVh 17]
Up to 80% of incoming damage will be shared with the Black Wasp's main "health" pool.[CfgVh 18][CfgVh 19] If the jet is at full "health", it may be possible for the Black Wasp to survive the destruction of both engines. However, if the jet has been partially damaged or is already at critical "health" status, then the risk of the Black Wasp outright exploding is significantly increased upon the loss of both engines.
Instruments[]
The Black Wasp's flight instruments, Head Mounted Display (HMD) and Multi-Functional Displays (MFD) can take up to 90 points of damage before they fail.[CfgVh 20][Formula 3] All instruments take 400% increased damage from HE-type munitions.[CfgVh 21] At least 40% of incoming damage will be shared with the jet's main "health" pool.[CfgVh 22]
Fuel tanks[]
The Black Wasp's twin fuel tanks can withstand up to 240 points of damage before they rupture.[CfgVh 23][CfgVh 24][Formula 4] The fuel tanks take 500% additional damage from HE-type munitions.[CfgVh 25][CfgVh 26]
Up to 60% of incoming damage will be shared with the Black Wasp's main "health" pool.[CfgVh 27][CfgVh 28] Destruction of the fuel tanks has the potential to cause the jet to explode, though only if the Black Wasp is at or near critical "health" status.
Control surfaces[]
The Black Wasp's control surfaces consist of six components:
The Black Wasp's handling and agility will be impacted depending on the severity of the damage and number of components lost. If all components are destroyed, the jet will take a severe hit to its in-flight stability.
The Black Wasp is protected by two types of reinforced (and non-reinforced) metal armour plates:
Not including the fuselage underbelly, air intakes, internal weapons bay (excluding the bay doors), and engines, the rest of the Black Wasp's airframe is protected by composite metal plates that have a thickness of 30 millimetres.[rvmat 1][bisurf 1]
The engines, fuselage underbelly, air intakes, and the internal weapons bay (but not the bay doors) are protected by plain metal plates that have a thickness of 30 millimetres.[rvmat 2][bisurf 2]
The cockpit's canopy is protected by a pane of armoured glass that has a thickness of 30 millimetres.[rvmat 3][bisurf 3]
The canopy's glass is bullet-resistant and can block bullet projectiles fired by 6.5 mm/7.62 mm assault rifles. However, the glass is not sufficiently durable enough to block hits from 7.62 mm DMRs/LMGs or any other larger calibre bullet projectiles.
Stealth[]
Both variants of the Black Wasp retain electronic stealth capabilities against active radars, though they have no masking against infrared/visual-based sensors:
RCS[]
The standard Black Wasp with external wing pylons has a radar cross-section rating of 0.8 which lowers the maximum detection range of active radars by 20%.[CfgVh 41] On the other hand, the dedicated stealth variant has an RCS rating of 0.4 (a reduction of 60%).[CfgVh 42]
IR[]
Neither variant of the Black Wasp has stealth capabilities against infrared-based sensors.[CfgVh 43][CfgVh 44]
Visual[]
Both variants of the Black Wasp can be tracked at full range by visual-based sensors.[CfgVh 45][CfgVh 46]
Sensors[]
The Black Wasp has an array of sensors designed to allow it to operate effectively in both ground attack and air superiority roles:
The Black Wasp's Active Radar is forward-facing only. Targets will only become lockable once they get within the bounds of the sensor cone (represented by the teal cone on the SENSORS panel).[note 1]
Note that although ground targets at distances below 200 metres remain "invisible" to the radar due to terrain clutter[CfgVh 51], any targets that begin moving at speeds of ~ 100 km/h or greater will immediately become visible on the Black Wasp's radar.[CfgVh 107][Formula 9]
Anti-Radiation Sensor[]
The Black Wasp's Anti-Radiation Sensor is forward-facing only. Its elevation coverage is specifically three times the circumference compared to azimuth and is therefore optimised to detect ground targets.[note 1]
Infrared Sensor[]
The Black Wasp's IR Sensor is located in the EOTS module (represented by the orange circle on the SENSORS panel), though it is not limited by the targeting camera's facing direction.[CfgVh 108] Although it is technically affected by heavy fog, the range reduction effect is so miniscule (-0.125 metre reduction[CfgVh 68]) that it will be barely noticeable.[note 2]
Laser Sensor[]
The Black Wasp's Laser Sensor is forward-facing only. Any designated targets will become visible on the Black Wasp's SENSORS panel only when the jet is (mostly) facing in the direction of the laser spot.[note 1]
NV Sensor[]
The Black Wasp's NV Sensor is forward-facing only. Any IR grenades on the ground will only become visible on the SENSORS panel when the Black Wasp is (mostly) facing in the direction of the grenade.[note 1]
Passive Radar[]
The Black Wasp's Passive Radar can detect Active Radar threats in any direction (regardless of the jet's facing direction).[note 1]
Visual Sensor[]
The Black Wasp's Visual Sensor is located in the EOTS module (represented by the red cone on the SENSORS panel).[CfgVh 109] The Visual Sensor can be affected by heavy fog and can lose up to 6% of its range depending on its thickness.[CfgVh 101] The Visual Sensor becomes completely blind at nighttime and very low-light conditions.[CfgVh 102][note 2]
It should be noted that the Visual Sensor has an elevation offset of 1 degree.[CfgVh 110]
Armament[]
NOTE:Only the weapons used on the default loadout for the Black Wasp are listed here. For full details on ordnance that can be mounted on the Black Wasp, refer to the dynamic loadouts article.
20 mm rotary cannon. Fires armour-piercing (AP) shells.[CfgAm 1][CfgAm 2]
It can attain a fire rate of up to ~ 4,000 rounds per minute[CfgWp 1][Formula 11] and has a muzzle velocity of 1,036 m/s.[CfgMa 1] Accuracy-wise, it has a dispersion of 0.002 rad.[CfgWp 2] The shells have a spill radius of 0.4 metres[CfgAm 8] and can penetrate approximately ~ 52 millimetres of armour plating.[CfgAm 7][Formula 10]
Target Lead Indication is provided on the pilot's Heads Up Display (HUD). Landing hits can be accomplished by pointing the M61's crosshair directly onto the HUD's circle.
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Loadout presets[]
The baseline minimally-stealthed Black Wasp has access to four loadout presets while the dedicated stealth variant is restricted to only three presets:
With the exception of the lateral weapons bays, all other hardpoints (1, 2, 3, 4, C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6) are fitted with AMRAAM D medium-ranged, radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
Only the lateral bay hardpoints (L1, L2) are equipped with BIM-9X short-ranged, infrared-guided air-to-air missiles.
With the exception of the lateral weapons bays, all other hardpoints in the ventral weapons bays (C1, C2, C3, C4, C5, C6) are equipped with AMRAAM D medium-ranged, radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
Only the lateral bay hardpoints (L1, L2) are fitted with BIM-9X short-ranged, infrared-guided air-to-air missiles.
CAS[]
NOTE:This preset is not available on the dedicated stealth variant.
The outermost external hardpoints (1, 2) and outermost ventral weapons bay hardpoints (C1, C2) are equipped with AMRAAM D medium-ranged, radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
The lateral bay hardpoints (L1, L2) are fitted with BIM-9X short-ranged, infrared-guided air-to-air missiles.
The innermost external hardpoints (3, 4) and innermost ventral weapons bay hardpoints (C5, C6) are equipped with CBU-85 cluster bombs.
The outermost ventral weapons bay hardpoints (C1, C2) are equipped with AMRAAM D medium-ranged, radar-guided air-to-air missiles.
The lateral bay hardpoints (L1, L2) are fitted with BIM-9X short-ranged, infrared-guided air-to-air missiles.
The innermost ventral weapons bay hardpoints (C5, C6) are equipped with CBU-85 cluster bombs.
EOTS[]
The Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) module on both variants of the Black Wasp is located under the fuselage just below the cockpit/close to the nose. Only the Black Wasp's Visual sensor is specifically slaved to its camera.[CfgVh 109] For rotation limits, there is no restriction to azimuth but elevation is limited to an angle of 10 degrees[CfgVh 116] and a depression of up to 180 degrees.[CfgVh 117]
Its camera can switch between three fields-of-view: Wide (WFOV 0.4x)[CfgVh 118], Medium (MFOV 2.1x)[CfgVh 119], and Narrow (NFOV 6.2x)[CfgVh 120]. It can toggle between day, night or white-/black-hot thermal vision modes.[CfgVh 121][CfgVh 122] The EOTS module's camera is fully stabilised and can be locked onto either point or area targets.[CfgVh 123]
Avionics[]
MAWS[]
Black Wasps are fitted with Missile Approach Warning Systems. The pilot will always be alerted if there are missiles that have successfully locked on and are homing in towards the jet.[CfgVh 124][CfgVh 125]
RWR[]
Black Wasps have Radar Warning Receivers installed. The pilot will be alerted if they are being locked onto by a radar-based targeting system.[CfgVh 126][CfgVh 127]
IWR[]
Black Wasps do not have access to Infrared Warning Receivers. The pilot will not be alerted if there are infrared-based targeting systems that are attempting to lock onto it.[CfgVh 126][CfgVh 127]
LWR[]
Black Wasps lack Laser Warning Receivers. The pilot will not be alerted if laser-based targeting systems are attempting to lock onto the jet.[CfgVh 126][CfgVh 127]
AI[]
NOTE:The following information only applies to the AI.
The Black Wasp is not considered to be a threat[8] to AI-controlled infantry units (0.1).[CfgVh 130] Unless there are no other targets around, the Black Wasp will usually be ignored by AI-controlled infantry in favour of other targets.
AI-controlled ground vehicles consider the Black Wasp to be an extremely dangerous threat (1) and will prioritise attacking it if possible. Otherwise, they will attempt to flee if they lack the ability to engage the Black Wasp.[CfgVh 130]
Aircraft consider the Black Wasp to be a medium threat but will usually not prioritise attacking or fleeing from it unless there are no other targets in range (0.5).[CfgVh 130]
The Black Wasp has an audible[9] factor of 60.[CfgVh 131]
Achievements[]
Get Arrested
Land either variant of the Black Wasp on the USS Freedom aircraft carrier and lower the tail hook to catch on the flight deck's arrestor wires. It can be done either manually (not recommended) or with autopilot enabled.
Trivia[]
The Black Wasp is based on Boeing's "F/A-18E Super Hornet", but combines its fuselage with additional elements such as the wings, tail assembly, internal weapon bays and engines from Lockheed Martin's "F-22A Raptor".[10]
However, the instruments and layout of the cockpit[11] along with positioning of the EOTS module[12], is also similar to that of the "F-35C Lightning II".
Prior to Game Update 1.72, the Black Wasp was very fragile and could be critically damaged or outright destroyed by a single hit from almost every kind of medium/heavy anti-aircraft weapon. Its durability was subsequently improved after the patch's release so that it can no longer be instantly blown up by AA fire.[13]
The patch also disabled the ability to mount ordnance externally on the dedicated Stealth variant (dynamic loadouts were still available on the wing pylons).[13]
The Black Wasp's flight model was improved after the release of Game Update 1.76. Before the patch, the Black Wasp was susceptible to stalling at specific angles of attack and had stability issues even in level flight.[14]
Gallery[]
Cockpit view.
Promotional image released as part of the so-called "Legendary Assets" series.
↑ 1.01.11.21.31.4This sensor IS NOT affected by the player's View and Object Distance settings.
↑ 2.02.1This sensor IS affected by the player's View and Object Distance settings and may not function at its maximum range unless their graphics settings are set to an equal or higher distance. However, it should be noted that specifically in the case of aerial targets, Object Distance settings will not affect the sensor's detection range (only View Distance still matters).
↑Damage will be reduced if the projectile's velocity drops below this value.
NATO - Vehicles (ArmA 3)