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Sea Vixen FAW.2: Breaking Convention
19 May 2021 Development

Briefly: A highly versatile early Cold War British naval jet fighter boasting impressive payload capacities.

Sea Vixen FAW.2, jet fighter, Britain, premium, rank V

Pros

  • Wide assortment of suspended ordnance
  • Good flight characteristics
  • Premium bonuses

Cons

  • No afterburner
  • Missing guns
  • Low airframe durability
History▼

Development of the Sea Vixen began in 1946 when de Havilland entered talks with the Admiralty on designing a future radar-equipped naval jet fighter with all-weather capability. Official requirements were drawn up in January 1947, by which time however de Havilland was already working on a design based on the preceding Vampire and Venom fighters designated DH 110.

Despite decreasing interest in the project by the late 1940’s, in September 1951, the first prototype conducted its maiden flight. However, only a year later, the same prototype crashed during an air show, thus further impeding the project’s progress. While the RAF abandoned the idea of purchasing the DH 110 by the mid 1950’s, the FAA gained a renewed interest in the aircraft and placed an order for 110 machines to be built in February 1955. Along with the order, the DH 110 received its official designation ‘Sea Vixen’.

As the Sea Vixen entered service with the FAA in 1959, de Havilland took note of the feedback gained from operational use of the aircraft and continued working on the Sea Vixen in an effort to improve its design. As a result, the Sea Vixen FAW.2 made its debut in 1962 which featured a number of improvements, of which one of the more notable ones was the ability to carry the Red Top air-to-air missiles. Over 140 Sea Vixens were built, most of which were converted over to the FAW.2 modification after its commissioning into service.

Although the British Sea Vixens never took part in any wars, they were still involved in a number of different combat operations primarily in Africa and the Middle East where they provided fire support for ground troops and flew patrols.

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In War Thunder, the Sea Vixen FAW.2 will be a new jet fighter awaiting pilots at rank V of the British aviation tree in the next major update. The Sea Vixen will be the first aircraft of its kind in the game to feature only guided weapons as its primary means of combating hostile aircraft. However, the Sea Vixen FAW.2 has a lot more to show and some of these things we’ll cover in today’s devblog, so let’s get started!

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The Sea Vixen FAW.2 is fitted with a pair of Rolls-Royce Avon Mk.208 turbojet engines which veteran British pilots may already be accustomed to from the well-known Hawker Hunter. Despite featuring no afterburner, resulting in slower acceleration than some other aircraft found at its rank, the Sea Vixen FAW.2 can still produce enough thrust to reach a respectable top speed of about 1,000 km/h at sea level while also managing to maintain a decent climb rate.

Fun Fact: The Sea Vixen was the first British production aircraft to completely omit conventional weapons and feature missile and rocket based armament exclusively.

As already mentioned, the Sea Vixen FAW.2 doesn’t feature any type of conventional primary weapon, such as machine guns or cannons, instead being equipped with missiles as its primary means of dealing with hostile air targets. While this certainly takes away some flexibility from pilots during engagements, it’s somewhat compensated by the fact that the Sea Vixen can carry up to four air-to-air missiles simultaneously in a more dogfight orientated loadout. On top of that, pilots will have the choice between the Firestreak and Red Top missiles, both of which are available out of the box thanks to the aircraft’s premium status.

Pilots aspiring to utilize the Sea Vixen FAW.2 in the close air support role also won’t be disappointed by the aircraft’s sizable array of ground strike orientated ordnance. In addition to bombs of weights up to 1,000 lbs, the Sea Vixen can also carry a pair of AGM-12B Bullpup missiles as well as SNEB or RP-3 unguided rockets.

The Sea Vixen FAW.2  will be available in the Premium section of the Royal Air Forces with the release of the next major update. In the meantime, be sure to stay tuned to the news as we continue unveiling more great new features awaiting you in the upcoming update. Until then, clear skies pilots!

The War Thunder Team

 
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