Wings Over Europe

Wings Over Europe is a PC game (Combat / Flight Simulator) set during the Cold War era where the USSR has attacked NATO forces in West Germany and thus turned it into a ‘hot war’. The US release of the game is called Wings Over Europe: Cold War Gone Hot, however, the tag line is changed to Wings Over Europe: Soviet Invasion for the European market. The time period covered is 1962 to 1984.

The game includes a wide variety of real jets and weapons from the era which can be employed in various mission types such as Combat Air Patrol, Interception, Close Air Support, Iron Hand, Wild Weasel, and Reconnaissance. The game is based on the Strike Fighters: Project 1 engine and was developed by Third Wire Productions.

In 2009, an updated version for the Windows Vista platform called Strike Fighters 2 Europe was released. The original game, however, is still compatible with Vista and Windows 7.

Background
Wings Over Europe was released in 2006 and was the fourth in a series of "Lite" Flight Simulators. The term "Lite" was applied because they are designed to be relatively easy to learn and play compared to other more hardcore types of flight simulator.

The developer took and improved on its existing Strike Fighters game engine and thus the game was another step forward in terms of quality and game play. The game included better graphics, more planes, improved campaigns, and simulated clouds.

Game Play
Despite the "Lite" tag, a fair amount of realism has been built in; 60s-style bombsights are simulated for the pre 1970’s aircraft rather than modern computer-aided aiming reticules. Dive bombing and level bombing techniques have to be worked out by the game player if they are to have success at completing missions. Aircraft that come into service after 1970 have advanced Head Up Displays that allow the player to aim bombs with more accuracy than manual dive bombing techniques. Laser Guided bombs such as the GBU-12 Paveway are included; so are the A and B versions of the AGM-65 Maverick, allowing much easier ground target destruction for the late 1970s aircraft.

US Air to Air missiles in the game consist of versions of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow, and AIM-4 Falcon which are simulated to be as unreliable as the real missiles were. So regardless of having a "good lock on the target" there is a good chance the missile will miss. Missiles from 1978 onwards such as the AIM-9L version of the Sidewinder are much improved and more likely to score a hit. Dogfights are usually close in affairs regardless of the time period, however as the Missiles get better over time, longer range kills can be achieved.

The map of Germany has been scaled down slightly so that there is less time spent flying to a target, and also because air-to-air refuelling is not included in the game. The lack of water on the map has meant that aircraft carrier operations have not been included this time.

During a mission the player will fly in a flight of aircraft in which the computer-controlled planes keep in formation as you fly to a target. This flight can be issued commands; attack other aircraft or ground targets, fly home if they are damaged, or jettison their drop tanks. As you fly many other computer-controlled aircraft will be up in the air and can be viewed as they engage in dogfights or bomb targets.

Flying over Soviet held East Germany the player's aircraft will be met with a high level of radar guided Surface to Air Missiles (SAMS), and a variety of lethal Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA). The main SAMs are the soviet SA-2 and SA-6, of which early and later versions are included in the game increasing lethality accordingly.

The player can select a fictitious campaign from either Red Thunder (1962), Red Hammer (1968), or Red Lightning (1979); each being from a different time era with different aircraft and weapons forcing the player to employ different tactics in each.

Single Missions are also available, which can be customised to allow the player to practice with specific aircraft and weapons.

Open architecture
The game has been designed so that it can be changed by anyone with a passion to do so. This has spawned a large online community who not only play the game but go out of their way to improve the game as much as they can. Most modders works can be downloaded and used for free by any game player.

Mods include new vehicle models, flight physics and AI behaviour, campaigns, missions, sound and graphics media.

Featured aircraft
The standard game comes with the following flyable allied aircraft:
 * A-10 Thunderbolt II – A-10A version of the ‘Warthog’ for the USAF
 * Hawker Siddeley Harrier – AV-8A version for the USMC and GR.1 and GR.3 variants for the British RAF
 * Hawker Hunter - FGA.9 Version for the RAF.
 * F-100 Super Sabre - F-100D is included for the USAF and French Air Force.
 * F-105 Thunderchief - F-105D is included for the USAF.
 * F-4 Phantom II - The game includes the F-4C, F-4D and F-4E for the USAF, the F-4M for the RAF and F-4F for the German Luftwaffe.
 * F-15 Eagle – F-15A version for the USAF.

The following non-flyable allied aircraft:
 * B-52 Stratofortress - B-52D Version.
 * B-57 Canberra - B-57B Version.
 * Cessna L-19 - O-1E Bird Dog version.

The computer-controlled Soviet aircraft:
 * Ilyushin Il-28 - Beagle bomber version.
 * Tupolev Tu-16 - Badger A version.
 * Tupolev Tu-22 – Tu-22B (Blinder A) version.
 * Sukhoi Su-7 – Su-7BM (Fitter A) version.
 * An-12 – An-12BP (Cub A) version.
 * MiG-17 - MiG-17 (Fresco A) and F (Fresco C) variants.
 * MiG-19 - MiG-19S Farmer C version.
 * MiG-21 - MiG-21F (Fishbed C), MF (Fishbed J), PF (Fishbed D), PFM (Fishbed F) variants
 * MiG-23 - MiG-23M (Flogger B) version
 * MiG-27 - MiG-27 (Flogger D) version

NATO Fighters
In 2006 a team of modders created NATO Fighters 1 and 2 to enhance the stock campaigns by adding more aircraft and more ground objects. To date this is the largest and most organised free download for Wings Over Europe and comes complete in a single installer. NATO Fighters includes the SA-3 and SA-9 Soviet SAMs.

In 2009 NATO Fighters 3 was released followed by NATO Fighters 4 including SA-11 and SA-3 Soviet SAMs.

Extra aircraft with “NATO Fighters” 1, 2, 3, and 4 include:
 * Sepecat Jaguar – GR Mk1 for the RAF.
 * Panavia Tornado – GR-1A version for the RAF and IDS version for the West German Air Force.
 * Panavia Tornado ADV - F.3 version for the RAF
 * English Electric Lightning – F.6 version for the RAF.
 * Gloster Javelin - FAW.9 version for the RAF.
 * C-141 Starlifter - A Version for the USAF.
 * C-130 Hercules - A Version for the USAF.
 * E-3 Sentry - E-3A version for the USAF.
 * A-7 Corsair II - A-7D version for the USAF.
 * F-4 Phantom II - F-4G "Wild Weasel V" version for the USAF, RF-4C for the USAF and the Spanish Air Force
 * F-16 Fighting Falcon – F-16A Block 1, 10, and 15 versions for the USAF, Belgian, and RNLAF Air Forces).
 * F-84 Thunderstreak – F-84F version for the West German Luftwaffe, Belgian, and French Air Forces.
 * F-86 Sabre – Canadair Sabre Mk 6 RCAF and F-86K USAF versions.
 * F-101 Voodoo - F-101C and RF-101C versions for the USAF.
 * F-102 Delta Dagger - F-102A version for the USAF.
 * F-104 Starfighter – German F-104G version for the West German, RNLAF, Denmark, and RCAF.
 * F-111 Aardvark - F-111D and F-111F versions for the USAF.
 * EF-111 Raven - EF-111A version for the USAF.
 * F-117 Nighthawk - F-117A stealth bomber for the USAF.
 * CF-116 Freedom Fighter – CF-5A Version for the RCAF.
 * CF-18 Hornet - CF-18A for Canada.
 * Dassault Super Mystere - B2 version for the French Air Force.
 * Dassault Mirage 3 - Mirage 3C and 3E for the French Air Force.
 * Dassault Mirage 5 – 5BA version for the Belgian Air Force.
 * Fiat G.91 - G-91 R3 "Gina" for the West German Air Force
 * OV-10 Bronco – OV-10A version for the USAF.
 * MiG-25 Foxbat - MiG-25PD for the Soviet Air Force.
 * MiG-29 Fulcrum - MiG-29A (Fulcrum A) for Soviet and Warsaw Pact Air Forces.
 * MiG-31 Foxhound - MiG-31 for the Soviet Air Force.
 * Sukhoi Su-9 - SU-9B (Fishpot B) for the Soviet Air Force
 * Sukhoi Su-15 – Su-15A (Flagon A), and TM(Flagon F) variants for the Soviet Air Force.
 * Sukhoi Su-17 – Su-17M (Fitter C) version for the Soviet Air Force.
 * Sukhoi Su-27 - Su-27 Flanker for the Soviet Air Force
 * Yakovlev Yak-25 – Yak-25M (Flashlight) version for the Soviet Air Force.
 * Yakovlev Yak-28 – Yak-28B (Brewer C) version for the Soviet Air Force.

Operation Desert Storm (ODS)
From 2006 to 2009 a team of modders led by long time community member David Slavens created Operation Desert Storm based on the actual 1991 conflict between Iraq and an allied Coalition. This is another large and free download for Wings Over Europe and comes complete in an easy to use single installer. To complete a project of this size required many hundreds of hours of free time by the team.

Extra aircraft with ODS:
 * A-4 Skyhawk - A-4KU for the Kuwait Air Force.
 * A-6 Intruder - A-6E TRAM version for the US Navy.
 * A-7 Corsair II - A-7E version for the US Navy.
 * AV-8 Harrier II - AV-8B version for the US Marines.
 * B-52 Stratofortress - B-52G version for the USAF.
 * E-3 Sentry - E-3A version for the USAF.
 * E-8 Joint STARS - E-8C version for the USAF.
 * EF-111 Raven - EF-111A version for the USAF.
 * F-111 Aardvark - F-111E and F-111F versions for the USAF.
 * F-4 Phantom II - F-4G "Wild Weasel V" and RF-4C versions for the USAF
 * F-5 Tiger II - F-5E version for the Royal Saudi Air Force.
 * F-14 Tomcat - F-14A version for the US Navy.
 * F-15 Eagle – F-15C version for the USAF and Royal Saudi Air Force.
 * F-15E Strike Eagle - For the USAF.
 * F-16 Fighting Falcon – F-16A Block 10 and F-16C Block 30 versions for the USAF.
 * F/A-18 Hornet - FA-18A for the US Navy.
 * F-117 Nighthawk - F-117A stealth bomber for the USAF.
 * Sepecat Jaguar – GR MK3A for the RAF.
 * KC-10 Extender - KC-10A Tanker for the USAF.
 * A-10 Thunderbolt II – OA-10A version of the ‘Warthog’ for the USAF.
 * OV-10 Bronco – OV-10A and OV-10D versions for the USAF.
 * S-3B Viking - S-3B version for the US Navy.
 * Panavia Tornado – GR-1A version for the RAF and Royal Saudi Air Force.
 * Dassault Mirage F1 – F-1EQ version for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * Chengdu F-7 - F-7A for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * MiG-23 Flogger - MiG-23MLD (Flogger K) and MiG-23BN (Flogger F) version for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * MiG-25 Foxbat - MiG-25PD and MiG-25RB for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * MiG-29 Fulcrum - MiG-29A for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * Sukhoi Su-22 - Su-22M-4K (Fitter K) for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * Tupolev Tu-16 - Badger A version for the Iraqi Air Force.
 * Tupolev Tu-22 – Tu-22B (Blinder A) for the Iraqi Air Force.

The developer of the series
This series of games is designed by Tsuyoshi Kawahito (known as 'TK'), who was also involved in some of the 1990s best selling PC flight simulators, including European Air War (1998) by MicroProse and Longbow 2 (1997) by Jane's Combat Simulations.

Related games based on the Strike Fighters game engine

 * Strike Fighters: Project 1 (2002): The initial release centers on a fictional Middle Eastern scenario.
 * Strike Fighters: Gold (2004): An updated version of Project 1 released to the European market.
 * Wings Over Vietnam (2004): Set during the Vietnam war.
 * Wings Over Europe (2006): Set during a Cold War gone hot scenario.
 * First Eagles: The Great War 1918 (2006): Set in the World War I era.
 * First Eagles: Expansion Pack 1 (2007): Expansion pack for the First Eagles with new planes and campaigns.
 * Wings Over Israel (2008): (Also released as "Combat Over Israel") Covers the three historical Israel versus Arab conflicts 1967, 1973, and 1982.
 * First Eagles: Gold (2008): Includes the Original 'First Eagles' and Expansion Pack together.
 * Strike Fighters 2 (2008): A standalone update based on the original Strike Fighters: Project 1 to run on Windows Vista.
 * Strike Fighters 2:Vietnam (2009): A standalone update based on the original Wings Over Vietnam to run on Windows Vista.
 * Strike Fighters 2:Europe (2009): A standalone update based on the original Wings Over Europe to run on Windows Vista.