F-22 Raptor – Fighter Jets, Aircraft Carrier & Enemy Air Combat

Build, arm and fly modern fighter jets in Minecraft. Fly the F-22 Raptor, F-14 Tomcat, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Super Hornet with a semi-realistic flight model and a full flight HUD. Launch from a deployable Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, then call in enemy Su-27 Flankers with a tactical radio and fight them in the sky.

Requires NeoForge for Minecraft 1.21.1. Install it on both the client and the server.

✈️ The Aircraft

Every aircraft has its own box model with animated control surfaces, landing gear and doors. They also have navigation lights, strobes, engine glow and a live multi-function display on the instrument panel.

🛫 Flight Model

The flight model is semi-realistic: about 60% aircraft and 40% Minecraft.

• Engine and fuel: throttle spools up and down gradually, and the afterburner burns fuel much faster. Engines flame out when the tanks run dry.
• Aerodynamics:
  • Speed is limited by drag.
  • Below stall speed the jet stalls and its nose drops.
  • Controls feel sluggish at low speed and crisp at high speed.
  • Hard turns bleed off energy.
• Mach 1: crossing it produces a sonic boom and a vapor cone.
• On the ground:
  • Nose-wheel steering and automatic brakes.
  • Landing gear adds drag.
  • A careless belly landing damages the airframe.
• Controls: the mouse moves a virtual stick. Keyboard keys control throttle, pitch and rudder.
• Cameras: cockpit, chase and far chase.
• Multiplayer: flight is simulated on the pilot's client for responsive controls. The server stays authoritative for fuel, damage and weapons, and preloads terrain along the flight path of fast jets.

🎯 Weapons & Countermeasures

• M61 Vulcan 20 mm cannon, with a continuous "BRRRT" sound, muzzle flash and explosive rounds.
• IR missiles (SRM): agile heat seekers.
• Radar missiles (MRM): long range and harder to decoy.
• Missile locking: the HUD shows a lock box, and the missile chases what you see locked.
• Radar Warning Receiver: a warning tone plus an on-screen alert with the clock position and range of an incoming missile.
• Flares: press X to fire a burst from the dispensers. Heat seekers are very likely to go after them; radar missiles sometimes are.
• Crashes: a destroyed aircraft blows up, and the explosion grows with its remaining fuel and ammunition. The wreck keeps burning and smoking.

🧑‍✈️ The Pilot

• G-forces matter. Pulling hard turns greys out your vision, then blacks it out. Push too far and you suffer G-LOC: you pass out for a few seconds and lose control of the aircraft.
• Anti-G suit (leggings): lets you withstand far more G without dizziness.
• Flight helmet with oxygen mask: adds more G tolerance and has night vision goggles.
• Zero-zero ejection seat: press V to blow the canopy and eject. A parachute opens automatically, and the seats must be replaced afterwards.
• Portable hangar: packs a parked aircraft into an item, keeping its fuel, damage and weapons.
• Maintenance kit: repairs airframe and engine damage.

⚓ Deployable Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier

Use the Deployable Aircraft Carrier while looking at open water. A 236-block replica of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), scaled to the aircraft, builds itself within a couple of seconds:

• Angled flight deck with foul lines, centerline and ramp markings.
• 4 steam catapults:
  1. Taxi slowly onto a track with the gear down; the launch bar hooks up and lines you up.
  2. Go to full power. The catapult fires and throws you off the bow.
  3. Jet blast deflectors rise behind the aircraft while it is hooked up.
• 4 arresting wires: lower the hook with H and trap on the angled deck.
• 4 working deck-edge elevators: they move aircraft, players and mobs between the flight deck and the hangar deck. Control stations are on the deck and inside the hangar.
• Fresnel lens optical landing system (IFLOLS): the "meatball" also appears on your HUD, with glide slope and line-up cues.
• Detailed island with the bridge, primary flight control, mast, radars and hull number 68.
• Ship details: hangar deck, stern ladders from the water, Phalanx CIWS and Sea Sparrow launchers.

Catapult tracks, arresting wires, deck blocks, deflectors, elevators and the landing lens are also available as blocks to build your own carriers and air bases.

📻 Tactical Radio & Enemy Fighters

Enemy fighters never spawn on their own. Place a Tactical Radio under open sky and switch it on to transmit on the guard frequency:

• Waves: about 20 seconds later AWACS reports inbound bandits, and a flight of Su-27 Flankers arrives from about 500 blocks away. Later flights grow from 2 up to 4 aircraft.
• Enemy pilots fly the same flight model as you. They:
  • dogfight aircraft in the area with guns and missiles;
  • fire flares and break hard when a missile tracks them;
  • make strafing runs on aircraft parked near the radio and on anyone standing next to it;
  • avoid terrain and go home when damaged, low on fuel or out of ammo.
• Data link: red diamonds on your HUD mark enemy aircraft far beyond normal view distance, with bearing, range and altitude.
• Kills: each kill is confirmed on the radio ("Splash!"), and shot-down Flankers drop salvage such as airframe panels, jet engines and avionics.
• Switching the radio off sends the enemy home.

🔊 Custom Sounds

All sounds are custom and procedurally synthesized, with no vanilla placeholders for the jets:

• Engine start, idle whine, military power roar and afterburner crackle.
• Wind, cannon bursts, missile launches and sonic booms.
• Catapult shots, arrested landings, the ship's horn and radio static.

🛠️ Getting Started

Three workshops craft everything. Each one shows a list of blueprints and crafts directly from your inventory.

1. Craft the workshops and refine some jet fuel.
2. Build the parts (engines, avionics, airframe panels, ejection seat), then assemble your aircraft.
3. Place it on the ground and right-click it to board. Press N to start the engine.
4. Throttle up with W. Rotate at takeoff speed with the mouse, then raise the gear with R.
5. Load fuel, ammunition, missiles and flares by right-clicking the parked jet with the item.

🎮 Controls (all rebindable)

⚙️ Configuration & Commands

• Server config: flight model, speeds, weapon damage and explosion radii, fuel capacity and consumption, whether wreck explosions break blocks, flight path chunk preloading and more.
• Client config: mouse sensitivity, pitch inversion, stick centering, HUD color, camera distances and shake, speed FOV effect, engine volume.
• Operator command: /f22raptor carrier <stern position> <north|south|east|west> deploys the carrier without the item. It still needs open water.

❓ FAQ

• Does it work in multiplayer? Yes. Install the mod on both the server and every client.
• Do enemy fighters stay in my world? No. They exist only while the radio's engagement lasts and are not saved when you leave the world.
• Can I get the enemies without a radio? No, they only come when you transmit.
• Which Minecraft versions are supported? 1.21.1 with NeoForge.