✈️ Alternate Art Expansion Deep Dive
- iadsthegame
- Jul 27
- 6 min read
The IADS: The Game Alternate Art Expansion Set is purely cosmetic, but it's essential for players who want to represent a wider range of international Orders of Battle. While the Base Game showcases the classic late-Cold War lineup (F-15, F-16, B-52, B-1, SA-5, SA-13, U-2), this expansion gives your decks a global flair with aircraft from around the world.
Here’s what’s included in the set — along with the Wikipedia summary of their role in modern air warfare:
🛫 Alternate Art Unit Cards
Description: The Chengdu J-20 (Chinese: 歼-20; pinyin: Jiān-Èrlíng), also known as Mighty Dragon (Chinese: 威龙; pinyin: Wēilóng, NATO reporting name: Fagin), is a twin-engine all-weather stealth fighter developed by China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The J-20 is designed as an air superiority fighter with precision strike capability. The aircraft has three notable variants: the initial production model, the revised airframe variant with new engines and thrust-vectoring control, and the aircraft-teaming capable twin-seat variant.
Description: The Sukhoi Su-57 (Russian: Сухой Су-57; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a twin-engine stealth multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (Russian: ПАК ФА, prospective aeronautical complex of front-line aviation) programme, which was initiated in 1999 as a more modern and affordable alternative to the MFI (Mikoyan Project 1.44/1.42). Sukhoi's internal designation for the aircraft is T-50. The Su-57 is the first aircraft in Russian military service designed with stealth technology and is intended to be the basis for a family of stealth combat aircraft.
Description: The Shenyang J-35 (Chinese: 歼-35; pinyin: jiān-sānwǔ) is a series of Chinese single-seater, twin-engine, all-weather, stealth multirole combat aircraft manufactured by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), designed for air superiority and surface strike missions. The aircraft has two variants, a land-based variant designed for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), and a carrier-based variant optimized for catapult-assisted takeoff (CATOBAR) for the People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF).
Description: The Sukhoi Su-35 (Russian: Сухой Су-35; NATO reporting name: Flanker-E/M, occasionally nicknamed "Super Flanker") is the designation for two improved derivatives of the Su-27 air-defence fighter. They are single-seat, twin-engine, supermaneuverable, 4.5 generation air superiority fighters, designed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by Sukhoi.
Description: The Boeing E-7 Wedgetail, also marketed as the Boeing 737 AEW&C, is a twin-engine airborne early warning and control aircraft based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation design. It has a fixed, active electronically scanned array radar antenna instead of a rotating one as with the 707-based Boeing E-3 Sentry. The E-7 was designed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under "Project Wedgetail" and designated E-7A Wedgetail.
Description: The Xi'an H-6 (Chinese: 轰-6; pinyin: Hōng-6) is a twin-engine jet bomber of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). The H-6 is a license-built version of the Soviet Tupolev Tu-16 and remains the primary bomber aircraft of the People's Republic of China.
Description: The Tupolev Tu-95 (Russian: Туполев Ту-95; NATO reporting name: "Bear") is a large, four-engine turboprop-powered strategic bomber and missile platform. First flown in 1952, the Tu-95 entered service with the Long-Range Aviation of the Soviet Air Forces in 1956 and was first used in combat in 2015. It is expected to serve the Russian Aerospace Forces until at least 2040.
Description: The Tupolev Tu-160 (Russian: Туполев Ту-160 «Белый лебедь», romanized: Bely Lebed, lit. 'White Swan'; NATO reporting name: Blackjack) is a supersonic, variable-sweep wing nuclear-capable heavy strategic bomber and airborne missile platform designed by the Tupolev Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s. The aircraft is large, rather longer than a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress at 54 m, with wingspan 56 m when spread, 36 m when swept back. The Tu-160 is operated by the Long Range Aviation branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Description: The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft introduced in 2001. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical (now part of Northrop Grumman), and known as Tier II+ during development. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas.
Description: The Dassault Mirage 2000 is a French multirole, single-engine, delta wing, fourth-generation jet fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. It was designed in the late 1970s as a lightweight fighter to replace the Mirage III for the French Air Force (Armée de l'air). The Mirage 2000 evolved into a multirole aircraft with several variants developed, with sales to a number of nations. It was later developed into the Mirage 2000N and 2000D strike variants, the improved Mirage 2000-5, and several export variants. Over 600 aircraft were built and it has been in service with nine nations.
Description: The Saab JAS 39 Gripen (IPA: [ˈɡrǐːpɛn] pronunciation; English: Griffin) is a light single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace and defense company Saab AB. The Gripen has a delta wing and canard configuration with relaxed stability design and fly-by-wire flight controls. Later aircraft are fully NATO interoperable. As of 2020, more than 271 Gripens of all models, A–F, have been delivered.
Description: The Dassault Rafale (French pronunciation: [ʁafal], literally meaning "gust of wind", or "burst of fire" in a more military sense) is a French twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft designed and built by Dassault Aviation. Equipped with a wide range of weapons, the Rafale is intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence missions. It is referred to as an "omnirole" aircraft by Dassault.
Description: The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (Chinese: 歼-10 猛龙; pinyin: Jiān-10 Měnglóng; NATO reporting name: Firebird) is a Chinese medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft using a delta wing and canard design, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.8. It is produced by the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (CAC) for the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and People's Liberation Army Naval Air Force (PLANAF) of China, and exported to the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). The J-10 is mainly designed for air-to-air combat, but can also perform strike missions.
Description: The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, supersonic, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo that conducts the majority of the project through a joint holding company, Eurofighter Jagdflugzeug GmbH. The NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency, representing the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain, manages the project and is the prime customer.
🎨 Final Thoughts
When we first floated the idea for the Alternate Art Expansion, we considered adding unique capabilities based on real-world performance (recognizing that copy/pasting the capabilities from the US versions of the aircraft might not be entirely accurate😅) -- but realized that would turn our Rules of Engagement into something closer to Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft.
Now that we’ve begun compiling ideas in Annex A: House Rules, we’d love to hear from the community. If you have UNCLASSIFIED thoughts on what Special Capabilities some of these aircraft could include, let us know! (If your ideas are a little more sensitive… you know where to find us on the red network 😎)
-- Ric
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