The top one. Its beautiful dude.
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Okay, done - how’s that look?
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Taught myself some new stuff today after a quick re-familiarization with the CDU and entering additional waypoints:
- Adding a secondary flight plan
- Adding the new waypoints to said flight plan
- Making the new flight plan active
Result - I drew the Kill Box area of the Fire Cube mission on my TAD just like I did with the Hornet and the additional sequence. This makes it really easy to make sure that I am scanning and keeping the TGP looking within the area where the enemy is present.
Sorry USAF, you can’t top the RCAF at night with the moon. Also you’ve definitely fried that camera.
Loading relatively light on ordinance for most folks, but still heavy on gas for this big search & destroy type project.
In the box we’ve got a captured Chapparal SAM, near some buildings. Going to have to go low-collateral damage but still good range on this with precision: AGM-65E laser maverick!
Ah, found something on the pod! **Zooms In** Drat, just another oil well!
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Very nice…although I would suspect there were a couple of spilled coffees and a few “soiled boxer shorts” in the tower.
Ona more serious note, I see that you used the GBU-31 V3/B which is designed primarily as a “penetration weapon” using the BLU-109. Do you recall the fuze setting? (INST or DLYD). Also do you remember the terminal angle setting? The reason I ask is that I’m wondering how well DCS simulates the weapons (should also apply to the GBU-24).
If you had used a delayed fuse and hi high angle setting (70º to 85º)against this non-hardened target, the weapon may have simulated a detonation somewhere directly underground of the aim point (DMPI), which resulted in damage that appears localized vertically.
If so, this has ramifications for targeteering and mission planning, especially when considering collateral damage. For example, the structure adjacent to the target building in the second pic, appears to be a standard ammo warehouse. Had that been collaterally damaged we would have seen a lot more destruction.
In any event, a very cool set of screen shots and “some nice shooting, Tex!”…er…“Wes!” 
Just had a thought for the admin bubbas…perhaps a BDA (Battle/Bomb Damage Assessment) thread where DCS users post screen shots like @Wes did here and maybe describe a bit about target, weapon used, attack parameters and weapon settings, results, etc. Just a thought. 
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It is within the powers of every user to start a thread… 
But I like the idea!
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Thats a fantastic idea @Hangar200 I think that would be a very interesting thread. Especially with the professional eye you can cast over it. Please do this!!
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I think we have to say “this is the way” now… I have been saying it to everyone and driving mmy family crazy
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Me too!
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I love it 
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INST - Delayed from my testing does not make a difference on the JDAMs presently. I think they do work on the Mk8X iron bombs - maybe the GBU-1Xs?
Not configured on this, so it was close to vertical. I have used the terminal settings before but occasionally you get some strange results that don’t seem to fit logically.
Wishful thinking, I like it!
It appears DCS presently models hardened stuff primitively right now based on our experiences with a few scenarios. Sorta like this:
public class bunkerbusters ()
{
static void damagedone()
{
boolean weptypepenetrator;
//includes GBU-31V3B & V4B + AGM-65E. May include GBU-24.
boolean trgtypehardened;
String damage;
if (weptypepenetrator = false && trgtypehardened = true)
{
damage = "minimal"
//try again repeatedly, after enough hits it will go down.
}
else if (weptypepenetrator = true && trgtypehardened = true)
{
damage = "sufficient"
/*target is destroyed, it may just need a short duration to
burn down, collapse or cook-off.*/
}
}
}
Not sure why I decided to try typing that out with some half-remembered Java code but there you go!
There will be more, since you asked! I’ll try to capture a bit more of it. With Fire Cube now the shift is towards being in-cockpit more and the targets are weaker although we may have instances of desired collateral damage (shack a truck and wipe out adjacent infantry) or not (like the Chapparal attack I posted above). You may see more TGP-only BDA, depending on what I am up to.
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@Hangar200 I did some tests. Delayed fuses only work on the Paveway II’s. (GBU-10/12/16).
Can be set on Mk-8X’s but doesn’t do anything different from INST.
Can be set on JDAM - no change like Mk-8X.
Not available for GBU-24. (We presume our 24 Paveway III is a penetrator in DCS but it could be built off a Mk-84 as well instead of a BLU-109. Doesn’t make sense to make it based on 84 as otherwise there isn’t much difference to most people compared to the GBU-10.)
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Another big screenshot drop, from this weekend and some more Fire Cube test play.
Navigating to the KC-130 via NVG and TACAN does the trick until you get close and he blinds you by abruptly turning on his lights within the final mile, so you have to adjust and then as you get close you can rely on the probe light once you are close enough that it’s reflection off of the drogue washes out the NVG’s.
Getting in the basket is aided by leaning to the right side of the HUD so you can get a better view over the probe and use the light as a guide. Staying centered as shown below, leaves a shadow that makes alignment tough.
This is in stark contrast to a daytime hookup, but if you are OK with flying at night it won’t really throw you off that much.
DCS has a harsh transition from moonlit night, followed by pure darkness as the moonlight fades and then dawn follows. It really is darkest before the dawn! (Inspired by @AndyE having to mention that phrase as we discussed the moonlight transition.)
Besides the azure waters seen in the tanking photo above, the Syria terrain is quite beautiful as the sun comes up.
@whareagle begins the transition to formation flight as I begin an orbit over a discovered target in the middle of the desert.
At the time of posting this I am up late but didn’t want to dive into flying any combat sorties so I did some touch-&-go’s from Bassel Al-Assad, where the RCAF Hornets are based (ICAO: OSLK). Night lighting over the city is excellent.
Despite not having ILS, it’s still easy to approach the Hornet at night once on speed AoA and following the guidance of the PAPI lights (which need a bit of zoom to view clearly) - light cross wind here.
Aiding in navigation I can pull ADF via the ILS frequency, which I am not sure is correct but it works. Ignore the TACAN, that is from the KC-130 orbiting above the airfield.
Got a little too focused on using the course line so I got a bit offset on this one as waypoint 0, which is focused on the airfield and not the runway itself. Got it straightened up in time for touch down.
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Real world. In the north i found that it never got really dark in the summer and never really light in winter. In Shetland the summer darkness is called the “simmer dim”
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Excellent, lead me to do some research!
It seems Incirlik at the date and time of the mission sees moonset around 5:30AM local time, which adds up.
Locally and present day for me, moonset is just shy of 11PM meaning it overlaps with sunset (not exactly of course, sunset is 6PM roughly) but that means I don’t see the moonset lighting change in the same way.
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The Community A-4E keeps amazing me!
How to get over the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range with this low cloud ceiling?
Terrain Following Radar to the rescue!
This is the first and only aircraft in DCS so far that has this capability.
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Absolutely stunning skin.
