Relocated this video of my success getting DATIS working. The absence of ATIS in DCS is somewhat of a reality killer, IMHO.
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Completely agree. I would also add we need (and I know it is coming) proper ATC communication with the various airports and air bases. That will add so much to immersion IMHO.
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Nicely done!
Not to be contradictory, this just got me thinking: IRL .mil Aviation during wartime, do airbases (especially forward ones which nearly all of ours in DCS are) actually broadcast an ATIS?
I wouldn’t think so, since it’d be something that could be homed in on by enemy aircraft, plus giving your QNH to everyone might be a bad idea. I’m sure an aircraft carrier doesn’t, those pilots get the Wx in their kneeboard packages and updates from approach inbound.
Obviously during peacetime could be a different story, but curious what’s the case for land-based fighter aircraft: do they actually listen to an ATIS?
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No idea, but I’m sure the bad guys can see the weather on their iPhones. I guess if you didn’t know that aircraft try to takeoff into the wind, that the active runway might be of use if you wanted to take photos of departing aircraft or drop some mortar shells. But other than that, not sure what opsec would be compromised over a weather broadcast. For the sake of the argument, I assumed that it would be encrypted.
With regards to NATOPS, the Navy does seem to be more aware of the need for emissions control (EMCON). So maybe the carrier info broadcast is misguided. SMEs, feel free to chime in pls.
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In the age of weather satellites and weather websites that can pull local weather from the city right next door to an airbase I wouldn’t think the weather info itself would be that big of an OPSEC issue. If you’ve got a compass and stopwatch you wouldn’t need a radio signal to home in on either, at least not for known, permanent structures. FOBs/FARPs/Road bases would be a different story I imagine.
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Not a SME by any stretch of the imagination, I can see knowing if there are clouds etc can determine if a mission is a go with LGBs or the need to use JDAMs instead. Particularly if the strike is against something other than the airfield at a fixed location.
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In my dealings with .Gov, .LE and .Mil agencies at various companies, I’ve often been surprised what they considered to be an OPSEC issue… sometimes it’s hilarious.
(It’s really funny when you get two different .gov agencies fighting with each other over an issue. I was once in charge of a flight with a cabinet-level dignitary aboard and managed to get the TSA and State Dept fighting. When it was over neither was happy. 
)
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In my experience there are two sides to that coin:
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Just because it might be ‘trivial’ for an adversary to gather certain information, we don’t need to hand it to them.
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LE and .gov/.mil risk aversion means that there is sometimes little scope for ‘free thinkers’ and applying a bit of common sense, so the default setting is ‘what does the manual’ say?
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Yup, heard that a time or two.
Then there’s also what can be gained by monitoring requests for ‘trivial information’. If (let’s say in our modern-day scenario where internet weather exists and is fully functional) the DIA/NSA/other 3-letter agencies notice something like “Hey, we’re seeing a surge of IP traffic from airbases in the People’s Democratic Republic of Northistan, looks like they’re visiting weather sites and are very interested in the weather forecast at Anytown AFB in Southistan for Sunday”
-that might indicate that the air defense folks in Anytown AFB should cancel weekend leaves and wake up extra early Sunday morning…
Anyway, huge thread digression, sorry. I was just curious whether an ATIS at an airbase would actually be broadcasting in wartime. Maybe we don’t know for sure; what about in Russia and Ukraine right now? Are their forward bases broadcasting ATIS? (Do they normally?) 
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Which gets really weird with USAF e-pubs and CNATRA (before the recent crackdown) that freely gave out some not-so-trivial manuals and documentation. Inconsistency throws me off easily but I suppose humans are inconsistent by nature lol.
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That is the unfortunately not so rare ‘Double Headed’ OPSEC coin - Not only giving it away, but doing so even if you have misgivings because the manual (or someone further up the food chain) says it is OK.
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Very cool!
You need to make a video for us when you do gun them all 
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Wilco!
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New video on Iron Bombing by sidekick, outlining the basics of a dive bomb run: How To Drop Bombs In DCS - Introduction - YouTube
Will eventually become a series of videos. I’m already sold on it as I like his History of Iron Bombing podcast on youtube and the accompanying missions.
Cheers,
TeTeT
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Shamelessly plugging a couple of my Instagram Reels since YouTube hates music…wish I could embed them:
Viper: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu4FvYzsEYP/
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Wow, that was really, REALLY, good.
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