DCS F/A-18C

aggressorblue · November 6, 2018, 5:34pm

near_blind:

Another overly long treatise:

Frontal aspect (head on), is the regime where you can expect the worst performance from a traditional heat seeking missile. In the earliest days the missile essentially needed to see straight up the tail pipe of the enemy jet to have a chance of success. Successive improvements increased the sensitivity of the seeker so it could lock onto that hot plume of gases from greater region to either side of the back of the plane until eventually they can get a lock from anywhere behind the 3/9 line of the enemy aircraft.

The problem remained, how do you lock onto a jet when the fuselage and wingy bits are in between your seeker and the tail pipe? Well it was by that point well understood that at the speeds most aircraft of the day were flying, friction from the atmosphere created aerodynamic heating upon the leading edges of said aircraft. It was a matter of making a seeker sensitive enough to reliably find and seek in on those relatively warmer surfaces. This is your AIM-9L/M. The compromise here is that that aerodynamic heating is still much colder than the exhaust plume you would see if you were behind an enemy jet, and is accordingly more difficult to maintain a lock on. A frontal aspect target will be harder for the missile to acquire, and it will be easier for the target to decoy using flares.

DCS simulates this to a point. What I’m less sure about is the extent to which piston engine aircraft are effected by this, to which extend DCS models that effect.

Tl;dr Always maneuver for the rear aspect shot if you can.

If a missile is sensitive enough to find aerodynamic heating on aircraft, I imagine the exhaust of a piston engine fighter would light up as well, especially on a water-cooled V engine, with each side of the cowl flanked by them.

NineLine · November 6, 2018, 6:10pm

near_blind · November 6, 2018, 7:10pm

Not a criticism, but man that’s gonna be funky without the LST functionality from ATFLIR for ranging. Looking forward to it.

Aginor · November 6, 2018, 7:34pm

That’s what your USAF buddies with the A-10C are for.
(But yeah I agree)

Franze · November 6, 2018, 8:35pm

Fixed that for you.

Hangar200 · November 6, 2018, 9:00pm

Well…the F-14’s didn’t have any problem splashing Japanese Zeros that time the Nimitz went through a time warp (evidently because @Navynuke99 & friends were fooling around with the reactor controls). But they were M’s not X’s. Just say’n.

Note: I’ve posted a link to “Final Countdown” scenes/trailer at least twice…there must be some Mudspike Forum policy about too many posts of the same movie…even if it is a cinema classic…so I’ll refrain from doing so with this post…oh great…and now I’ve got the FinalCountdown theme music running through my head anyway.

Sryan · November 6, 2018, 9:04pm

wags is live right now in the hornet

near_blind · November 6, 2018, 9:13pm

Unless UA actually does have a time machine, those were Limas at best, more probably Golfs or Hotels because the Navy ain’t expending the real deal.

Hangar200 · November 6, 2018, 9:19pm

Probably…but definitely not X’s…and they did hit the Zero…you can’t fake something like that with special effects! Just say’n

Franze · November 6, 2018, 9:35pm

FWIW just hopped in and tried it, 9s need to be employed a fair bit closer to prop planes to hit head on. Seems to work best at 1.5-2nmi.

AIM-7 pulverizes them better, though.

Anklebiter · November 7, 2018, 12:38am

A man who knows his history… a rare thing. Much more in that vein, and soon I’ll be able to provide proof.

Anklebiter · November 7, 2018, 3:09am

More 9x testing.

So the digital beeping sound replaces the low growl from the other models, and when lock occurs, you get a high pitched tone. After firing two of these, the digital beeping sound would stop, even though they were still selected. In some cases I could not fire the missile. I double checked IR cooling and I had that set to Norm. When I changed to guns and then when back to the 9x, the beep would come back. A couple times beeping would occur with a missile selected, and then just stop.

Am I missing something here? Why would the missile be inactive like that when selected, and randomly?

near_blind · November 7, 2018, 3:14am

Are you air starting?

Anklebiter · November 7, 2018, 3:21am

No, ready to go on the carrier.

edit: Hit wrong reply button this @near_blind

Anklebiter · November 7, 2018, 3:40am

OK, I found the bug. I’ve got weapons set to unlimited in this mission. When the weapons replenish, the missile goes inactive. They replenish even if there are a few left, so even if one is selected and working, once it starts replenishing, that one deactivates. Once it goes inactive, you can still fire it, but it is a total dummy.

120s don’t behave like that.

I suppose I should post this on the DCS bug forum. Using unlimited weapons though… the shame!

schurem · November 7, 2018, 6:53am

you naughty naughty little dog

Ocelotunit · November 7, 2018, 11:27am

His other book Hammer from Above: Marine Air Combat Over Iraq is much better imho, it features F/A-18Ds doing FAC and CAS, Harriers landing on the ship in a sandstorm, crazy UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper stories. Definitely worth checking out. Amazon Link

Phantom88 · November 7, 2018, 4:21pm

Really enjoyed this book.

near_blind · November 7, 2018, 4:30pm

I read that ohhh, ten, twelve years ago.

_{I think I’ve sufficiently established myself as * that guy * to point out it was AH-1Ws and UH-1Ns}

boomerang10 · November 7, 2018, 5:38pm