Missile Avoidance Reality?

[vonbikia]

In WO* series, I enjoyed the designate and shooting, carrier landings very much. They are very satisfactory. But I think the NeverEnough's problem is a real thing what the game is missing.

 

Maybe we cannot blame the creator for this. Since it is clearly noted that it is designed to depict the scenario of the era of cold wars, where missiles just came to the field of warfares.

 

 

In my collection of modern air combats, I gradually realize that it's TWI(threat warning indicator, an octant look-like display) which is indicating coming missiles in the most early types of crafts. In later fighters, (like F-15), most of them can trace the outgoing and incoming missles on the display( radiation emission sorts, not heat seeking IR sorts). That is what I know. Although the missiles are very fast, they still have a ballistic sense.

 

In the rather severe programs, e.g., Jane's F-15, Red Jets will do as well. The missle avoidance is really going to s**t your paints. When you hear the coming missles alarm, if you don't make drastical maneuverings according to its coming direction, you'll be downed in a few seconds. Both the SAM or

AA missles do the same. The most important is, you can have a feel of how you "shake off" of the missiles, and learned from it. The WO* series seems deficient of this reality. Sometimes the missiles seems just "shadowing" you, or it just pop out too fast before you have some clues.

 

Since most of us have the most modern era fihgter aircrafts, we really should have improved it to the most up to date standards - - if it is a possible thing to do.

 

I believe it's an AI sort of stuff, that is, encoded inside the program. I just don't believe we can modify some data file and change it. Maybe somebody who has more available time and talents can do something about it? ...

[Arrigo]

Uhm...

 

I have some doubt on your question... if you ask how much effective is missile avoidance in reality and how it works the reply is "it depends".

 

From what I have read and have been told missiles were not the end of the world... during vietnam war, the best SAM defensive tactics was to fly in close pod formation and trust your jammers. Missile avoidance were perfomed as a last resort. And usually I do the same thing in WOV with realistic results (much better if I can spot the SAM launch... much worse if I don't...)

 

Also even in the textbook says turn hard to outmaneuver the incoming missile that work only if you see it. More often than not if there are too many planes and missiles around even in the old Janes F15 missile avoidance was worthless... they are two faces of the same coin...

 

 

remember that the missiles are no only very fast, but... they are usually guided and can sustain more G than you...

 

and that a lot of missiles, and not only the older ones, are easily fooled by jammers and chaff/flare.

 

The end results is that more often than not avoidance manuvers are a last stand if the normal defensive stuff doesn't work. It also depends on the plane you are flying and on what the bad guys are shooting at you (and also the reverse, shooting sparrows at a SU33 will not be really effective even in WOE...).

 

If you ask if the missile system of SF series need a rework, i think that for what I have seen missile modelling is accurate enough and with the available weapons pack it reflects the development of the missile technology pretty well. The only Thing I miss is the automatic chaff\flare release of modern planes, but from my experience the missile effectiveness ratio is looking decent (much more than other games... I can complain on problems in LOMAC with F15C radar and AIM120 having problem to deal with MIG23...) and you chanches to not get it are realistic if you do the right things at the right moment (and if you aren't unlucky... once I did a perfect missile avoidance over germany in a Strike Eagle only to see a little nice Zoo 23 targetting me...).

[vonbikia]

Thx! Maybe I should start from locating where are all the enemy aircrafts and try to see. You are far more experienced in modern aero combats than me. My enemy activities is set to Normal. After all, there are often more than 10 of enemy aircrafts in this situation instead of 1 or 2 like in the other simulators.

[Arrigo]

welcome in a furball!

 

A good way ius to try to keep situational awareness in combat (on of those things that made you appreciate two seater in real life, two more eyes searching for the baddies...) also if the enemy are too many try to limit yourself to wuick missile pass and the rapid spearation... that way the most porable direction from where the enemy will fire will be six o'clock, so you then can evade right or left... take care of your RWR and remember that is usually an impecise instrument. Even today whit the most sophisticate ones that can detect the change between scan and lock in enemy radar emission you do no have 100% certainity that every missile is tracked or that every Firecontrol tracked is actually amiming at you.

 

When i Play WoE wit more modern planes and missiles the I try to keep dogfight short... better to get out empty but alive than to be shoot down... also, excluding some rare exception, dogfighing will blee western fighters energy very very quickly leaving you forced to fly straight until you recover speed...

 

for SAM be proactive... carry a lot of antiradiation missiles! If you put out of service their radar they will not annoy you

[vonbikia]

Correction - the missiles might work fine!

 

The question is the threatening range is a little bit "magnified". When the impact of missiles is estimated 10 seconds for me, it's actually around 30 seconds. That means it travel slower. In this exponential, you have to wait longer for performing your avoidance maneuvering, but in the mean time, the beam way averting will be much easier. And it really works! When you hold it until the missiles close the appropriate range, only suitable maneuverings will be enough for get rid of these missiles, application of countermeasures will be the best. No more shadowing phenomenon exists in this case. This is the situation of flying F-15A against MiG-25 foxbat, which are rather early types. If in much later aircraft, like F/A-18 or Su-27, the missile behaviors will be much more resembling the most nowadays standards.

 

Thank you for your patient tutoring, Arrigo. I believe the game is gonna be one of my favoritest. No more faults exist any more!