Question about Optical Backup

[tiopilotos]

Just wanted to ask how actually works. In general optical backup helps radar operator to track a target in case of heavy ECM environment but how far the optical system can see targets in SF2? It is being used as an alternative track method which uses the same radar range values as the primary radar or there are parameters which limit the optical range? I guess a typical fighter size aircraft can be hardly seen from 15-20 km range using an optical system.

[Caesar]

Tio,

 

In-game the biggest problem is that the camera systems can't track aerial targets.  This has been one of the biggest problems with the F-14's TCS, and the F-4's TIESO.  They're just forward looking cameras at the moment, so they can't track a target like they could in reality (either by radar slaving or by contrast lock).  

 

Like the real world, the size of the target can dictate how far away it can be seen.  An F-5 sized target, head-on, had an average VID by 7-8nm (roughly 13-15km) using TCS.  From different angles, the ID range could increase as more of the plane was presented to the camera.  Supposedly (quoted from "Grumman F-14 Tomcat: Shipborne Superfighter," pg. 84), "One RIO claimed to have routinely identified tankers and airliners at more than 40nm (46 miles; 74km) using TCS."  Much bigger planes!  Spotting an F-14/F-15/Su-27-sized aircraft would be further than the F-5, but closer than the heavies.

 

BUT!  In-game, there's a bit more to it.  Since you have to drop radar to switch to TCS (at least in our SP F-14s, not sure if it's the same for any TIESO mod out there), you lose not only range to target, but also the target diamond, so you have to kind of approximate where the guy was and point the nose.  Even then, it's shaky if the target is moving at any significant angle-off.  Large bombers are much easier to see further away; I've probably gotten them on TCS at around 10nm (~18.5km), but most fighters that I've tried to get on the TCS (which are very few because of the difficulty involved), were usually no further than 5nm (~9.25km).  What I will say is that by the time I had them on camera, they were already looking a little big (e.g., IRIAF F-4D), so they probably could have been on camera much sooner if I knew precisely where to point the nose.

 

It's kind of like looking through a soda straw in an attempt to spot a bird at the current patch level.