tflash

Cool!

How the Air Force lost an excellent pilot, a billion-dollar plane, its dignity and reputation by putting their heads in the sand and making an ugly attempt to put the blame in a dead man's shoes: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/exclusive-air-force-warned-fatal-22-fighter-flaw/story?id=16957535 Absolutely dishonourable and I am so glad this backfired. To me, the pilots' wife deserves a Medal of Honour for her courage to take on the defense giants and helping to save both the future of the F-22 and maybe other pilot's lives. I'm clearly not with you on this mvsgas :=)

The tests portayed by this video are about DAS detecting a rocket launch from an *unknown* position (of course the testers knew the position), where the processor transfers the location data to the radar, which then tracks it, and helps the DAS reacquire the missile once the heat signature is too low. This is the sensor fusion part. The tracked target is also *identified* as a TBM. Taking into account that the DAS is 360° degree in field view, this means that this also works when the missile is launched somewhere behind the aircraft and outside its radar FOV. The computer will relay the data and once the aircraft turns onto this target, the radar will start acquiring. Honestly; Hajduk, the current F-16 AM MLU's from the BAF are not able to do this. So, yes, this might be a reason why the BAF is looking into the F-35. Maybe we can buy "one" :D

Oh yes really? OK it seems a little unfair that F-35 flies with "labels on". Remember the arcade radar mode in Lockon? Dismissed by many as "unrealistic". Seems no longer the case then. APG-81 + DAS just beat it big time.

Absolutely super!

I guess Launch Override (Alt-W) was everything some people were looking for in this thread. :=) Flaps down one notch is also a very good tip, gives you more manoevrablilty.

Going *very* low with Rafale http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/thunder-at-100-feet-flying-france-s-rafale-superfighter-250710

Some footage of Su-25 in Georgia 2008. Mostly SU-25SM, but at the beginning it seems SU-25T loaded with Kh-25ML (1:40-1:48 ).

Damn, how did I miss this thread? Frankly I am a Frog fan! Why? 1/ I like the classic Russian avionics; 2/ In game, it flies absolutely wonderfull, good job Yo-Yo and crew! 3/ It is fast! Faster than A-10C, that is. It isn't an F-16, but can get you out of harm's way when needed! Advise: don't load the Vikhr! Why? 1/ It ruins your aerodynamics turning the Frog into a Toad! 2/ You are making a shallow dive towards the target, making you very vulnerable Instead, fight the "Russian" way, as seen in video footage of Su-25 in action: 1/ Fly medium/medium high 2/ make a steep dive over the target, in the Stuka / Sturmovik way 3/ unleash the goodies rockets, cluster ammo, slick bombs 4/ climb the hell out of there releasing flares With some practice, you can take out a moving tank with a dumb bomb. Sheer fun imho. Taking out four tanks in a row with guided missiles? Well, get yourself an Apache helo, then it might actually be a realistic scenario. With the Vikhr it is just to dangerous to be done for real.

You can find some info on this page: http://www.349sqn.be/history In fact, 349 sqn was first activated as an RAF squadron in Nigeria. They did not participate in the Battle of Britain, being reactivated at at RAF wittering in 1943, transferring to RAF Digby from where they did action over France. Even though Belgian territory was overrun and occupied, the Belgian Government continued the war from London and Belgian Forces joined the RAF.

^^Go 349! Allez les Belges!

Thanks for the info. Seems indeed RPG's are still a serious threat for this type of tanks, if we look at the latest incidents in Syria.

Now that we're into tank battles, I wonder what are the pro's and cons of the T-72/T-90 vs. T-80 ? There is some bad press on the T-80 from the Chechnya war, but little usefull info on the use of tanks in the Georgia/Abchazia war, where as I understood it the Russian tank assault was quite succesful?

Great! I did a lone wolfe mission, detaching from my column and going alone for several miles, through a town, behind enemy lines to surprise 4 MLRS artillery pieces that were wreaking havoc on REDFOR. Superb! I also got stuck a few times due to terrain incidence, but managed to get free in reverse. It's super to enjoy the DCS terrain this way.

I think I got a new favourite gear: the T-80U. You should look out for TOW missiles, but if you use the T-80's speed to your advantage you can dash into the enemy positions and crush them with your gun. Nothing compares to a good old panzer assault, at the heart of the combined arms doctrine for decades. Anyway some big tank battles are taking place on my PC thanks to CA.

Super: Wireless Paveway functionality! http://www.marketwatch.com/story/raytheon-demonstrates-wipak-wireless-pavewaytm-avionics-kit-on-french-navy-rafale-aircraft-2012-07-07

Northrop Grumman's F-35 DAS and Radar Demonstrate Ability to Detect, Track, Target Ballistic Missiles: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/northrop-grummans-f-35-das-and-radar-demonstrate-ability-to-detect-track-target-ballistic-missiles-2012-06-26

Another possibility is that it was a genuine recce mission by the TuAF in the border region. That would be unsurprising, given the tense situation and the Syrian refugees pooring into Turkey. Since a recce flight is carefully planned and meticulously executed, it would mean they would have underestimated the Syrian AD. Maybe they ran into a Pantsir system?

RF-4E: so it could have been a Recce mission?

Interesting: the anti-G suit comes in the picture: http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/combat-edge-anti-g-ensemble-might-be-causing-raptors-oxygen-woes-372642/

Nice!

No, it's not about blame. Also, the hypoxia problem affects only a small part of F-22 flights. However, it is good practice in aviation to dig into any problem, whatever the cost. This has been the foundation of flight safety. We could never have had such a booming aviation business if we would have been sloppy on safety. With 5th generation aircraft one is breaking new ground. Better sort out the F-22 problem before the same cause propagates in hundreds of F-35's. Many feel the report on Elmendorf was too quick to blame the pilot, and was not taking the problems seriously. E.g., the fact that it wasn't possible to identify the cause of the original bleed air problem should have made the report much more prudent in its conclusions. In this case, some bad press is saving lives in the long run.

Thanks, good info!

Does anyone know if missions are still compatible? can I move them over from DCS:A-10C ?

The mishaps always lead to bad press, and rightly so. That's what makes today's planes so reliable. Good BTW that you remind us that Lockheed also produced the F-104 "Widowmaker", an aircraft that flew in the BAF and we were eager to replace for obvious reasons. To quote Wikipedia: "The poor safety record of the Starfighter brought the aircraft into the public eye, especially in Luftwaffe service."