Invader ZIM

Does the Su-35 still use the more limited PESA radar instead of the AESA radar type? That's another big factor to consider too. Like Agiel said, electro optics and IR systems aren't exactly the Russian industries strong suit. I wouldn't count on the aircraft being in the right position to look at the right spot in the sky to see where the F-22's were coming from.

http://www.f-117a.com/AFMissions.html Seems like it paid for itself, only one F-117 became a believer in Stelt, none of the other 849 sorties belived in it, and kept with their origional faith in Stealth. :)

You've got a point Scrim, thanks for the clarification. I did say it was Wiki after all.

I don't think anyone said it was invisible, but it presents challenges to detect and then more challenges to actually guide a weapon to hit a stealthy target. I know, wiki, so.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_F-117A_shootdown It would appear that in order to get a single kill on what is considered a rather old 1st gen stealth plane, it still required a lot of things to go right. And even then the missiles were only able to hit at 8 miles. Even more impressive is that with it's bomb doors open it was apparently seen only at 50 to 60km. So how many F-117's operated over Yugoslavia that weren't intercepted? Seems like the system wasn't very effective against 1st gen stealth and even less so against 2nd gen B-2 stealth systems since all did what they built to do, without being targeted.

Thanks USARStarkey. So what is the number of flight training hours of F-22 pilots currently? From what I've found RAF fast jet pilots typically receive around 210-230 hours of routine training and thus are at the higher end of typical NATO flying hour’s levels. The Armee De L’air apparently maintains a very respectable 180 hours ish, and the Luftwaffe something like 150-160 hours of routine flight time. http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2014/February%202014/0214raptor.aspx Eye opening stuff. Hard to compete with the kind of money they have for training live fire stuff, and simulation of numerous scenarios. And rather humiliating that an Su-27 type fighter is nothing more than a radar reflective modified T-38 to them. And what of the number of Su-35 flight training hours? I've heard it's idealy up to 100 hours for tactical aviation pilots.

So.... How many Su-35's are actually in service currently?

lol Mike, I had to look at the video a few times to figure out what was going on too car dashcams are everywhere anymore. Point taken hitman, I was thinking more in terms of combat effectiveness.

Yea, little known fact I guess, FLIR system is downgraded, ECM is different on export versions, among other things. Still keeps the same name though. Like the Export M1's to Egypt without the depleted uranium armor. Export is always downgraded. Considering the bad crash and damage, wouldn't have mattered much anyways, should have put the smiley by my post I guess. Here's a dashcam video of the accident, it really plowed into the building at high speed, more amazing is that the crew both survived that. http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=be2_1398411664

Export version.

Heh, that's a pretty good idea for a false alarm trigger test for the system. You're onto something with the idea, but the system works a little differently than you might think. It doesn't work on visible light, it works with mid wave IR and it must have algorithms that help it identify the specific and rather large IR signature of a muzzle blast. They would really want to keep down the number of false alarms and such. You can read more about the systems from this .pdf even shows the symbology shown in a CROWS sight, and the helicopter MFD icon indicating ground fire. http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2011smallarms/WednesdaySI12570Weiland.pdf

lol, add to the fact that an F-35 trying to quietly slip through air defenses using it's stealth as an advantage and having the option to jam with it's own system only after being detected. Versus a EA-18G that's broadcasting jamming signals over a wide spectrum of frequencies that couldn't possibly alert the enemy defenses that something is out there... They both have their place, and the Navy considers the EA-18G a extra layer of insurance as they consider the EA-18G + F-35 to be an even more effective combo. http://news.usni.org/2014/03/26/navy-wants-growlers-fight-deadlier-high-end-air-war

Aww man, I enjoyed his humor.

The U.S. already has counters for systems like the DF-21D, and more conventional cruise missiles, namely in the form of the SM-2 ER Block IV's and now the newer SM-6 systems. The laser's would be equivalent more to a point defense system, like a Phalanx, but probably with longer range. Also to compliment that, the Navy uses ESSM missiles for close range intercept of incoming cruise missiles, not to mention the multitude of Nulka, SLQ-32 ECM and OECM systems, decoys, deception jammer's, and the Offensive ECM capabilities of the Aegis radar for endgame, weapon finders like the Mk46 NightConqueror, the 5" guns, and SLQ-25 Nixie systems. A single Arleigh Burke is a pretty impressive ship I've learned. Once they get the railguns though, it will greatly save on the cost of missiles to engage long range with the guns. Added new info for those interested. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/dangerroom/2010/05/LaWS-Background.pdf It's going to compliment the CIWS apparently.

That would be interesting, if you hit the gimball limit on one pod, you could switch over to the other pod that still had a clear line of sight to the target. Don't know if it works like that, but interesting idea :)

Thanks for that info guys, yea I thought if the different pods had different generic jamming frequencies covered it might be worth it to figure out which one to go with, or both if they really covered more frequencies together. Which version has less drag in the sim?

Okay, thanks for the info guys, still seems to be a grey area. Best to go with the lower drag version and only one I guess.

Hey Guys, Just upgraded to 1.2.7 and there's mention of more effective ECM, and I noticed I can load two different jammers simultaneously on the A-10. Will putting two of the same jammers increase it's effectiveness? Will putting two jammers of different types increase effectiveness? Would that cover different radar frequencies to jam? What are the advantages/disadvantages between the two jammer types as modelled in the sim with version 1.2.7?

http://www.army.mil/article/55420/ So, Thermal IR detection. Additional info: http://www.gizmag.com/longbow-apache-attack-helicopters-gfas-ground-fire-acquisition-system/18527/ http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/2012/04/boeing-to-adapt-weaponwatch-ground-fire-acquisition-system-from-radiance-to-apache-attack-helicopter.html http://www.aviationtoday.com/av/issue/feature/Eyes-On-Shooters_76593.html#.UvE3uPldW8o Pretty slick, the engine and other upgrades like the ESM for the Longbow radar to detect anti-air threats at longer distances are impressive, but this GFAS thing changes the game. Covers almost all hemisphere's too, and there's two of them on the wingtips. Company that makes them: http://www.radiancetech.com/ Video of an early ground version from years ago to give you idea of how it might be implemented in the Apache:

That Ground Fire Acquision System on the "E" Apache sounds really useful. Multiple cameras can detect gunfire, and larger rounds and pinpoint their location slewing weapons to the target. That makes it a real beast IMO, along with the other upgrades. Details on systems here:

That's a neat perspective of a game in progress :)

You have a point Scrim, they were laughing a bit, just watching the fireworks so to speak. Guess it was a misinformed post on the Youtube channel that called up the question of who's ammunition was actually going up. It certainly sounds impressive when you turn the speakers up.

I think you might be right MilvisJB, the audio seems confusing to me when I was trying to listen to those guys. At first they claim they had prior warning about this stuff coming in, then I hear mention of a bomb drop, then there's joking about re calling the Kirkuk fire dept, and the guy filming mentioning "Do we really have that many munitions?". I'd be curious to know more about this event, the title they gave the video seems misleading.

Oh, the news agencies will always find something to watch when a war's on. These are Tomahawk's hitting a munitions dump in Kirkuk Iraq, warning for language as FO team does BDA on the target. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJykWzo_XDE&list=FLUbMa9kEYoLP3_Zlc2nzVPA&index=154 It's worth the cost if a few million dollar cruise missiles take out a large munitions dump for example, same with a few cruise missiles taking out a naval warship. But like Riptide said, it's still mostly going to be cheaper Bomber + GPS, LGB, or dumb bombs that do a lot of the work. Long range cruise missiles aren't really anything new, like this 1948 Navaho: They advanced pretty far considering the 1950 timeframe.

double tap

I'm sort of fond of an army of stealth cruise missiles that can think for themselves to evade threats and jam point defense systems that have a range of over 500 nautical miles. They're real, test firings from Ship containers here, basically modified JASSM ER's: Video of their threat evasion and targeting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvHlW1h_0XQ