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Totally agree. That would be awesome sauce!

One aircraft that I think would be very cool to have as a full module would be the venerable AC-130 gunship. It's unlikely we could get a U or J model, but even an AC-130H model from the 9/11 era would be fun given how CAS centric DCS is.

This^^^ +100. They are called dumb bombs for a reason. IRL, there are so many variables that affect a Mk-82/83/84 from release to impact that the bombing computer IRL can't handle them all. Wind is a big one. If the wind differs from surface up to release altitude, how do the bombing computer know? It's taking it's best guess and extrapolating unless you could dive down to the surface and capture the winds as you climb back up. As LRR said, the higher you go, the less accurate dumb bombs become because the variables become greater. Dropping a string of Mk-82AIRs from 1000 feet in AUTO can be very accurate. Dropping MK-84s in AUTO from 10K ft way less so. This is why CCIP and a dive angle is so much more accurate, because you remove more of the variables. There will ALWAYS be limitations with dumb bombs level release in AUTO, but the ways to make them the most accurate possible are to use laser ranging in the TGP (turn the laser on and leave it on) and then continually designate right up to pickle. Zoom in as much as possible and be very precise with the crosshair placement. I actually prefer ATRK because I can put the XH where I want it rather than relying on PTRK to bound the tgt. But even if you do everything perfect, it's still a dumb bomb. There's a reason we went to LGBs and GPS weapons.

That's not a bug. It's a feature.

I love the moving map. It's almost an EP if the moving map goes Tango Uniform. How else are you going to navigate anywhere??

Cheater. :smilewink:

That's good to know. Has anyone tested whether it also works in CCIP mode or guns mode? Is there any way to slave the TGP to the CCIP pipper or the gun/rockets pipper?

Yes, IRL - having laser ranging when designating for dumb bombs is ALWAYS the most accurate solution in both CCIP and AUTO. By using the laser, you are solving the slant range part of the bombing triangle with the most precision possible. The next most accurate ranging source would be the radar in AGR where the radar is firing through the pipper. The tertiary ranging source with lesser accuracy would be simply using the system altitude to compute the bombing triangle. It will get you close but not likely to get a shack. The above ranging methods are also used to increase accuracy for the A/G gun (strafe) and rockets and such. Again, all of the above applies to RL. I haven't done enough experimentation to know whether DCS simulates this very well or not. So YMMV.

To my knowledge, there are no USAF fighters flying with monocle NVGs.

IRL it absolutely does. No clue how it’s implemented in DCS.

Nice!

What altitude does the jet think your designation is at? An altitude error can definitely cause a long or short miss. For instance, if the TGT was at 1000 ft MSL but your steerpoint you are using as the TGT is at 6000 ft MSL, the bombing computer will have incorrect data to calculate the release point and the bombs will go long. Remember that with a steerpoint above ground, the jet thinks the ground is closer to the jet than it actually is. The TGT diamond will appear to float above the ground. Its actual position on a three-axis graph (Z axis) is high of the target because the airplane is erroneously positioning the TGT Diamond where it thinks the ground really is (above the real ground). The way to check this is to go into mission editor and cycle through all the waypoints where you're TGT is. The easy way to fix it is to set all the steerpoints in the ME editor window to zero and that will force them to be set to the actual MSL ground level at that point. I learned this the hard way when learning JDAM and all the points in the ME were above ground and the bombs were missing long. Even designating with the TGP doesn't seem to fix this.

Agree. Other IRL platforms show a much more defined difference when something is hostile vs friendly. The issue is that lack of M4 is no longer a valid indication of hostile. The Blackhawk shootdown in the mid 90s in N Iraq by F-15Cs was the big changing point for that. So there typically either has to be a combo of lack of M4 or other IFF modes + some other on or offboard indication such as NCTR or Point of Origin (POO) or hostile act. It get's really confusing when NATO members or other neutral nations are flying MIG-29s and SU-27s and the like. But even then it depends on the situation. If its a low scale conflict such as Southern Watch conflicts such as OIF/OEF, the ROE is going to be very strict on what constitutes a hostile. Typically the AWACS is going to have to watch them takeoff, turn hot, run on friendly coalition aircraft, cross a "border" and maybe even fire missiles before they can be declared hostile. In more near peer full scale warfare, such as China invading Taiwan, North Korea invading the ROK or Russia moving on a NATO nation - then the ROE would likely be relaxed and anyone originating on the other side of the "line" would be automatically hostile.

Thanks but it didn't seem to work. I tried every permutation of reset to default I could find. Nothing seem to change it. In fact it made it worse by overwritting some other mapped buttons on the throttle. I finally had to manually re-map all the right MFD buttons. When I did that, it totally screwed all my WH throttle settings. So I had to manually re-map every button for that as well. Took me several hours to do all this. One thing I don't understand is I had my .lua profiles saved. I even had a couple of older ones with slightly different programming that I tried hoping I could just change the one or two buttons that had evolved. No joy. Loading those profiles didn't seem to over write what was there. What is the point of saving these control profiles if you can't revert back to a saved one later on???

Ok, I understand the TOO2 now. But then that isn't what is causing the issue. I had 4xGBU-31s - all on individual stations obviously. In TOO mode, it lets me designate the first weapon with no problem, but as soon as I step to the next weapon on a different station, it already has that 1st weapons coordinates set. If I then designate on TGT#2, weapon #2 has that new info, but if I step to the next one, weapon #3 already has weapon #2s coords and so on. After I get done with weapon #4, I've undesignated the TGP and stepped back to weapon #1 and it has #4's coordinates in the MSN page. I'm pulling my hair out. I'll go back and try to experiment with it again. I'm sure it's user error but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. So if I understand correctly - you guys are saying I can load 4 different coordinates into 4 different bombs using the TGP in TOO mode while orbiting away from the target and then run in and release all 4 in rapid sequence without having to do anything else, correct?

One of the things I noticed is that if you are in a turning fight, the Diamond looks like a square at first glance and sometimes vice versa unless you really look hard at it. I Fox-2d my AI wingman in a 2v1 ACM fight when I mistook the box for a diamond. The way I figured it out looking at both Wag's tutorials and the printed guides is: Diamond (bandit): the points of the diamond are ALWAYS pointed at the center top and center sides of the HUD no matter the bank angle. Box (friendly/UKN) the flat sides are always parrallel to the top and sides of the HUD no matter the bank angle. Neither has anything to do with the Horizon, which is what confused me at first.

OK I feel like an idiot - but I'm just not understanding something about how the stores JDAM page works to TOO multiple targets into the weapons before release. Here's the scenario - I've got 4 different JDAMs and 4 targets. I want to input a single set of target coords into each weapon and then pickle all 4 off in rapid succession once IN RANGE. How do I do this? I've tried following the advice above, but still not working. I definitely do not have quantity and multiple stations selected. I start on one station and designate with the TGP and it takes those coords no problem. But then when I step to the next station, it already has the other bomb's coordinates. If I then designate on the next target, that bomb and all the other stations then has the 2nd tgt coords. I can't seem to figure out how do get discrete coords into each weapon. The only way I've been able to make this work is to designate the first target and then pickle, move the pod to the 2nd target, designate, pickle. Then move the TGP to the 3rd tgt, designate, pickle and so on. It's doable but you have to be quick before you min range the last bombs. Maybe I'm just not understanding what TOO2 does??? Help please!

Works perfect for me.

THIS^^ "Lose sight, lose the fight". Which IMHO is why VR is SOOOO much better for this. :music_whistling:

Sounds like you had some negative G on the jet. If you have the ability, go back and look at your track replay and see what your G meter in the HUD was reading at pickle.

Some terms and definitions that might be useful: Turn rate and radius are simple functions of airspeed and G, regardless of airframe or engine. Differences lie in the ability of an aircraft to pull G and sustain energy levels. Energy definitions: Instantaneous rate: The highest rate an aircraft can generate at the current airspeed. This usually implies a negative Ps. Ps: Rate of energy loss or gain during a particular maneuver. Sustained rate: The rate generated while maintaining current airspeed and altitude. Bleed rate: Similar to Ps. The amount of energy lost at a particular G-level.

I'm struggling at the moment with multiple TOO release on different DPIs on the same pass using the TGT pod. Been 50/50 so far. However, I set up a mission where the waypoints were precisely placed over 4 different bunkers using ME and using GBU-31(V)2s - I was able to pickle all four off in quick succession using WPDESG in TOO mode. Pickle, cycle waypoint, WPDSG, Pickle, cycle waypoint, etc...... Worked like a champ. 4x shacks in quick succession. I am assuming it should work the same way with the TGP. Any tips from you aces out there on how to do multiple passes using the TGP in TOO mode?

AS others have mentioned, there is this: https://www.amazon.com/Fighter-Combat-Maneuvering-Robert-Shaw/dp/0870210599 for $45 and the "Art of the Kill" on YT. This is probably the most comprehensive book on the topic in an unclassified forum: https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/local/docs/pat-pubs/P-826.pdf. I would read this first.

Look for the infinity symbol on the left side of the lower HUD data block. Think of AOA as how much the jet is "skidding" through the sky. At high AOA, the jet is actually skidding in relation to where the nose is pointed. The more AOA, the more the skid. IOW the actual flight vector path of the aircraft is something less than where the nose is pointed. The less AOA, the more the two are coincident.

First of all, what you're describing is High Aspect BFM. The reality is that you are skipping over a huge amount of fundamental learning steps to be able to effectively fight a HABFM fight. HA BFM is very tough if you don't have the rest of the BFM fundamentals down first. Things such as recognizing turn circles, turn circle entries, turning room, heading crossing angles, Angle off, Lead, lag, pure, etc, etc. Going right into 1 circle vs 2 circle fights without understanding and more importantly practicing those basics likely means you're going to keep getting killed and on the one occasion you get lucky - it will reinforce bad habit patterns. Highly suggest you start with the fundamentals of BFM first. IRL, most air force A/A training programs will start with Offensive BFM with you as the attacker at various ranges such as 9000, 6000 and 3000 feet BEHIND the bandit at his six. The reason for these ranges is so that you learn to recognize and fly to the correct turn circle (TC) of the bandit. 9K feet is outside of a 4th gen fighter TC and you need to figure out how to drive to his TC and then turn. 6K is starting on the TC and 3K has you inside the TC. All of these exercises teach you how to max perform the jet in relation to the bandit. It also teaches you how to employ weapons (RDR, IR and guns) at various ranges and bandit aspects. Once you master this - then turn it around and set up the engagements with the bandit behind you at these ranges (3/6/9K feet) and then you have to learn how to keep from getting shot. Finally when you can do both of these well, then and only then should you be thinking about HABFM. In terms of HABFM - I don't like it when people say things "Always fly the Hornet 1 circle and the Viper 2 circle" because of the rate vs radius fight. As always in everything - IT DEPENDS. There are times to fight 1 or 2 circles. Much of that is driven by the bandits capability as well as your energy state and the bandits energy state at the merge. It also depends on if the bandit is giving you turning room or not and what the heading crossing angles (HCA) are at the merge. If it's a truly neutral merge with equal energy states and angles - then the last person to turn determines whether its a 1 or 2 circle fight. You might not get the choice. My suggestion is to use the ME to set up a series of simple Offensive BFM sets at the 3 ranges. Start with 9k first and run them until you can consistently enter his turn circle and employ weapons. Then do the same for 6k and then 3K. Each one will present different problems to solve. Then do the same for defensive where you put the bandit at your 6 and attempt to survive to the floor. Then once proficient at O and D BFM, set up the HABFM sets with the bandit at say 3 nm off your nose 180 deg out, equal airspeed and altitude. Practice both 1 and 2 circle fights against various bandits. Start with something easy like a MIG-23 and then work up to more modern aircraft. PRACTICE, PRACTICE PRACTICE!! It will be a lot more fun if you understand why you're doing specific maneuvers. One last thing, set yourself to invulnerable while you're learning. Expect to get shot for while until you get good. You will hear the missile clang off your jet, so you will still be able to tell when you got shot, but at least you can continue fighting and learning without having to reset each time.