isoul

Great! I 'll look into it later today. I think there is one about CAS too. I would change that since in CAS they have put the 4xS-8KOM rockets which is odd(CAS with full A-T rockets?)

Oh poor soul... (he was driven mad and his mind was corrupted by the stunning 3D experience...first Avatar and now THIS!)

Here is what I found out...(THX Boberro for the info about the .lua file)

I did check .lua files and found out that S-8OFP2 CLSID is there! (check file ...\Scripts\Database\db_weapons.lua) S-8OFP2 CLSID is B_8V20A_OFP2 S-8KOM CLSID is {6A4B9E69-64FE-439a-9163-3A87FB6A4D81} The disappointing thing though is that initially you can't rearm at any configuration during mission that includes the S-8OFP2 unless it is designated as "standard mission armament" in the mission editor. So I went to ...\Scripts\Aircrafts\_Common\Rearm.lua and changed lines 524,530,536,542 replasing the S-8KOM CLSID with S-8OFP2 one(as stated above). These changes made one option in Rearming Menu (Rearming->CAS->F1) to actually equip my heli with 4 x S-8OFP2 rockets instead of instead of S8-KOM ones. Although the option stated the same "B8V20A" armament, it was actually the S-8OFP2. The result was as the following screen shots show... Briefing(starting with a weird custom payload that I created in Mission Editor... used mission Shooting Range) In game(see the pointy rocket pods? dunno why these were shown instead of the classic ones) EDIT - Due to a mistake in CLSID the B-8M1 rocket was loaded(the correct CLSID is B_8V20A_OFP2 resulting the typical S-8 pod to be loaded) Debriefing (just a proof that I did equip/fire the S-8OFP2 rocket) EtherealN, it would be nice to have a mission planner implemented in the in the briefing screen! Till then I hope I did something to help guys out there to stop wondering around with fully A-T weapon load..! (fingers crossed)

EDIT : After checking the DCS Encyclopedia on details of the S-8KOM and S-8OFP2 I edited my answer (cause I didn't remember that S-8OFP2 is stated to be suitable against lightly armored targets). If you are talking about BTR-80 APC, which is a lightly armored combat vehicle, I would suggest S-8OFP2 since its stated to be capable of destroying lightly armored targets. BTR's armor is capable of withstanding small arms fire and shell fragments only so I suppose that OFP2 blast force should be considered enough to shred light armor. S-8KOM can, for sure, penetrate light/medium and heavy (modern) armor according to encyclopedia but it requires a direct hit(in order for the shaped charge to be effective) since fragments, in case of a close miss, shouldn't be capable of penetrating it. On such targets S-8OFP2 has an advantage over S-8KOM cause it doesn't necessarily requires a direct hit which is hard to achieve using unguided weapons.

(I love the way discussions getting held in this forum) Rusty, I do believe that most of the users here are interested for realism! If I wasn't interested in realism why should I waste so much time learning all the procedures the Ka-50 requires to just fly and kill stuff? On other threads I 've seen ED asking for people's experience on details like the color of tracer bullet glow and the composition of AA units in RL armies... I said "Oh my God! These people are really taking things seriously!!!". I am really amazed by the professionalism ED shows in developing DCS! Even a friend of mine that has served in the army, although not fun of sims or DCS, he was surprised by the ED's effort! Just to supportthese arguments... Secrecy on how weapons operate are some kind of "insurance" to the producer company/nation that their weapon will be sold to more customers or it will be somehow more intimidating to their enemies. Putting your enemy against the "unknown" is something that always appeal to any army and secrecy is the way to achieve it. That's why many details about military equipment in service will remain secret until the equipment becomes outdated...

Wait... this way the payloads in campaign will change too? In another thread we were discussing that Vikhrs paired with S-8OFP2(which is HE/Frag variant used against personnel/soft targets) would be more useful than the standard S-8KOM(which is a HEAT rocket used for penetrating light or medium armored targets)

Since bombs are rarely used/deployed by attack helicopters the only reasonable explanation why its available is... Consider that attack helicopter are, in many cases(if not most), under army(ground forces) command. When Air-Force can't assist, due to various reasons(no avail aircraft), in all requests and the tactical situation allows it(little AA defenses etc etc) a helicopter may be able to deliver unguided bombs/munitions. Now, some may wonder why rockets aren't used since its easier be deploy them and are more precise when used by a helicopter... I think that a FAB-250 has more destructive power and can deliver it quite concentrated.

So there is no way to equip such mix of weapons(2-Vikhr and 2-S8OFP2) during the mission right? Is there any way to change a preset to reflect the above loadout? Or add this to Wish List...

I think you are referring to explosive ammunition used in AA guns(Flak guns) that explode at various altitutes(I think that a fuse is used to set altitude) producing smoke(and schrapnel) when exploding. The thread is about the light that is produced(during flight) by tracer ammunition which are usable almost in all guns in order to give an (approximate) picture of the trajectory the rounds are travelling(and eventually the impact point).

S-8/S-13 has many variants (HEAT(AT), penetration, incindiary, illumination, smoke, thermobaric(FAE) and even shrapnel-carrying(flechette) warhead). The fact is the same though, S-8KOM has poor effect against soft targets or personnel. The fact that S-8KOM variant is a HEAT weapon it means that the weapon excels at penetrating armor and produces a rather small blast. In most cases this means it requires a direct hit to the target, in order to be effective to be effective, or a quite close hit in order to be effective against personnel or soft targets. Since there are many infantry hunt missions the S-8OFP2(or similar variant like HE or FAE) should be the weapon of choice.

I think the only way of finding out(appart from judging from the effect, which may be doubtful) is to watch the rockets that are launched from the S-8 launcher. I think S-8KOM has different graphic from S-8OFP2. I don't know why ED chose to provide us with Full-AT or Full-CAS options only but I think a mixture of Vikhrs and S-8OFP2 would be extremely useful since Vikhrs gives the lethality and precision against medium/heavy armored targets and the S-8OFP2 the large area of effect useful for personnel/unarmored/lightly armored targets. This seput is useful when you need to strike a soft target(a camp for example) that is defended by AAA. Vikhrs are used against AAA at stand off range and frag rockets against soft targets. The S-8KOM needs to strike the target itself to be effective(since it is a HEAT weapon). This may be a good idea for the Wish List.

... and probably the best people that knows about jamming effects (besides the US) are Iraq and Yugoslavia. I bet that if they are to tell anybody, this would be the Russian military enginners and not ED.

Our we sure about that? I mean, I am aware that the standard armament is S8KOM(AT variant), but S8OFP2(anti-personnel) should be able to be equipped thru the maintenance/rearm menu(should be in CAS since its HE-Frag)!

I think the Shkval is good enough optical sensor for surveilance and acquiring targets. “In the A-10, it’s not unusual for a pilot to use binoculars.” This means the classic, good old binoculars? If yes it still seems funny to me... you know, you fly a multimilion $ aircraft and you use binoculars to spot targets...? LoL

If I understood right you want to slew Shkval up,down,left,right using a HAT switch(one of the three available on the X52) right? Simple... Using SST software you should assign the keyboard buttons assigned to Shkval slew to the correct direction of the stick's HAT switch. 1) In case the HAT is 8-way, switch the functionality to 4-way(disabling diagonal movement). 2) Assign keyboard binding to HAT directions : HAT Up=<key for Shkval slew UP> HAT Left=<key for Shkval slew Left> .... etc etc Very handy to use HAT-switch for Shkval slew.

Yeah you should check what Eddie suggested. Collective, by default, is assigned to a slider rather than throttle stick in my HOTAS.

Never heard that before... A-10A pilots use binoculars?

And definately yes! ...it works perfectly on Win7 x64!

I may be wrong but... I used DCS:BS on my computer using 8800GTS/Vista x64 then the GFx Card went out(kaboooom) and I got a new GTS250 and decided to install Win7 x64 instead. What I did? 1) Deactivated DCS:BS(using a Deactivation code). 2) The protection system gave me a Re-activation code(or a code called something like that). 3) After installing Win7 and DCS:BS I used Deactivation+Re-activation codes as was instructed by the protection system(in step No.2). DCS is working OK and I have only used 1 Activation. I think the key is to DEACTIVATE. I am going to do the same thing in a few days when my new Mainboard+CPU arrives.

I suppose that if some things, like the Longbow Radar functions, are kept classified the functions of EW devices that EA-6 and EF-111 utilize would be kept in secret with more zeal!

Couldn't agree more !!!

Main difference between Game-Sim mode : 1) Realistic Flight Model : The heli will fly like a real one. This means that even wind will have an impact on you! It will be quite weird for you(like most of us in the beginning) but as EtherealN said...its the beauty of the Shark. Imo if you get used to easy flight you ll have hard time to get used(from scratch) to the realistic one and you may get discouraged. 2) No "Radar" : In sim-mode you ll have no "radar" on the upper-right corner of the screen. This means you ll have to do with the Shark's optical sensors(Shkval). Other differences are minor such as radio assist etc etc To me DCS:BS in game mode dosn't worth it. Personally I only used easy flight(which is quite easy) in the beginning but then I've seen realistic one and got discouraged, cause from being master of the skies from "Day-1" (easy flight), I had to spend about 30h to get used to the controls and trimming (then learn the AP functions etc etc). I 've sticked to realistic since I want to experience the simulation.

I use the X52 too. Are you sure you set the Deadzones right? Mine works OK without having to do anything...

Don't think so as soon as its the official!