StrongHarm

If you're trying the Warthog/Blackshark coop mission, it's multi only. You can start a server on LAN rather than the internet if you want to fly it alone though.

Xaoslaad, I agree with and applaud your approach. The ME gives us the freedom to create a dynamic battlefield, I'm glad you're taking advantage of it. My approach in the referenced mission is a mirror of the one you took. The mission starts with SEAD ops in progress, but if you fly into the AO, or SEAD fails, MGRS of last known position of each mobile AA is reported via F10. This mission also includes a version where SEAD is Blacksharks, player or AI. If a player spawns in a Blackshark, the AI Blacksharks RTB. The good thing about this mission for new pilots is that target identification is pretty simple. Enemy columns have been bottlenecked off of two roads. It's still in testing so I'd appreciate your feedback if you and your friends have time to try it out. It can be found here.

Awesome. Have you posted about your impressions of DCS A-10C and the deltas between the virtual airframe and the RL airframe? Hawg stories are MOST welcome!

If you want to spawn AA assets based on current events within a multi mission, try this: (Once) X: COCKPIT ARGUMENT IN RANGE - 779, 1, 1 = Group Activate SA-* (Switched Condition) X: COCKPIT ARGUMENT IN RANGE - 779, 0, 0 = AI Deactivate SA-* (Switched Condition) X: COCKPIT ARGUMENT IN RANGE - 779, 1, 1 = AI Activate SA-* The result is that if you're the mission host, when you switch on the "Zeroize" switch on the KY58 secure voice channel, an SA-* asset is spawned. When you switch it off their radar goes dark. When you switch it back on their radar lights up again. Talk about things getting interesting!

Try the MP-1a Midget Pod yet? On sighting the target: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1140598#post1140598 On employing the Maverick: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?p=1120030#post1120030 On reading the manual: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=58696 On why DCS deserves your time: http://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=996258&postcount=39

Thanks for the feedback! 1. The 'fat log' is probably caused by the MLRSs firing. I only need to really have two of them fire during the Hawgs holding patern over Tbilisi.. the others I'll hold fire so they just become targets. My intention was to allow the pilot in pattern over the city, to see the city start burning to give the feeling of 'being in the sh**'. I'll tone the other MRLSs back and that should also increase the performance. 2. SEAD is set to fail after 600sec if they're not done with all the AA assets. There's an AI task for 'SEAD RTB, Hold fire'. Problem is, they seem to continue to attack if they already had something targeted. I'll test and modify.. thanks! 3. There seems to be a problem with the F-15s if they orbit at AGL instead of ASL. After the furball spawns and they kill the migs, I should have them switch waypoints and orbit high. The logic says ' when a hawg is in zoneX, spawn a fighter furball in front of them'. This also is designed to give the feeling of 'being in the sh**'. I appreciate the feedback, it's hard to test a mission of this scale alone. I'll make these changes and post v1.3.

Try this out Grimes. I've not thoroughly tested it yet. If it looks good I'll post it in a different thread. Be sure to read the mission briefing. This is the same as BIPV, A-10C.. but SEAD is now Blacksharks instead of Apaches. It all plays out the same, unless a Blackshark pilot logs in, then the AI Blacksharks RTB to make way for the client Blacksharks. All 10 AA assets are marked as PVI targets, but NorthSEAD and SouthSEAD have them marked in reverse order (Southern most target marked as TGT01 for SouthSEAD, Northern most target marked as TGT01 for NorthSEAD). If anyone has time, I'd appreciate mission feedback so I can troubleshoot and post a final. Thanks :) EDIT: see v1.2 below

That's cool. The problems you mentioned before should be resolved. I'm working on a coop Hawg Blackshark version of the mission right now.

I do know that the Hellfires fired from Apaches were the first shots fired in Desert Storm, and it was a DEAD mission. This is probably the one single concrete fact I've spoken about AH-64's :). I know this from experience rather than heresay. As a former engineer on U.S. Navy fixed wing aircraft, I can't say that I know much about the rotor world, but I do know that Apaches were among the first platforms used for JSEAD. A single Apache radar can detect and manage up to 128 targets, moving and stationary, then classify, distribute, and correlate the target information with all assets within the JSEAD network. I don't have any numbers to back my statement up, so I may be incorrect in assuming that the Apache is frequently used for SEAD. I do love doing DEAD popups in my Blackshark regardless of the risk.. she's a beauty! I hope one day to bask in the magnificence of DCS: AH-64D.. that would be sahweet

Yeah, I've spent quite a bit of time optimizing it. I'll be interested to hear how your sytem takes it. Thanks buddy! I'm on it. Are you thinking a Blackshark dedicated version, or Warthog/Blackhawk co-operative? I'll try to have it up tomorrow.

Thanks Aces! The next mission, Battle For Patara Valley is what all the other missions are built around. It's super large scale. The premise is a WW2 scale battle in a cold war type setting.. what might have happened. Besides a battlefield with 300+ vehicles on each side (it runs fine with incremental AI activation.. I'll talk about that when I lauch it).. there's also four side missions that can be activated by contacting command. One of the side missions has audio from a real CAS mission. I put many many hours in it and I'm very proud of it. I have to work a few bugs out then I'll launch it. Should be in the coming week I hope. The other two missions NightCAS and Retreat received good reviews from my test subjects :) NightCAS has Red and Blue forces battling between two cities that are about a mile apart. In retreat the Russians are trying to make it back across the border through a huge mountain pass.. you have to rout them so they won't return.

Yeah.. youtube's commie content system detected that I used Aces High by Iron Maiden in the second half of the vid. It's content locked from mobile devices... :censored:

You may be hitting an older version of the vid if you're searching youtube by my name. Click on the link in the OP. That work ok?

Thanks :) I've not been away really, just putting my time into testing and mission dev. Love flying with the guys from the 1stVFW! As soon as I clean up the other 3 Patara Valley missions I'll be in the sky multi much more often. @Spectre - hah! wow.. I left the mission in a test state when I uploaded it (smacks forehead).. I'll fix and post with edit notice heheh. EDIT: Fixed.. tell me what you think Spectre. NOTE: By design it's reported if NORTH SEAD or SOUTH SEAD fails in their mission, so you'll know that you need to take up SEAD in a given area. If the both fail there's a different message. If you go into the AO before SEAD complete.. by one or both sectors, the Apaches do AI Task-RTB, Hold fire. Hit F10 to get MGRS on remaining AA assets.

There's always been controversy over whether reading the manual is necessary. I do know that it's widely encouraged. I personally love the technical details they added to the manual. It adds to the immersion of the simulation. To put it into perspective, if there are 100 points of knowledge available in the manual, learning from a squadron or individual will most likely provide 70 points at most (which is enough for some people). If you read the manual, read the forums, and confer with other pilots in multi, you'll most likely acheive 120 points of knowledge. See this post for interesting discourse on the subject: http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=58696

My understanding is that the traditional HARM needs to be within a very close range to get a fix and still hit it's target if the radar is no longer hot. I saw a report recently that Ratheon has received an RFP to build an HDAM system that will store GPS/INS info autonomous of the aircraft, after a very short window if the threat radiates. I wonder what the cost per missile is though... Grimes, isn't it possible to set SEAD to "Attack group XX", then within the same waypoint, and in order after "attack group", a "Weapons Hold".. to restrict their attack and leave everything visible? I've not tried it. One method to simulate cat/mouse between HARM and AI-AA is to set an AI task on SEAD for weapons hold, then add it to a trigger based on conditions. So SA-X(AI-OFF), F-XX(AI Task, Weapon's Hold)... SA-X(AI-ON), F-XX(AI Task, Weapon's Free). I find myself using AI Task more and more.. very useful. For those of you interested in limiting your AA and SEAD in the future, I use the invisible method in the referenced mission. Take a look at the triggers and to see how it all plays out.

The referenced mission has Apaches in the AO as you're starting up. They go after the AA assets, but if one element is killed (north and south) then you're warned that AA remains in the deficient sector. Or.. if you breech the AO before they report AA down (individually, then total) then they bug out and SEAD is up to you. You can then hit F10 to request the MGRS of the last known location of threat, for each threat still alive. But by the time you startup, take off, then get in pattern over Tbilisi, they're usually at about 6 of 10 destroyed. Holding the pattern for 5min usually allows them enough time to mop up. In my testing I found that about 20% of the time one or the other Apache element is destroyed or damaged to the point that they bug out and you have to finish that sector. You can also use AFAC to talk on to AA before the armor, as they have "AFAC assign target" for each AA, ordered before open AFAC. Feel free to view the triggers and use them if you like the logic. Mostly, I like watching the Apaches while my INS spins up. I also have a mission where you fly the Blackshark in their place. I may create a co-operative where KA-50s and A-10Cs do the mission together in multiplayer.

I'll check to see if that's written up in the issues db. Concerning response times: I read a defense paper that said that the ZSU takes more than 3.5 minutes to switch to manual. It went on to say that the A-10 countermeasures were created specifically with the Tung's radar in mind, so probability of success is almost 100%. Considering this, the Hawg would be virtually immune to the most widely used mobile AAA vehicle employed by it's most common enemies if terrain masking is employed. A realistic response time might be unbalancing in DCS. However, I've found that if you take a shot at the ZSU from 3nm+ with PAC engaged on a steep and stable slope, you can kill it almost every time without taking a single round. Ahhh.. isn't our Hawg a beauty!?

I would agree with that. We virtual pilots don't have a sober window.. hours long briefings.. preflight walkarounds.. all the other crap that IRL pilots need to deal with. You speak truth. I would suggest that SEAD would take care of fixed AA, then mobile AA may come into the AO to counter the Hawg threat for the enemy. You'll see that in the next mission Battle for Patara Valley. If a certain amount of armor is taken down before a certain time, AA starts to spawn (simulate counter-offensive). I also have a trigger in there that allows a switch in the hosts cockpit to spawn an SA-15.. that took a lot of time to figure out. That would be good to use in multiplayer if someone gets bored! heh.. But I digress.. I didn't start the thread to brag about my missions.. AA/SEAD employment IRL vs virtual

Download @ http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=84697

EDIT: V1.1 uploaded - First upload was still in a test state.. heh sorry bout that. v1.2 - 20120203 - Fixed reported issues. Added ability to recall SEAD with F10 if you want to take AA assets out yourself. This is the first of four missions set in the Patara Valley, near Tbilisi. The other missions will be posted as soon as they're cleaned up. 1. Build-up in Patara Valley 2. Battle for Patara Valley 3. Patara Valley NightCAS 4. Retreat from Patara Valley Video and mission outline: Best in 1080p full screen Mission 1 of 4: Build-Up in Patara Valley ==================== Highlights: - SP or MP - SEAD reports mud tally and kill - If you breech the AO before SEAD complete, support bugs out to prevent blue on blue - Mission indication if AA clear - You can request intel on AA location (F10) for each one still active (if SEAD fail) - Enemy convoy bottleneck on two roads(MM61/MM63) FTW ==================== FLASH MESSAGE: The lead mechanized forces for an impending full scale Russian invasion are moving toward Tiblisi. Your elimination of these support vehicles will soften the blow of the main incursion. Two elements of Apaches are currently executing SEAD ops to eliminate no less than ten Russian anti-air assets in preparation for your strike. STRIKE ORDER, USAF EUCOM ***************************** 1. Take off from Vaziani, fly NOE low and hold low at WAYPOINT ONE(1) over Tblisi 2. Standby for indication that anti-air assets have been eliminated 3. On command, proceed to WAYPOINT FOUR(4) following NOE low along the Mtvari river to ingress the enemies rear flank 4. If no immediate visual, contact JTAC for talk on to targets to the EAST and to the SOUTH TARGET: Russian support vehicles LOCATION: ELINT tracks forces moving east inside WAYPOINTS THREE to SEVEN(3-7) Due to restrictive terrain and lack of roads, firelines are expected to form at grids MM63 and MM61 SUPPORT ELEMENTS: AWACS - MAGIC 7-1 (E-3D Hawkeye) at 127.5 MHz AM CAP - SPRINGFIELD 1-1 (F-15C Eagle) at 127.5 MHz AM SEAD NORTH - UZI 1-1 (AH-64D Apache) at 127.5 MHz AM SEAD SOUTH - UZI 2-1 (AH-64D Apache) at 127.5 MHz AM AFAC NORTH - UZI 3-2 (OH-58D Kiowa Warrior) at 30 MHz FM AFAC SOUTH - UZI 4-2 (OH-58D Kiowa Warrior) at 31 MHz FM 1_BuildupInPataraValley_v1-2.miz

I was afraid someone might take my comments this way. It wasn't my intention to be critical toward anyone's missions, and I meant no offense. My goal was to identify a growing trend and suggest an alternative. Concerning Apaches in a SEAD role; I would encourage you to read about the opening days of Desert Storm. There's a reason why (besides the Eagle wiping their fighters up) we didn't lose any strike aircraft, despite over 10,000 iraqi anti-aircraft assets in theater. A combination of the following: 1. Satallite imagery 2. Junior Spooks combing over the images for anti-aircraft emplacements 3. HARM ! 4. Tomahawk 5. EC-130s shutting coms down between AA batteries 6. Apaches and AA sweep corridors I personally witnessed 300+ Apaches fly over prior to the opening strikes.. it looked like a swarm of mosquitoes. They would fly in NOE with assigned air corridors and sweep forward taking out AA emplacements as they went. Although I agree that SEAD ops are usually greedily horded by the USAF and wild weasel aircraft, the Apache can and does serve in this role with success... especially the D variant. If you fly Blackshark, try some popup maneuvers to see how effective helos can be in SEAD/DEAD. You hover behind terrain cover, pop up / acquire / fire, then drop back behind cover. This can be acheived with one good jolt to the cyclic if done correctly. Fun stuff! I love flying the KA-50.. I actually have a variation of this mission where you're in the helo group performing SEAD before you call the Hawgs in. And now it's out.. the real reason I used Apaches for SEAD ! heheh

I enjoy trying the community missions available. If you haven't tried them, check out the mission section of the forums for some real creative ideas. I've noticed that an increasing number show excess anti-air assets sprinkled around the AO. In reality I believe the reason most Hawgs land back at homeplate post mission is that they have proper SEAD support. Though I know the Hawg is employed for certain types of SEAD, the question is; does anyone know of RL A-10C doctrine or situations that call for SEAD and CAS in the same mission? The following outlines an example mission I created that employs proper pre-sortie support, as I believe might take place prior to CAS insertion. I'll upload it to the mission section of the forums, so feel free to use the triggers as a template for handling SEAD if you agree with the method. __________________________________________________ Video and mission outline: Mission 1 of 4: Build-Up in Patara Valley ==================== Highlights: - SEAD reports mud tally and kill - If you breech the AO before SEAD complete, support bugs out to prevent blue on blue - Mission indication if AA clear - You can request intel on AA location (F10) for each one still active (if SEAD fail) - Enemy convoy bottleneck on two roads(MM61/MM63) FTW ==================== FLASH MESSAGE: The lead mechanized forces for an impending full scale Russian invasion are moving toward Tiblisi. Your elimination of these support vehicles will soften the blow of the main incursion. Two elements of Apaches are currently executing SEAD ops to eliminate no less than ten Russian anti-air assets in preparation for your strike. STRIKE ORDER, USAF EUCOM ***************************** 1. Take off from Vaziani, fly NOE low and hold low at WAYPOINT ONE(1) over Tblisi 2. Standby for indication that anti-air assets have been eliminated 3. On command, proceed to WAYPOINT FOUR(4) following NOE low along the Mtvari river to ingress the enemies rear flank 4. If no immediate visual, contact JTAC for talk on to targets to the EAST and to the SOUTH TARGET: Russian support vehicles LOCATION: ELINT tracks forces moving east inside WAYPOINTS THREE to SEVEN(3-7) Due to restrictive terrain and lack of roads, firelines are expected to form at grids MM63 and MM61 SUPPORT ELEMENTS: AWACS - MAGIC 7-1 (E-3D Hawkeye) at 127.5 MHz AM CAP - SPRINGFIELD 1-1 (F-15C Eagle) at 127.5 MHz AM SEAD NORTH - UZI 1-1 (AH-64D Apache) at 127.5 MHz AM SEAD SOUTH - UZI 2-1 (AH-64D Apache) at 127.5 MHz AM AFAC NORTH - UZI 3-2 (OH-58D Kiowa Warrior) at 30 MHz FM AFAC SOUTH - UZI 4-2 (OH-58D Kiowa Warrior) at 31 MHz FM Edit: Mission uploaded http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=84697 . Single or multi capable.

I've attached my profiles for FC2 and BS2. My profile for Warthog can be found HERE. I've included dev notes and layout reference pics. EDIT: By the way, if you decide to use the mouse stick for slew, be sure to set a big deadzone or it's unmanageable. x52-FC2-Profiles.zip x52-BS2-Profile.zip

I resist adding voice commands for switches. It removes immersion for me rather than adding to it. One set of commands I do believe in adding is the views. It's better to stay heads up and say "view CDU" than to have to keyboard it. If you're making your own VAC profile I would suggest adding the phonetic spellings of some words. I think this and command combinations is what makes my profiles very functional. Also I activate and deactivate voice commands with "open channel" or "open UHF" for instance. I don't want my wing attacking a SAM cluster when I tell my wife I'll take the trash out when I'm good and ready. :)