RBS-15F (AI) used too close or not at all by AI flights

DCS Version: 1.5.8.12823

This is a detailed report on my findings regarding AI use of RBS-15 first discussed here: https://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=199325

(Please note that I'm refering to AI controlled flights, not AI wingmen.)

I set up a simple mission using the editor to try to figure out why AI-controlled Viggen flights wouldn't fire their missiles at all, or if they actually did - fired them way too close. Five flights of four Viggens each, same distance to a surface group with short-range SAMs only.

No matter what Set Option, Do Task, Start Enroute Task, target waypoints etc I gave the AI groups at various waypoints, they wouldn't fire at all. They even overflew the enemy surface group without firing.

After a lot of trial-and-error, logging unit detection using LUA script etc I think I've pinpointed two things:

* If I (in a separate flight with me as pilot) engaged and hit a surface vessel, then the AI units would suddenly report "Engaging...", close to approx 20 nm and then engage using RBS-15F (AI).

* If I gave 3 AI flights the normal RBS-15F and 2 AI flights the RBS-15 AI - the flights equipped with _normal_ RBS-15F would immediately on mission start report on the radio that they're going to engage surface targets. After this, they close to about 40 nm and fire a volley of missiles. After missiles hit something, the same as above applies - the flights armed with RBS-15F AI will after they get close enough suddenly decide to engage and fire their RBS-15F (AI) from 15-20 nm.

RBS-15F (non AI) fired by AI flights actually seem to work pretty OK. They seem to pick the same target, and if the target they seem to have picked is destroyed, they self-destruct.

My conclusion is that the RBS-15F (AI) has problems with one or more of:

* Changes flight AI behaviour so they don't engage enemy ships at all unless some other flight has hit something in that surface group.

* Seems to make the flight AI totally ignore all attempts of "Attack Unit", "Attack group", "Search then engage group" etc.

* Even after "activating" and trying to engage, they fire their RBS-15F (AI) much closer than their maximum range. Something weird about the max range? Using Rb-04E values?

* I don't think detection of the enemy surface group is an issue, the Controller.getDetectedTargets() function called once per second reports detection as expected given distance, altitude, size of enemy ship etc.

I've attached a sample .miz where the two flights with RBS-15F (AI) are the two to the southwest while the three to the southeast are armed with RBS-15F. The northwest flight is the player flight.

rbs15aitest.miz