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Hi everyone, A somewhat minor issue, that's trivial to fix - a complete S-300PS missile battery doesn't work without the SAM SA-10 S-300 "Grumble" C2 unit (5K56S PBU). IRL this unit is a regiment/brigade-level command and control unit, used primarily for forwarding targets detected via 5N64S RLO [Big Bird-B] radar to 2-6 missile batteries. The analogue to the Patriot system would be the AN/MSQ-116 ICC, which in DCS (as it should), is not required for a Patriot battery to function. The 5N63S RPN [Flap Lid-B] fire-control radar has a cabin (F2K) mounted on the rear of the vehicle, which provides battery-level command and control (the Patriot analogue would be the AN/MSQ-104 ECS). The missile batteries should be able to perform their own target search, independent of the command unit, using either the 5N66M NVO [Clam Shell] radar (albeit only against terrain-following targets) - which is required against NOE targets anyway, or via the autonomous target search mode of the 5N63S (which is 105° in azimuth by 1° in elevation (though this can be elevated up or down as needed and the radar itself can be rotated through 360°)). The F2K cabin of the 5N63S RPN should then provide all the command and control functions for the battery, including target acquisition via the NVO or the fire-control radar. The 5N64S RLO [Big Bird-B] radar is already not required to have a working S-300PS missile battery (just the acquisition capabilities of the battery will be greatly diminished), the same should be true of the 5K56S PBU (SAM SA-10 S-300 "Grumble" C2). Without the 5N64S radar and/or with only a single missile battery, the 5K56S should be redundant (just as the AN/MSQ-116 ICC is redundant for Patriot without IADS functionality). However, despite this, without the 5K56S PBU in DCS, the missile battery doesn't function - as if the 5K56S is treated as the sole command and control unit, which isn't the case. This means that if the command and control unit is disabled or destroyed, or is in the process of relocating, the missile batteries aren't usable, which also shouldn't be the case - they should still function, albeit with quite degraded acquisition capability. The only difference between the 2 tracks below is that the noPBU track doesn't have the 5K56S unit and the wPBU track does. You can see that the target is not engaged if the PBU isn't present. As above, without the RLO and with only a single missile battery, the 5K56S is redundant - the 5N63S RPN's F2K cabin provides all the necessary command and control functions for the battery, just as the AN/MSQ-104 ECS does for Patriot. To fix this issue, all that needs to be changed is that the "depends_on_unit = { { { "S-300PS 54K6 cp" } } }," needs to be removed on line 23 of S-300PS 5H63C 30H6_tr.lua (for the self-propelled mount) and on line 19 of S-300PS 40B6M tr.lua (for the 40V6M mast-mounted version). In case anyone is wondering what the structure of an S-300PS brigade/regiment looks like, see the spoiler below: S-300PS_missilebatt_test_noPBU.trk S-300PS_missilebatt_test_wPBU.trk

BLUF, I would like to see SAM’s better modeled within DCS. I’ll be speaking primarily about the SA-2 but the points I bring up apply to other SAM’s in the game. There are a few things on the in-game SA-2 that are modeled but not function such as the trough antennas on the Fan Song Target Engagement Radar (TER) that allow it to do its own limited search function. These antennas can scan a fixed area at a time or be combined with the rotation of the whole unit to provide 360 degrees of search. Another thing missing on the Fan Song is its optical tracker. This allowed crews to track targets without the use of the 2 parabolic dish antennas mounted on top. Since the missile guidance was accomplished using Command Guidance instead of Beam Riding the target aircraft wouldn’t get a missile launch warning until the beam from the missile uplink antenna also encompassed the aircraft. This is also true for when crews tracked targets using the Radars, the aircraft would be alerted via its RWR (Radar Warning Receiver) that it was being locked onto, but the missile launch alert would not be given until the aircraft was in the same beam as the missile. For a brief explanation of why this happens continue reading this paragraph, if you already have a grasp of it feel free to skip to the next one. On radar's like the Fan Song that use command guidance, there will usually be antennas dedicated to tracking a target and antennas dedicated to missile guidance or, "talking to the missile." Because the radar's goal is to get the missile out in front of the aircraft to pull lead and not waste its limited energy, it will be fired with lead and the narrow beam of energy pointed at it to give it commands during flight will likely not encompass the aircraft until the missile and aircraft are very close (this scenario assumes a side aspect shot). The aircraft will be kept in the beam of a tracking antenna that works with a computer or the operator to tell the uplink how to guide the missile. The optical tracker is seen on most "E" models of the Fan Song radar which is the variant modeled in game, this is evident by the placement of the 3 parabolic dishes as well as the trough antenna's. From what I have read the SA-3's Low Blow radar includes similar trough antennas however it does not utilize them in the same search function, instead they act as receivers. These Trough antennas are fixed in place so they are limited in azimuth and elevation in terms of search capability, however the inclusion of these antennas mean systems like the SA-2 are not completely useless if the search radar is offline. Something to note is the choice of search radar for the SA-2 and SA-3 being the P-15 Flat Face in game. In real life as far as I've read the P-18 Spoon Rest was the intended Search Radar for at least later model SA-2’s such as the “D” model we have in game. It was also used with the SA-3, however the SA-3 also used a later version of the P-15 called the P-15M Squat Eye. Both the Spoon Rest and the Squat Eye include better performance over the Flat Face. Something that I cannot confirm (as I do not know how the guidance is modeled) but suspect to be inaccurate is the flight path taken by missiles using command guidance. Rather than being fired and leading the target they seem to lag behind it or travel directly to it as if they were beam riding. My final point on the SA-2 specifically is the maximum range of the system. The Target Tracking radar is the SNR-75M4 Fan Song E (it could also be the SNR-75M3 Fan Son E I have not been able to distinguish between the two systems based on our in-game model). The variant of SA-2 to use Fan Song E’s was the SA-2D which used the 5Ya23 missile. This missile has a maximum range of 76,000 m or 41.04 NM. The missile in game has a maximum range of 28 miles, which while being a more realistic firing range as it's much closer to the "no escape" range of the missile, is still short of the maximum range. It's important to note that the statistics for the type of missile used in game seem to be relatively accurate, I believe it is just the wrong missile being used for the variant of SA-2 we have. To conclude, I would like to see track radars have expanded functionality to match their real world counterparts, the variant of SAM specified (like SA-2B, SA-2C, SA-2D etc...) and the components and missiles of SAMs used in game synchronized and their specifications brought in line with the appropriate variant. Thank you and Happy Holidays Sources: http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Engagement-Fire-Control.html http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-S-75-Volkhov.html Both sources include other links to information