Carrying multiple Jamming pods

[Invader ZIM]

Hey Guys,

 

Just upgraded to 1.2.7 and there's mention of more effective ECM, and I noticed I can load two different jammers simultaneously on the A-10.

 

Will putting two of the same jammers increase it's effectiveness?

 

Will putting two jammers of different types increase effectiveness? Would that cover different radar frequencies to jam?

 

What are the advantages/disadvantages between the two jammer types as modelled in the sim with version 1.2.7?

[Neon67]

no effectivness difference between the two version , only drag and weight

[SyntaxError]

From what I heard previously there is no difference between the ALQ 131 & ALQ 184 jamming pods in DCS World, but this may be incorrect.

 

There is also the debate on the subject of 'do ECM pods actually do anything'. Somewhere in that thread there is a post verifying that the DCS ECM pods do in fact work to some extent.

[Neon67]

since the last update they should be an effect, however i didnt try to see if its effective

[Exorcet]

I did limited testing with the F-15 against one of the Russian cruisers and ECM significantly cut down the range at which I would get a lock warning.

[Invader ZIM]

Okay, thanks for the info guys, still seems to be a grey area.

 

Best to go with the lower drag version and only one I guess.

[JayPee]

In-sim, all mechanics around countermeasures are simplified and there is no difference between the way a 131 and a 184 function. Unless there are some tricks going on under the hood but so far I've not been able to deduct from the .LUA files that this is the case.

 

In reality, only dedicated aircraft like the Growler and Prowler for instance are normally seen with more than one ECM pod, where there's often slight differences between the pods which you won't directly notice from the outside. I know for one that the centre line ECM pod of these two ACFT operates on a different frequency than the two pods mounted under the wings. I have yet to find the first picture of an A-10 carrying two ECM pods so hence I assume it has no added value.

Edited February 10, 2014 by JayPee

[joey45]

The Growler/Prowler is more of a Jamming of Enemy Air Defenses then personal protection.

[JayPee]

What I said...

[SkateZilla]

That would add alot of drag

[Invader ZIM]

Thanks for that info guys, yea I thought if the different pods had different generic jamming frequencies covered it might be worth it to figure out which one to go with, or both if they really covered more frequencies together.

 

Which version has less drag in the sim?

[JayPee]

184 is supposed to have less drag than the 131 but im not sure that is fixed yet. In the 1.2.7 beta they had the same drag index which is incorrect.

[badger66]

Would 2 Lightning pods enable you to see the target all the time ?

[Invader ZIM]

That would be interesting, if you hit the gimball limit on one pod, you could switch over to the other pod that still had a clear line of sight to the target.

 

Don't know if it works like that, but interesting idea :)

[JayPee]

Carrying multiple Jamming pods

 

Two TGPs is probably like having two women at the same time... Fun guaranteed 24/7 yet they keep conflicting somehow.

 

For real now, at least in-sim it does nothing. Last time I checked it picks up the feed of the right pod, the left is just hanging there.

 

Also, how would you imagine this to be working in real life? You'd need constant monitoring of the jet's pitch and roll to loosely predict when the wing or fuselage will block one pod's view and take over the feed of the other. On top of that you need to program angles for every adjoining piece of ordnance as they all have different shapes blocking the pod's view as well. Or you'd need to use both MFDs for the TGPs but that would mean no TAD or CDU.

Edited February 11, 2014 by JayPee