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Need help on F-15 Mission "AWACS kill"


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Hello there. I've lurked the boards for a while after getting Lock On a few months ago (and really holding off on actually playing it until I got myself a nice Saitek X-52 because I want to get "the full experience" [planning on getting TrackIR soon to complete it]) a few weeks ago. I used to play flight sims when I was younger but I don't think I was ever really too good. But anyway, I'm still basically a n00b to serious flight tactics, so try to be gentle! So anyway, first post, sorry it's an annoying one! :P

 

My bird of choice is the F-15 and I've been trying to learn it the best I can. I've spent time configuring my own profile for my X-52 from scratch and it seems to be working pretty conveniently. Anyway, right now I'm a bit stuck on the mission "AWACS Kill", in which you are tasked with shooting down the Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft.

 

I've been flying my assigned waypoints at around 25-30k feet, keeping radar off until a little after waypoint 3 (I think) when I'm heading towards the A-50. I locked it up in TWS mode and selected my AIM-120 (correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I have read that in TWS mode, your target will not be notified of a missile launch until after the missile goes active. I know that wouldn't really make much difference when engaging a defenseless AWACS aircraft, but I was expecting to run into some fighters before I had a shot at the AWACS).

 

At about 20 miles range, I launched an AIM 120 and successfully destroyed it. I figured that was too easy for its own good and I quickly turned around and started to get the hell out of there (especially since I was being spiked by SAM sites that I presume were probably right under the A-50's location). As soon as I was able to turn away, my TEWS indicates I've been spiked by a Su-27 on my 6 oclock. The Su-27 fires missiles at me in no time and my evasive maneuvers fail miserably and I'm shot down very quickly. Of course, the debriefing says the mission was a success since I did manage to shoot down the A-50, but I can't let myself consider it a success when I'm dead, lol, so I don't save because I want to complete the mission right.

 

Can anyone offer me some insights and tips/tactics on how I should fly this mission differently? I think first and foremost, my biggest mistake was tracking the A-50 so long (I started tracking it when it was at about 40 miles range and stopped when I shot it down at about 15), when that whole time I could have picked up the incoming fighters and acted accordingly instead of tracking a sitting duck AWACS and allowing the fighters to sneak up on me (which I presume they did by leaving their radars off [so they wouldn't spike me] and getting their coordinates from the AWACS that I'm flying straight at, lol). I did obviously hear my AWACS giving me coordinates previously to enemy bandits, but I didn't really react since I hadn't come into contact with them [until it was too late]). I also figure that I should have at least commanded my wingman to turn on his radar so he could have detected and engaged the enemy bandits, if no more than serving as a distraction to them while I shoot down the A-50.

 

Anyway, I think I helped myself a bit already by analyzing my own mistakes (even though I'm sure there are countless more I haven't realized; but you guys can help me with that), but any advice regarding this mission or really any F-15 tactics in general would help me greatly. But remember to try to go easy on me, I'm just a n00b! :D

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What I did was assign my wing man to engage the Mig-23's and go after the A-50 myself and to minimize being engaged by the SAM's, which is a S300 if i remember rightly, I get back down to the deck and slam the throttles full open and run for the hills. Once in the hills you can employ terrain masking and very quickly lose any pursuers. Also another trick is to employ AMRAAM and Track While Scan. With this you can lock the A-50 and its escort up and when you get into a position where you get a high PK and engage them by ripple firing the AIM-120. Thats how I did it but there are some talented pilots on here who could probably help you more!:pilotfly:

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What Su-27s? AFAIK there are 2 flights of MiG-23s in the area. Just work out your radar and target the MiGs first. Whether you kill the MiGs then go after the AWACs or kill both with TWS, you should be able to do it in one pass easy.

 

Cut your wingman loose too.

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I've just re-flown the mission. At the last waypoint head 360 and do zoom climb (30 to 40deg nose up) to about 25000ft. At that altitude you should be able to give your missiles a helping hand. It should give the missile a larger energy store to engage the targets since it does not have a large climb ahead of it.

 

PS Get a Saitek X52. THere a fearsome bit of kit!!! In lomac my keyboard is now redundant :)

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I've just re-flown the mission. At the last waypoint head 360 and do zoom climb (30 to 40deg nose up) to about 25000ft. At that altitude you should be able to give your missiles a helping hand. It should give the missile a larger energy store to engage the targets since it does not have a large climb ahead of it.

 

PS Get a Saitek X52. THere a fearsome bit of kit!!! In lomac my keyboard is now redundant :)

 

I've already got an X-52, guess you missed that bit in the start of my post, lol. I'm very happy with it. My only complaint is that I wish the information button on the throttle (the one you can hold to see what command a button is assigned to without actually engaging that button) could be switched to use as a normal button. Next on my list to get is TrackIR.

 

Thanks for the tips, guys. And yeah, it's Mig 23's, not Su 27's, my bad. Spad, are you saying it would be best to engage the A-50 (while ordering my wingman to engage the Migs), and after getting a shot off it, heading for the deck and finding some terrain cover? Or should I try to stay low to begin with, and then climb and engage the A-50 after the last waypoint?

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Bugger.....No i dint read it right!:doh:

 

Oops....

 

It wasn't the last waypoint sorry. It was the first! As i reached it I turned at right angels to the flight path of the A-50 & did a steep climb to about 20,000ft and then turned hot onto the A-50, still keeping the range out to about 35 or 40 miles. I first locked up one of the Floggers and ordered my wingman to engage this target. I then locked both the remaining Flogger and Mainstay up using Track While Scan (TWS). Then I rippled an AIM-120 AMRAAM at each target. I stayed up high until both missiles found there targets. The i rolled into a diving turn to the south-west lit the burners up and scarpered for the mountains! I also instructed my wingman to join up but unfortunately the SAM's got him! Keeping at right angles to the A-50 and its escort also kept me on the extreme engagement range of the S-300. Even if they get a missile off at you, you will have an easier time evading them. Thats why I also bugged out to the south west. Puts more distance between you and the SAM. There is the other pair of Floggers there to but you can either run for the mountains and loose them or drag them south with you and out of the protective umbrella of the S-300 site. Then if you want, get some distance and altitude on them. Then turn and engage them!

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Are you talking about the AWACS Kill Single Mission or the AWACS Kill Campaign mission in the F15 Campaign? It seems the replies about the MiG23s relate to the single mission whereas the Su27s are in the campaign.

 

As for my ideas on beating the campaign mission - don't ask because I'm only just up to it myself...

Ryzen 5800X3D | 64GB DDR4 @ 3600MHz | Gigabyte X570-Aorus Ultra | Gigabyte GeForce 4090 | Samsung C34F791 | Varjo Aero | Windows 10 Pro x64 | Auzentech X-Fi Forte | too many flight controllers...

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Bugger I forgot about the AWACS Kill mission in the campaign! That does have Su27's!!!

 

Formski....That mission is a swine! I would suggest getting high, say around the 25,000ft mark. You also need to lure the Su27's away from the AWACS. I pretty much ran south over the Black Sea lured the flankers away. Then go for the Mainstay!

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Sorry if it's getting annoying, but I'm still having a bit of trouble. My last two attempts:

 

First attempt:

After takeoff, I climb to about 25k ft and head towards waypoint 3 and the AWACS. I've been getting pretty paranoid about finding those Su-27's, so occasionally I'll radio our E3 and ask for bandit vectors to see if any new ones pop up. One of the times I did it, I accidentally hit Enter instead of backslash (keyboard is on the floor as the HOTAS and mouse take up the desk space) and wasted an AIM 120, heh. Anyway, I lock up the A-50 and get in range and fire. I turned towards the A-50 a bit too soon because the SAMs started locking me up and firing at me, so I dispensed lots of flare and shaff, hit the burners, dived and turned away. Luckily, I was able to evade all of their missiles. A bit shaken, I started heading towards home, praying my AIM 120 would hit the A-50. About this time, my radar detected a pair of Su-27's (so I guess there's two flights), in front of us. My wingman and I engaged them and shot them down and I used my second AIM 120 on that. After the engagement was over, I checked and the A-50 is still on my RWR, so it looks like I missed. I was assuming that those Su-27's were the ones that were giving me trouble, so I wasn't too bothered by going back and having another shot at the AWACS. I turned around, started heading off shore a few miles to get out of SAM range and climbed again and headed toward the A-50. Once again, out of nowhere, a pair of Su-27's pop up on my RWR. I switch to boresight mode and select the AIM 9 and I'm actually able to get one shot off on one, but it misses and they proceed to rip me and my wingman to shreds.

 

Second attempt:

Like before, I've been getting up to about 25k feet and heading out to waypoint 3 towards the AWACS. I have been flying a few miles off shore (so the AWACS is really around my 10 oclock for most of the time) to try to avoid the SAMS getting an early shot on me. My radar usually picks up a Mig 29 in the same general area as the AWACS. In past attempts I've tried telling my wingman to engage him, but then my wingman usually ends up getting taken out by the SAMs. Anyway, the Mig hasn't given me any trouble. When I get close enough (about 30 miles from the AWACS), I turn towards it and get ready to fire on him. Out of nowhere, the Su-27's pop up on my RWR right in front of me and start engaging. This time, I started tracking one, told my wingman to engage, and might have had a fighting chance, but about 10 seconds after that, my damn computer locked up. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy.

 

Where are these Su-27's coming from and how are they staying hidden from my radar? Are they being dispatched from a nearby airbase when I start approaching the A-50? Is there any hope for a n00b like myself to not get completely owned by them? :P

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I think you are flying the Campaign AWACS kill mission. Its a while since I've flown it. I'll go on it later today and see how I get on. I'll post here with the results and tactics I used IF successful!!!:pilotfly:

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...

Where are these Su-27's coming from and how are they staying hidden from my radar? Are they being dispatched from a nearby airbase when I start approaching the A-50? Is there any hope for a n00b like myself to not get completely owned by them?

Here's what you are up against in the air:

 

1) The target AWACs and the 2 Su-27s escorting it. These are armed with R-27ER (6) and R-73 (2). They are probably at 39,000 ft when they detect you.

 

2) 2 MiG-29As armed with R-27R (2) and R-73 (4). These start the mission heading in your direction and are probably at 25,000 ft when they detect you.

 

On the ground:

 

The heavy threats on the way in are two KUB sites, one at Kirovskoye and a 2nd at Kerch-Bagerovo. If you follow your waypoints and stay on your course line, neither should be too serious a threat. Just angle away from the launch area a bit and the SAM should fall behind. On the way home, if you follow your waypoints, you will tangle with some Tunguskas late in the flight.

 

Rich

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1...CR6IZ7crfdZxDg

 

_____

Win 10 Pro x64, ASUS Z97 Pro MoBo, Intel i7-4790K, EVGA GTX 970 4GB, HyperX Savage 32GB, Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD, 2x Seagate Hybrid Drive 2TB Raid 0.

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Would flying higher help me detect the Su-27's soon enough to have a fair chance at them? I still want to figure out how to get them to stop sneaking up on me. :P

Instead of flying higher you can always tilt your radar cone up (SHIFT-; ) to scan higher.

 

Had a few minutes this morning and flew the mission. Here's the track (V1.12a--hope that's what you're flying): F-15 Campaign--AWACs Mission. Try not to laugh when you watch this. This is the most time I've spent in the F-15's cockpit at any one time. That's why I relied on STT instead of TWS for targeting.

 

Keep in mind that MiGs have short legs. So don't be in a hurry to engage. You want them to use their fuel to come to you. You'll notice that one MiG turns away before the fight. He's already bingo fuel. So we didn't worry about him.

 

Anyway...someone who knows how to use the F-15's weapons systems effectively should have less trouble completing this mission successfully than I did. Ended up losing my wingnut. BTW, I quit after killing the AWACs. Didn't have enough time to fly back home.

 

Hope you find this helpful.

 

Rich

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1...CR6IZ7crfdZxDg

 

_____

Win 10 Pro x64, ASUS Z97 Pro MoBo, Intel i7-4790K, EVGA GTX 970 4GB, HyperX Savage 32GB, Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD, 2x Seagate Hybrid Drive 2TB Raid 0.

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Unfortunately I do not have Flaming Cliffs yet, I am getting it soon though, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to view the track (I'll try to watch it after work tonight). My problem usually doesn't lie within killing the AWACS, I'm usually able to do that okay. And I could quit right then and complete the mission, but I'm a bit nitpicky and I just feel cheap for quitting right there. For me, it's not over until I've landed safely back at base. :P But the main reason I don't want to quit right as soon as that happens is because I want to get more practice out of flying and I would like to use it as a learning experience. But anyway, my problem is the Flankers sneaking up on me right after I kill the AWACS. Any tips on engaging them? Thanks for your help so far, btw. :)

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...But anyway, my problem is the Flankers sneaking up on me right after I kill the AWACS. Any tips on engaging them? Thanks for your help so far, btw.

We took out the Su-27s first but I got my wingnut killed in the process. The undefended AWACs died next. I quit then because I only had a few minutes to post the track before I had to leave for work.

 

BTW, the likelihood is that you will need to look either high or low for the Su-27s. The mission designer has two "Begin loop" WPs for the AWACs. As a result, he makes one circuit and heads in to land. If you're early enough, the whole flight is high. If you arrive later, they are heading in to land and down around 3000 feet. So scroll your radar up and down (SHIFT-; and SHIFT-. ) when looking for them. You need to cover the range from about 2000 ft to 40,000 ft.

 

Rich

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1...CR6IZ7crfdZxDg

 

_____

Win 10 Pro x64, ASUS Z97 Pro MoBo, Intel i7-4790K, EVGA GTX 970 4GB, HyperX Savage 32GB, Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD, 2x Seagate Hybrid Drive 2TB Raid 0.

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I had a go at this and it took me an hour to figure out a good tactic that would get mission complete and also save my wingman.

 

What I did was to use my wingy to engage the A-50 while I took out the two Su27's. The trick is to get your wingman in close enough and then release him at right moment then you've got to get the Su27 that'll be gunning for him too. The problem is that even though the F15 is a great force multiplier the refresh rate of the TWS cant keep up with Sukhoi's once they start loosing altitude so you'll most likely only have one shot in TWS before you go STT or bore site mode. Once you've taken out the Su27's then, hopefully, your wingman will radio "Bandit destroyed" and then it's time to reel him in before he gets too deep inland and sams start launching.

 

The Mig29A's are no match for the Eagle so just take them down anyway you want, although I would suggest using your Aim7's, saving your Amraam's for the Su27's. Just be efficient and don't waist too much time with them. I chose to engage one while letting my wingman get the second.

 

Here's a track but it's 1.12a. F15 Awacs

Cozmo.

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Minimum effort, maximum satisfaction.

 

CDDS Tutorial Version 3. | Main Screen Mods.

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Beat it

 

Beat the Campaign AWACS Kill Mission this morning (in 1.12a)

 

After taking off the first stop was the MiG29s - I shot at one with an AIM7 which he dragged out. This guy then continued extending and I suspect went home. The second MiG traded an R73 with an AIM120 from my wingman and both went down.

 

After continuing along the steerpoints and chaffing a few SAM launches I came across two contacts at 37000 (nicely contrailed) which I assumed were the SU27s. Bugged them both in TWS and sent three AIM120s at them (one got two because I hadn't bugged them both early enough) which sent them defensive. One went down while the other started shooting after my missile missed. Got a lock on the last one and used the remaining AIM120 to kill him. At this point the A50 was heading away and dropping altitude, so I killed him with the last AIM7.

 

Have to say the F15 is great for knowing what everybody is doing (read TWS), but lousy for actually interfering with it, because you're in range of everything before your missiles become effective.

 

Formski

Ryzen 5800X3D | 64GB DDR4 @ 3600MHz | Gigabyte X570-Aorus Ultra | Gigabyte GeForce 4090 | Samsung C34F791 | Varjo Aero | Windows 10 Pro x64 | Auzentech X-Fi Forte | too many flight controllers...

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Well, had a go at the mission earlier today and successfully beat it and landed.

 

The Migs obviously landed before I got too close to them and didn't present any problems. Accidentally got a little off track and flew over land on the way to the A-50 and had to dodge a few SAM launches. I was able to detect the Su-27's early enough to not get completely tore apart by them. I think it may have had something to do with the way I've changed my controls.

 

On my Saitek X-52, I used to have it set like this:

 

Stick top hat switch: Up and down zoom the view in and out (I don't have TrackIR yet), left and right increase and decrease radar range.

Stick bottom hat switch: POV

And using the throttle hat to move the target designator box.

 

but now I've realized that I've been an idiot for neglecting the pinkie shift button (and essentially doubling the number of possible commands), so now I have it set as before, but when the pinkie shift is on, I have the top hat set so that up and down increase and decrease the elevation scan and left and right toggle between 30 and 60 degree azimuth scans. I used to never use the elevation scan controls but now I see the importance of it. So now I've been using those to search higher for those Su-27's.

 

I still didn't detect them too early, but early enough that I could track them for a second before they started going missile-happy. There is one thing I'm still a little confused about though. I used TWS mode so I could hopefully get a shot off at both of them, but they're so close together on the radar screen that I find it hard to effectively designate both of them. Is there any way to zoom in (and not change range), or do I have to wait until they're close enough that I can decrease the radar range?

 

Anyway, I locked one of them up, and when they got close enough that I could decrease the radar range and see two separate targets, I tried to designate the second one but I wasn't able to for some reason (why does that happen?), so I ordered my wingman to engage bandits. I kicked on the burners and tried to get as much altitude as I could while anticipating his shot. He fired a missile at me just a few seconds before I was in launch range. I dispensed a bit of chaff and flares, launched 2 Aim-120's at him, and then took an evasive right turn and dive while dispensing some more chaff and flares. One of my missiles hit him and luckily my wingman got the other 27. However, he also got taken out by SAMs in the process. Relieved, I headed towards the A-50 and took it out with an AIM-7. I flew back home a few miles off shore at low altitude just to be safe and landed back at base.

 

I'm glad that I was finally able to complete it successfully, but I'm still curious about locking up multiple bandits in TWS; why does a target sometimes not lock when you put the designator on it, and is there a way to zoom in without changing range, or do you just have to wait until they're close enough that you can decrease range?

 

Thanks for all your help everyone, I think I'm getting better already.

 

Also, I downloaded Walmis' F-15 model and I love it. Maybe that's giving me magical pilot powers. :P

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