[NO BUG] AGM 154A

[oldpop]

2 questions

1.using a waypoint as a 154A target, if the WP altitude is say 6000' MSL and the tgt is 50'MSL the weapon will not open. I have to set the WP altitude to the MSL of the tgt itself!

2. is that an upper and lower limit on the "HT" settings?:(

[NineLine]

2 questions

1.using a waypoint as a 154A target, if the WP altitude is say 6000' MSL and the tgt is 50'MSL the weapon will not open. I have to set the WP altitude to the MSL of the tgt itself!

2. is that an upper and lower limit on the "HT" settings?:(

 

Would be best to see a track, but sounds like you are not adjusting the altitude of the waypoint correctly. But you are not giving enough info to really figure it out.

[oldpop]

What I believe the altitude of a WP should be set to the altitude which the A/C should fly over that NAV point, say at 25000'. When using a WP as a tgt point( designated on HSI MFD as the tgt) that altitude remains 25000' and the 154A will not release it weapons.

I'll send a trk file later

[NineLine]

What I believe the altitude of a WP should be set to the altitude which the A/C should fly over that NAV point, say at 25000'. When using a WP as a tgt point( designated on HSI MFD as the tgt) that altitude remains 25000' and the 154A will not release it weapons.

I'll send a trk file later

 

Yes, when you set a waypoint to a target point, in most cases you will have to adjust the altitude for the weapon you are using.

[KTFBGB]

Old pop that’s Negative. This is a GPS guided weapon. When you enter the coordinates into the weapon, you need to tell it what the height of the target is, not the height of its release point. If you put 6000 ft as the coordinate height the weapon thinks the target is 6000 above MSL.

 

The HT function tells it what height above the target you want the canister to open. HT affects dispersion of the sub munitions. I believe that the max height for the canister to open is around 2000 feet above the target. However you have really wide dispersion. I always set cluster munitions between 700 - 1200 feet depending on what the target is.

[NineLine]

As a side note as well, that the munitions are not wind corrected yet, so having a super high opening could cause issues if there is much wind.

[oldpop]

KTFB. you are missing the point! as shown in Wag's vid on the AGM 154A, in TOO mode, he set the tgt by selecting a WP directly over the TGT.

You only set the LaT/Long in PP mode.

I think 9line is correct stating that the WP Altitude MUST me set at tgt altitude , and HT set for burst height, but I couldn't find any reference anywhere for that!

BAD (or no) documentation is a hallmark of DCS it seems! :(

 

I feel this is a BUG, or at least poor instructions form Sim trng vids!

Edited June 25, 2019 by oldpop
adding info

[backspace340]

KTFB. you are missing the point! as shown in Wag's vid on the AGM 154A, in TOO mode, he set the tgt by selecting a WP directly over the TGT.

You only set the LaT/Long in PP mode.

I think 9line is correct stating that the WP Altitude MUST me set at tgt altitude , and HT set for burst height, but I couldn't find any reference anywhere for that!

BAD (or no) documentation is a hallmark of DCS it seems! :(

 

I feel this is a BUG, or at least poor instructions form Sim trng vids!

 

You can set the elevation for waypoints and for PP targets. Either PP or TOO both need an elevation set for the bombs to guide correctly (and most of the time that would be set at ground-level, in MSL, unless you're trying to hit the top part of a building or something).

[KTFBGB]

I think 9line is correct stating that the WP Altitude MUST me set at tgt altitude , and HT set for burst height, but I couldn't find any reference anywhere for that!

 

Lol yes. This is exactly what I was saying. The coordinates you enter into the weapon must be at the elevation of the target. If you are using too mode you have to go into the HSI DATA page and change the elevation of the WP you are assigning to the weapon.

[KTFBGB]

KTFB. you are missing the point! as shown in Wag's vid on the AGM 154A, in TOO mode, he set the tgt by selecting a WP directly over the TGT.

You only set the LaT/Long in PP mode.

I think 9line is correct stating that the WP Altitude MUST me set at tgt altitude , and HT set for burst height, but I couldn't find any reference anywhere for that!

BAD (or no) documentation is a hallmark of DCS it seems! :(

 

I feel this is a BUG, or at least poor instructions form Sim trng vids!

 

I learned how to use the weapon from his video. Not sure where the confusion is. He had his waypoints set as ground waypoints in that video not Nav waypoints up in the air. It’s not a bug. This is a early access product that is still being heavily developed. Of course there isn’t going to be updated literature every time they update. Do you want them finishing the product or changing the manual constantly. I’m sure once the product is released, they will provide a complete manual to go with it. For now, the vids are great, and very clear on the procedure.

[Harker]

The JSOW, just like any other GPS guided weapon, needs to have both the position (N,E) and elevation coordinates of the TARGET it's supposed to hit. It needs a point in space. If the elevation you entered is above the MSL of the target, the weapon will hit that point, which happens to be in the air.

 

If you're using TOO mode and an WP as TGT, you have to have the WP's elevation set to the ground's MSL elevation. The HT function is only for the burst height.

 

There is another think called Launch Point (LP), which is the point you have to fly at to launch, but I don't think it's implemented yet and it's only for PP mode, IIRC.

[Robin_Hood]

I'd like to add that it doesn't really make any sense to use a waypoint as a JSOW target (well, it won't when pre-planned targets can be entered in the mission editor), because it is essentially the same as inputing the waypoint coordinates in the PP mode directly. TOO mode will be more useful with other means of targeting, like the FLIR (Litening of ATFLIR), or the radar.

For a target of opportunity, creating a new waypoint with given coordinates doesn't make sense since you are better off making a pre-planned target instead (of course I understand that right now waypoints can be a quick and dirty way to pre-plan targets).

[Harker]

I'd like to add that it doesn't really make any sense to use a waypoint as a JSOW target (well, it won't when pre-planned targets can be entered in the mission editor), because it is essentially the same as inputing the waypoint coordinates in the PP mode directly. TOO mode will be more useful with other means of targeting, like the FLIR (Litening of ATFLIR), or the radar.

For a target of opportunity, creating a new waypoint with given coordinates doesn't make sense since you are better off making a pre-planned target instead (of course I understand that right now waypoints can be a quick and dirty way to pre-plan targets).

Of course you're right. But for now, it's all we have in the sense of pre-loaded coordinates. In a way, we're kinda using it the opposite way.