AI Wingman and AAR

[parxuk]

Sorry if this has been discussed before.

 

When on a mission with an AI wingman which involves air to air refueling, how do you know which side of the tanker the AI is going to want to take once commanding them to "hit the tanker"?

 

I ask because on occasion I have been tanking and the AI has tried to connect to the same side as me (and subsequently crashed in to my rear).

 

Also had a funny the other day when trying to tank with an AI wingman. I was trying to connect to the drogue but although the drogue was visible, my probe would just pass straight through and not connect. I tried the other side and connected fine. What's that all about? Is it because the AI wingman had already some how "bagged" that side, so it stopped me from latching on?

 

Also I find that when the AI wingman does connect, he isn't there for long before detaching and stating he is rejoining me. He cant have filled his tanks in that time, and then hits bingo fuel before me which is frustrating.

 

Thanks

[Gianky]

Also had a funny the other day when trying to tank with an AI wingman. I was trying to connect to the drogue but although the drogue was visible, my probe would just pass straight through and not connect. I tried the other side and connected fine. What's that all about? Is it because the AI wingman had already some how "bagged" that side, so it stopped me from latching on?

 

That's exactly it.

 

I experienced your same findings and my conclusion is that, when you order your wingman to hit the tanker, when he acknowledges (it doesn't always happen) he "books" the left basket. At that point you cannot refuel from it, you have to go to the right basket. Unfortunately, it seems there's no way to know if the basket has been "booked" or not, but, in the end, when we both need to refuel (like in Exigent Riviera or Integral Resolve), I just go directly for the right basket.

[pete_auau]

yep found that to, the ai will bingo and eject way to early must have a fuel leak:)

[Harker]

Something that works for me most of the time is to. 1) Contact the tanker with intent to refuel, 2) Order my wingman to refuel, 3) go to the other basket and say "Ready pre-contact". I also wait to see which basket the wingman will line up to and then approach, but 99% of the time, he'll select the left basket.

[parxuk]

Thanks.

 

Good to know i'm not going completely mad, and that these are issues other people experience.

 

I've been flying the Integral Resolve campaign and each mission requires AAR. Most of the missions I realised I had to refuel from the right hand side, but one mission (as mentioned below when my probe just kept going straight through the basket) I had to go to the left. Shame there cant be some way to know in advance. AAR is difficult enough without going through the trouble of lining up and trying to connect only to realise you are on the wrong side!

 

Thanks again

[Harker]

Thanks.

 

 

 

Good to know i'm not going completely mad, and that these are issues other people experience.

 

 

 

I've been flying the Integral Resolve campaign and each mission requires AAR. Most of the missions I realised I had to refuel from the right hand side, but one mission (as mentioned below when my probe just kept going straight through the basket) I had to go to the left. Shame there cant be some way to know in advance. AAR is difficult enough without going through the trouble of lining up and trying to connect only to realise you are on the wrong side!

 

 

 

Thanks again

I had a similar experience, same campaign btw. That's when I realized how it worked, with "booking" different baskets for different units. I must've been trying to connect with wrong basket for 15-20 minutes, at night, my probe just going right through it. I thought I was going insane. I then randomly tried the other basket and connected first try.

[Gianky]

Quick OFF TOPIC question, guys, since we're all playing the same campaign: I only played mission 1 in Integral Resolve, am I wrong or there's no dedicated F10 commands for the wingman to attack targets, as in Coherent Force?

[Harker]

Quick OFF TOPIC question, guys, since we're all playing the same campaign: I only played mission 1 in Integral Resolve, am I wrong or there's no dedicated F10 commands for the wingman to attack targets, as in Coherent Force?

I don't recall, it's been a while, but I don't think so. You can select "Engage mission and rejoin or Engage target etc" or something like that, from the comms menu though (I use VAICOM, so I don't remember the exact text on the menu, sorry).

Edited May 14, 2020 by Harker

[Gianky]

Thank you Harker, I'll suggest Dope to add it, then, in Coherent Force works better, IMO, than the standard wingman command. :thumbup:

[Razor18]

Sorry, a quick OFF too: does Coherent Force work at all in 2.5.6 Beta at all?

[F4ttyRider]

I think that is the IRL order of filling positions. The first one plane goes to the left wing basket and the second goes to the right one.

 

But there maybe a poor A.I. coding for that AAR order...

[Gianky]

Sorry, a quick OFF too: does Coherent Force work at all in 2.5.6 Beta at all?

 

Hey Razor!

 

Yeah, for what I can see, it works as intended!

 

 

F4ttyRider, yeah that's correct order, the problem is, there seems to be no way of knowing exactly if your wingman "booked" the left basket before you or not, except trying to refuel from there.

[Razor18]

And for the wingman AAR, it takes him ages (literally about 20 minutes) to line up and approach the basket with around 1-2 kts closure from waay out (and not just for F-18). So you always need to think way ahead in time. Last time I sent him tanking a bit late, run out of fuel on creeping up to the tanker, then ejected.

[Greyman]

For tankers that use them, the basket doesn't get extended, for me, until I state 'ready pre-contact', so if a basket is out before that, then i assume that is the one that my wingman has been allocated.

[Fisherman82]

And for the wingman AAR, it takes him ages (literally about 20 minutes) to line up and approach the basket with around 1-2 kts closure from waay out (and not just for F-18). So you always need to think way ahead in time. Last time I sent him tanking a bit late, run out of fuel on creeping up to the tanker, then ejected.

 

The wierd thing about this is that this worked ok a while back, I did refueling training missions with my AI wingman just fine, we where hooked on the same time at our respective basket.

However recently it takes him as you say forever, so refueling AI wingmen is not really possible now if you want to go refuel together, you will have to leave him and hopefully he will rejoin a half hour later if he survives the refueling.

 

There has been a unfortunate step backwards regarding AI refuellng apparently.

[parxuk]

For tankers that use them, the basket doesn't get extended, for me, until I state 'ready pre-contact', so if a basket is out before that, then i assume that is the one that my wingman has been allocated.

 

On this particular mission which uses a KC-135, the baskets are already trailing before you pre-contact.

[Greyman]

On this particular mission which uses a KC-135, the baskets are already trailing before you pre-contact.

 

Coin-flipping time then ;p