AMRAAM Question

[Skyracer]

If i shot an aim-120 pre pitbull. And the f-16s radar loses its target. Will the missile go dumb? Or will the missile have already predicted impact but still turn on its radar ~ 8 miles out?

[kengou]

The missile ought to go to the predicted intercept with the bandit’s last known vector And activate it’s radar at the appropriate time for pit bull. Obviously not so effective with a evasive bandit but may still pick up a bandit who hasn’t maneuvered too far off course.

[QuiGon]

The missile ought to go to the predicted intercept with the bandit’s last known vector And activate it’s radar at the appropriate time for pit bull. Obviously not so effective with a evasive bandit but may still pick up a bandit who hasn’t maneuvered too far off course.

That's how it works IRL. Does it actually behave like that in DCS as well? Because I sometimes get the impression the missile magically knows the position of the target (sometimes even through mountains), even if it is not yet in range of the missile's radar.

Edited July 6, 2020 by QuiGon

[deadpool]

Sometimes if a missile goes pitbull, instead of getting the (M) on the RWR for the missiles radar, you will just see the launch platform (even if it's turned cold) appear as "I'm shooting at you in STT like a Fox1" ..

[dundun92]

That's how it works IRL. Does it actually behave like that in DCS as well? Because I sometimes get the impression the missile magically knows the position of the target (sometimes even through mountains), even if it is not yet in range of the missile's radar.

That bug, the magic INS, is fixed for the AIM-120 at least (AIM-54 still has it, unsure of the SD-10). If the lock is dropped before pitbull, from what Ive seen, it assumes that the target flys staight ahead on the last known velocity vector and guides to that point.

[QuiGon]

That bug, the magic INS, is fixed for the AIM-120 at least (AIM-54 still has it, unsure of the SD-10). If the lock is dropped before pitbull, from what Ive seen, it assumes that the target flys staight ahead on the last known velocity vector and guides to that point.

Awesome, I heard it was supposedly fixed, but it's great to get a confirmation that it now actually works as intended! :thumbup:

[SCPanda]

Well, not really. If you fire a missile at 50 miles at high altitude (120 can go this far now), the missile will obviously loft itself. But if you lost lock before pitbull, the missile will continue its loft trajectory and fly to space without doing anything. It will not go down and try to engage the target even the target did not maneuver and was flying straight at the same velocity vector.

 

IDK if this is realistic behavior of the 120 tho.

[dundun92]

Well, not really. If you fire a missile at 50 miles at high altitude (120 can go this far now), the missile will obviously loft itself. But if you lost lock before pitbull, the missile will continue its loft trajectory and fly to space without doing anything. It will not go down and try to engage the target even the target did not maneuver and was flying straight at the same velocity vector.

 

IDK if this is realistic behavior of the 120 tho.

That behavior seems kind of random, and theres definitely more to it than just loosing lock. Ive had plenty of long shots with the lock dropped early that still guided. Occasionally they will go into space, yes, but thats definitely not the normal with a snipped lock.

Edited July 11, 2020 by dundun92

[Frederf]

Well, not really. If you fire a missile at 50 miles at high altitude (120 can go this far now), the missile will obviously loft itself. But if you lost lock before pitbull, the missile will continue its loft trajectory and fly to space without doing anything. It will not go down and try to engage the target even the target did not maneuver and was flying straight at the same velocity vector.

 

IDK if this is realistic behavior of the 120 tho.

Not real behavior