Tpod in the new HARM vid by Wags

[KlarSnow]

Depending on which NITEHAWK pod, it also has separated functionality. ONe of the pods was just a Steerable FLIR camera, a separate pod added the laser designator and rangefinding capability. And A third pod would be the LST function... You would have to split all of that up between your flight/formation. Or possibly carry two pods.

[Foka]

 

[Tholozor]

23 minutes ago, KlarSnow said:

Depending on which NITEHAWK pod, it also has separated functionality. ONe of the pods was just a Steerable FLIR camera, a separate pod added the laser designator and rangefinding capability. And A third pod would be the LST function... You would have to split all of that up between your flight/formation. Or possibly carry two pods.

Correct; the baseline AAS-38 was a FLIR pod only, the -38A added LTD/R capability, and the -38B added LST capability (the NFM-200 describes each NITEHAWK variant in the drag index table). TFLIR was commonly paired with the ASQ-173 Laser Detector Track/Strike Camera (LDT/SCAM) pod (basically the Navy's version of the Pave Penny pod from the A-10).

 

So most of the time you pretty much had the NITEHAWK itself for FLIR (and lasing on the -38A), the -173 for LST (before the -38B), and the AAR-50 for NAVFLIR (as-needed). The original design of the ATFLIR was to combine all three pods into one (until NVGs became more standard and NAVFLIR was no longer necessary). It was just unfortunate that most newly acquired pods were given to Rhino squadrons since they weren't originally compatible with NITEHAWK (IIRC some -38 pods were modified to mount on Rhinos and were designated AAS-46, same for AAR-50s being modified to AAR-55 if the Rhino's NFM-200 is to be believed).

Edited March 25, 2021 by Tholozor

[wolfsword10]

8 hours ago, Tango3B said:

Yup, that´s how it worked. Personally, I´d rather carry an AMRAAM on that station. PLUS: we´ve got NVGs! So why would anyone still want NAVFLIR? Modern NVG´s are way better.

Because I find the idea of NAVFLIR cooler than NVGs. Plus you can't use NVGs with the JHMCS now a days. You have to swap them out in the F8 menu.

[Stearmandriver]

Just a heads-up, the NAVFLIR question has definitively been put to bed. 

[Sile]

Watching the ATFLIR Targeting Pod Video, i can't find the "MARK" function of the lightning POD for optically pointing at a target with a laserbeam, that can be seen with night vision goggles. (3.7 - page 280 in Chucks Guide "Laser Marking").

 

Doesn't the ATFLIR offer that feature?

 

[Swift.]

19 hours ago, Sile said:

Watching the ATFLIR Targeting Pod Video, i can't find the "MARK" function of the lightning POD for optically pointing at a target with a laserbeam, that can be seen with night vision goggles. (3.7 - page 280 in Chucks Guide "Laser Marking").

 

Doesn't the ATFLIR offer that feature?

 

TBC/D, it's a function but we'll have to see how the OFP ED are modelling handles things.