Laser-guided rockets please!

[LeCuvier]

I find the dumb rockets fairly useless as they don't seem supported by the smart systems that allow me to hit and kill a truck with a single HE round.

Would be nice to have laser-guided rockets similar to the APKW we have now in the A-10C. I read on Wikipedia that the the KA-50 could be equipped with those. Quote: "Ka-50/52 can also carry several rocket pods, including the S-13 and S-8 rockets. The "dumb" rocket pods could be upgraded to laser guided with the proposed Ugroza system". Would be nice to have that option in DCS World.

[IronChancellor]

Its possible that one day if the Ugroza enters service that they might add it. But right now Ugroza rockets are not in serial production afaik.

[3WA]

You have to use the rockets close up, unless you put out a big "shotgun" blasts of them.  But even if you put out a lot of them at range, they spread too much, and rarely hit the target.

 

Use them up close just like you would use the cannon.  I have mine set to fire 2 at a time.  They work well with a close up, funnel maneuver.

[LeCuvier]

58 minutes ago, 3WA said:

...Use them up close just like you would use the cannon.  I have mine set to fire 2 at a time.  They work well with a close up, funnel maneuver.

I cannot fly the heli in a straight line like a fixed wing fighter. Maybe that's because I use a joystick for a cyclic... These rockets are totally useless for me.

[3WA]

Hmm, for me, it fly's a lot like a fighter, especially at speed.  Use your collective for changing height.  Banking left and right should be a lot like a fighter.  Move your nose up and down to change speed (using your collective at the same time to keep the correct altitude).  Use your rudders for tight sideways and spinning maneuvers like the funnel.  When power diving, flatten your rotors so they don't tear off.  Don't despair, I've been flying the Ka-50 since it came out, and it's practice, practice, practice until you can fly it without thinking.

 

If you get to near a hover, then point your nose down about 40 degrees, and increase your collective up pretty far, this should get you going in a straight line at speed.  Use your collective and the pitch of your nose to increase speed and maintain your current altitude.  If you pitch your nose up, your speed will decrease, and your altitude will raise.  If you drop your nose, your speed increases, and your heli starts dropping.  Adjust with the collective to maintain altitude.  As you start dropping, give the collective more power, and you'll stop dropping.  This should get you pretty fast and straight like a fighter.  Now, just bank with your cyclic just like you would with a jet ( don't hit the rudders ).  If you want an even tighter turn, give it a little rudder.  When using the rockets, make sure you are set right on the dial behind your seat.  I forget what the settings are ( it's a bunch of numbers ), and you have to set it to the correct number for the type of rockets you are carrying.  Lasing the target right before you shoot should give you the best solution, as it will adjust the pipper for that range.  If I remember right, it fires slightly high on my Ka-50, so I always aim just a tiny bit low.  I usually use rockets within 1 km to get a decent hit chance.  In my opinion, they're really only good up close ( a couple of meters ) if you want a good chance of hitting the target.

 

The biggest problem is keeping out of vortex ring and not crossing your blades ( no hard right rudder at speed ).

 

In the end, the heli can act like a fighter, but it's really meant for stealth and firing at range, and then upclose, dancing in the ring like a boxer, throwing punches ( the funnel maneuver ).  This is where the rockets come in handy, up close, punching at a tank from a few meters.  The funnel maneuver is when you spin fast around a tank or APC, keeping your nose pointed at it, while punching rockets at it.  The goal is to move faster than he can turn his weapons, which is quite doable.  Unfortunately, you have to make sure he doesn't have a bunch of buddies nearby that can shoot at you as well.  A good mission to practice this maneuver on is the little village in "instant action".  It has a couple of bmps on it, and if you knock out all but two or so, you practice this maneuver against them and save some vhikers, especially if there are other Mi-24's and your wingman left to give them other targets to distract them.

Edited April 14, 2021 by 3WA

[Avimimus]

On 4/13/2021 at 3:43 PM, 3WA said:

You have to use the rockets close up, unless you put out a big "shotgun" blasts of them.  But even if you put out a lot of them at range, they spread too much, and rarely hit the target.

 

Use them up close just like you would use the cannon.  I have mine set to fire 2 at a time.  They work well with a close up, funnel maneuver.

 

Well... typically you'd want them to spread out - a kind of cluster bomb effect. However, we lack sufficient modelling of blast fragments to make them effective without a perfect hit... hence why you've learned to use them as a kind of close range single shot munition... (and honestly, I find that the 30mm 2a42 is almost always more effective at those ranges anyway).

[ShuRugal]

Laser-guided rockets are unlikely for the Ka-50.  As previous posters have noted, the only proposed system for that never entered service, and this is a study simulator, which means we are limited to real-world loadouts.

 

It's probably helpful to keep in mind that, in the real world, aerial rockets are not considered precision-attack weapons.  They come in pods and fire in salvos for a reason.  You shouldn't look at a 20-rocket pod and think "i'll kill 20 tanks with this".  full pod of S8s is good for 1-2 tanks, maybe 3 if you're a real surgeon or the tank isn't shooting back so you can get inside 500m to shoot.

 

If you want rockets to supplement your vikhrs, you need to know what you will be shooting at.

 

Infantry? take S-8 OFP (HE Frag), fire "medium" salvos from 2-3 km.  Trucks or armor? S-8 KOM (HEAT), fire medium salvos from 0.5-1 km.  General purpose? s-13, fire singles from 1-5 km.

 

Generally, the s-13 is the best rocket to take.  nice big blast radius for trucks and infantry, and you get 5 shots vs 4 "medium" salvos of the S-8.  good for clearing manpads out of treelines where you can't see them to use the gun and dont want to waste vikhrs.

 

 

[BonerCat]

But... you already get 12 laser guided vikhrs, each one can kill a tank from a right angle...
Use rockets for soft targets, like trucks or missile launchers, and infantry

[LeCuvier]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:44 PM, BonerCat said:

But... you already get 12 laser guided vikhrs, each one can kill a tank from a right angle...
Use rockets for soft targets, like trucks or missile launchers, and infantry

The gun is much more effective for these targets.

[BonerCat]

Then i guess don't use rockets ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Or use them when you need some extra ammo for those targets