DCS: AH-64D - Development Report 4th June 2021

[splash]

My money is ready.

[MADLOU1]

My money has been ready for this aircraft for years.  Maybe ED can do a pre-pre-order?

[XXXTentacles]

yes...me too

 

[OzDeaDMeaT]

How does one become a member of the closed beta to help fine tune the aircraft?

[ual032]

Anxiously anticipating this release. Been many years since playing Janes Longbow. I'll be ready when its ready !

[falcon_120]

I think when the Apache releases we'll see MP servers flooded with AH64 and no one doing anything else XD

[S. Low]

Lots of crossed streams. I want to steal peoples’ hellfires mid air 

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

If there is anything I could be helpful, please kindly message me.

[Wychmaster]

Yes!!!

[Lace]

1 hour ago, Wychmaster said:

Yes!!!

 

That makes my head hurt, the amount of button mapping that will be required.  I just know that I'm going to buy the Apache, and I also know I'm never going to spend the time learning it.  

[Wychmaster]

vor 51 Minuten schrieb Lace:

 

That makes my head hurt, the amount of button mapping that will be required.  I just know that I'm going to buy the Apache, and I also know I'm never going to spend the time learning it.  

If there is any module I would invest the time to master it, it is the Apache. Longbow 2 made me fall in love with this helicopter. Since then, I was waiting for a new sim with state of the art technology that includes this awesome aircraft. Think many of the rotorheads here feel the same

Edited August 20, 2021 by Wychmaster

[VR Flight Guy in PJ Pants]

Com'on, can't wait.

[Lace]

37 minutes ago, Wychmaster said:

If there is any module I would invest the time to master it, it is the Apache. Longbow 2 made me fall in love with this helicopter. Since then, I was waiting for a new sim with state of the art technology that includes this awesome aircraft. Think many of the rotorheads here feel the same

 

 

To each their own.  I'll be up ahead spotting targets for you in a Kiowa.

[Wychmaster]

vor 49 Minuten schrieb Lace:

 

To each their own.  I'll be up ahead spotting targets for you in a Kiowa.

Deal

[vvm13]

Is Kiowa better at spotting targets than Apache?

[Wychmaster]

vor 2 Minuten schrieb vvm13:

Is Kiowa better at spotting targets than Apache?

Yes, the optics of the Kiowa are over the rotor. So you can spot targets visually while hiding in cover. Lasing should also work, but I am not sure.

The Apache can detect targets with the radar while in cover, but for visual identification or lasing, you need to pop up and expose yourself.

[Raptor9]

1 hour ago, Wychmaster said:

Yes, the optics of the Kiowa are over the rotor. So you can spot targets visually while hiding in cover. Lasing should also work, but I am not sure.

The Apache can detect targets with the radar while in cover, but for visual identification or lasing, you need to pop up and expose yourself.

 

This is a common misconception based on a very specific scenario of vertical unmasking.  The Kiowa can remain mostly masked while vertically unmasking it's sensor, but cannot remain masked if laterally un-masking.  The opposite is true of the Apache while using it's TADS, it has to expose itself to use the TADS in a vertical unmask, but can remain mostly masked while laterally unmasking.

  

2 hours ago, vvm13 said:

Is Kiowa better at spotting targets than Apache?

 

So to answer your question about who is better at spotting targets, like most tactical situations when comparing a whole bunch of variables from strictly a hardware perspective, it really depends.  The most reliable answer to that question: it depends on what aircrew is more proficient at spotting targets, not the aircraft they are flying.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Raptor9

[Wychmaster]

vor 41 Minuten schrieb Raptor9:

 

This is a common misconception based on a very specific scenario of vertical unmasking.  The Kiowa can remain mostly masked while vertically unmasking it's sensor, but cannot remain masked if laterally un-masking.  The opposite is true of the Apache while using it's TADS, it has to expose itself to use the TADS in a vertical unmask, but can remain mostly masked while laterally unmasking.

  

 

So to answer your question about who is better at spotting targets, like most tactical situations when comparing a whole bunch of variables from strictly a hardware perspective, it really depends.  The most reliable answer to that question: it depends on what aircrew is more proficient at spotting targets, not the aircraft they are flying.

 

Good points. Don't want to argue here because I have no real life training/experience on that topic nor did I do any in depth research about it, but I would think that staying hidden with only unmasking the sensors vertically can be performed in more situations than laterally. The latter one requires a slope/edge while the first one can almost always be performed behind any obstacle you are hiding behind.

 

Maybe I am missing something or the possibilities for lateral sensor unmasking are various enough in reality but can you maybe give some examples where Iateral unmasking is more beneficial than vertical.

 

As I said, don't want to argue. I am just curious to get another perspective here.

 

[Raptor9]

Don't get the wrong impression, I wasn't trying to shut you down or anything.  It's just a common, and an understandably frustrating answer, to hear the standard "it depends" whenever someone wants an answer to a given question, when such an answer could vary widely based on any number of tactical variables.

 

The easiest answer to demonstrate the value of lateral unmasking would be in an urban scenario, where you are trying to peer from behind a building.  However, if one were to evaluate the overall risk of such low-altitude, hovering un-masking maneuvers in an urban environment, it would probably be determined the greater risk would be from anyone popping out from a window or an alley underneath you and lighting up your aircraft.

 

A more applicable scenario would be in the rolling hills of some place like central Europe, where you have a lot of varied terrain between forests and open fields. In such an environment, you could find yourself set up behind a treeline, and laterally unmask your sensors through a gap in the trees (or a thin enough area to see through), while still maintaining a background of other treelines or hillsides.  This would make it harder to notice the aircraft versus if you were to vertically unmask the aircraft and silhouette a dark aircraft over a bright sky.  Plus, the higher you go, the more you can be seen from other directions.  So you may still be hidden behind a mask to your front, but you should also worry about exposing your flanks.

 

On the other hand, if just a small OH-58 MMS were to vertically unmask over a treeline, that would also be much less noticeable than vertically unmasking an entire Apache to clear the TADS.  So again, it all depends on the environment, tactical considerations, and aircrew proficiency.  And as I mentioned, the people in the cockpit are usually what make the difference behind an effective recon platform versus the hardware they are operating.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Raptor9

[Rick50]

On 8/18/2021 at 11:18 AM, S. Low said:

Lots of crossed streams. I want to steal peoples’ hellfires mid air 

 

 

LOL!!

 

"DON'T CROSS THE STREAMS!!"

 

[MADLOU1]

On 8/20/2021 at 12:11 PM, Wychmaster said:

If there is any module I would invest the time to master it, it is the Apache. Longbow 2 made me fall in love with this helicopter. Since then, I was waiting for a new sim with state of the art technology that includes this awesome aircraft. Think many of the rotorheads here feel the same

 

I certainly feel the same exactly!  Longbow 2 was da bomb! I think after we get this, I wont need anymore DCS aircraft (I currently have most of them).  I will be in helicopter heaven for all eternity.  

[Gierasimov]

On 8/6/2021 at 8:01 AM, OzDeaDMeaT said:

How does one become a member of the closed beta to help fine tune the aircraft?

Prove your value to ED and email or PM one of the team members.