not seeing IR suppressors on real Hinds and Hip helos very often... are they a problem in real life??

[Rick50]

 

Considering the rather high threat any kind of MANPADS are to pretty much any military helicopter, we are used to seeing such thermal supressors on Black Hawks and Apaches for a few decades now. In fact, I don't recall ever seeing either of those without it.

 

But... although such exhaust thermal supressors do exist for the HIND and Hip... it seems not many of these actually fly with them mounted. Usually we see a great big gaping hole in the side of the heli, spewing hot gasses for every heat-seeking device out there!

 

Now, I can't imagine such devices would be costly. And we know losing an air crew, and airframe, are both very costly in unit morale, and dollars/availability (gotta order a replacment airframe maybe 1 to 5 years in advance of needing it)... so I have to ask: just why are these helos usually seen without the suppressors??!?!

 

My guess is, and it's really JUST a guess, is that it somehow seems to cause issues with the turbines somehow. I don't know how, just guessing. Maybe airflow for exhaust is too turbulent and causes issues with the turbine... maybe overheating, maybe surging, maybe more chance of flameout, reduced engine life. Maybe it robs the turbines of raw horsepower, limiting these helis further (esp the Hind?). 

 

Does anyone know for real?

 

I'd have thought every Hind, every Mi-24 Mi-35, Mi-17 Mi-171 and Mighty 8 sold to any military/security customer, and even UN and NGO operators, would be seen with IR suppressors mounted... yet it seems more a rarity.

[26-J39]

Just my guess but i think it's a compromise between Power/Cost/Need.

 

AFAIK Thermal suppressors do reduce the total power output, no different to a car with Mufflers to reduce noise and emissions but does rob power from the engine as the exhaust is more restricted. 

[stuart666]

They create drag, weight, and I think have an effect on the power output of the engine. So in training, there is likely no reason to fit them.

 

I have to question how useful they are anymore in combat. They were really built against the first generation IR manpads, Strela  and Redeye. It would have had less performance against period Stingers, even less against ones today.  Even if you successfully dampen the thermal signature of the engine, you still have all the leading edges on a helicopter you cant do anything about.

 

Hope we are getting them for our Hind of course, they do look hellishly cool.

[zone 5]

if you look under options in mission editor foe Mi24P there is a checkbox for them, it must simply not be ready yet in Early Access.

[stuart666]

Ah, Id not noticed that, thanks.

[AlphaOneSix]

They crack a lot in my experience. They are relatively lightweight, but they rely on forward airspeed to keep them cool. Hovering or just running on the ground for too long causes issues with them. Also, they prevent the gearbox cowling from opening all the way, which is an annoyance.

[Rick50]

Hmm... forward airspeed... that does appear to be the case, as the Soviet era suppressors do appear to have intake vents up front...   And the cowling not being able to open all the way... 

 

Now that does explain why these would not be that popular... 

 

Is it an easy quick situation to mount these? Meaning could one mount them in a morning? Run them for years without the bulky boxes, but "hey tomorrow we fly, and there will be warriors shooting at us, let's get that protective heat boxes mounted"

[AlphaOneSix]

Once the mounting hardware is installed, the suppressors are installed with pins. So they could be installed or removed in probably 15 minutes give or take, depending on how many people you had, etc.

[Rick50]

Ahhh... gotcha.  Well that makes a lot of sense then, leave them off for when it's peacetime, training, or very low threats... but able to mount them quick for the high threat times. And somewhat quick to remove if the powertrain needs extensive maintenance, I would guess.

 

Thank you!

[CrazyGman]

Again weight/benifit.

 

They are added wieght and reduce engine output slightly, and flares seem to be more effective anyway as an active defense, so the Hinds used in Syria usually flare during and after their attack run, just im case there is tge odd manpad around. In higher threat they might consider adding them

[Tyberan]

I noticed that after last update the IR suppressors are on all Hinds that I spawn into in multiplayer, what dictates if they are on or not? Is it purely through mission editor?

[Shmegegge 1-1 Aero]

19 hours ago, Tyberan said:

I noticed that after last update the IR suppressors are on all Hinds that I spawn into in multiplayer, what dictates if they are on or not? Is it purely through mission editor?

Yep, they are turned on in the ME.  I think they are on by default.