Threat Circles on SA page?

[-NMS- Ikaros]

Hello i noticed that there are not Threat Circles on the SA page around air defenses, is there any way to enable them?

Edited October 27, 2021 by -NMS- Ikaros

[hein22]

1 hour ago, -NMS- Ikaros said:

Hello i noticed that there are not Threat Circles on the SA page aroundair defenses, is there any way to enable them?

 

Hey Ikaros!

It's working fine for me. Try to check in the mission editor if the SAM units don't have the checkbox "Hidden on MFD" on. I think "Hidden on Map" also makes them not available in the SA page. Try both.

Let me know.

Edited October 27, 2021 by hein22

[-NMS- Ikaros]

Thanks for the reply... Is this option accessible through the campaigns mission planner?

[hein22]

19 minutes ago, -NMS- Ikaros said:

Thanks for the reply... Is this option accessible through the campaigns mission planner?

I just realized that you posted this on the campaign sub forum, sorry.

Anyway, although you cannot do it in the mission planner, you can go to the mission editor, open the mission manually and check that.

[-NMS- Ikaros]

Shouldn't this option be on by default?

[hein22]

1 hour ago, -NMS- Ikaros said:

Shouldn't this option be on by default?

Maybe a mistake by the designer, I don't know.

[SharpeXB]

I noticed this too. I would think that if a donor has been painted by a radar then it will get onto the SA page. Conducting SEAD flights or any flights without that warning is big trouble. 

[HwSpring]

On 12/10/2021 at 2:16 AM, SharpeXB said:

I noticed this too. I would think that if a donor has been painted by a radar then it will get onto the SA page. Conducting SEAD flights or any flights without that warning is big trouble. 

It does not work like that in real jet. It is preprogramed on the tape before the mission. Known threat locations (usually estimated) can be marked as well as some custom "figures" for example no flight zones (box) possibly even polygons (not sure which version of software on real F16). 

Depending on SAM site type and what it supposed to defend, you may not have exact intel on it's location. Even strategic defences can be moved around to certain degree. During Vietnam war SA2 sites were moved sometimes in the matter of hours despite not being designed to be particularly mobile... Fast forward to Desert Storm and later conflicts there was more and better intel available from satellite imagery, but again there was a lot of sites that were not known.

Especially smaller and more mobile SAMs such SA4, SA6, SA9, SA11 and SA19 to name few. Not to mention MANPADS. Their location is rarely known exactly if at all. They are very mobile and can move in the matter of minutes. 

Another example would be Soviet era Motorised Rifle Regiments - a corner stone of cold war eastern block warfare - there would be 4 x SA9 or SA8/SA13, 4 x Shilkas/ SA19 and probably as many as 30 SA7/SA14 or newer MANPADS. Protecting Regiment on the move or when in combat. No Threat circles for that either. Not to mention, that such regiment would have 40 tanks and about 140 BTRs/BMPs all with guns that could possibly hurt low flying plane.  Try setting up half of that in DCS and see how long you will survive in A10 or try to SEAD them air defences... (Not even sure if any PC would be able to process such amount of units in DCS...)

Then several of these and tank regiments would be protected by several batteries of SA6/SA11/SA17s and on the whole front would have SA4s and later SA12s (more or less SA10 on tracks so it can move with the whole front...) 

In The Middle East you could sometimes assume possible locations for SA6  looking at the premade sites but there is no guaranty they are going to be there. So that threat circle can be programmed visible on the jet but the SAM maybe somewhere else (Don't think it is currently possible in DCS mission Editor)

Add IADS and you wont even see RWR warning for the SAM until it is shooting at you. If IADS is designed properly you will have very little time to react to that missile... All you will see on your RWR is EW radar. SAM will activate and shoot when you fly above it or from behind you.   Also some more modern SAMs do not give launch warning same as older ones. 

Satellite intel aside, any other sources of info can and are being used - from ELINT to local "covert intelligence assets". None gives 100% guarantee that the SAM will be there. 

So we have got it quite easy with stock DCS SAMs at the moment, as even mighty SA10 uses early version of missiles which allowed for launch detection. Check HIGH DIGIT SAM mod to see more modern and deadly versions. I also highly recommend IADS mod - it makes air defence in DCS a lot more realistic and deadly... 

 

 

In case of your question I suspect that was the aim of the campaign/mission designer to leave locations of some smaller and mobile SAMS "hidden" otherwise it is too easy, and unrealistic. 

F16 in recent Beta got HTS pod which can detect locations of the SAMS and is one of main tools of the trade for SEAD/DEAD missions.

 

Good luck!