QuiGon Posted February 12, 2022 Posted February 12, 2022 53 minutes ago, Hobel said: oh yes, my favorite The Nimrod, turning a big and heavy transport chopper into a stand off strike plattform 1 Intel i7-12700K @ 8x5GHz+4x3.8GHz + 32 GB DDR5 RAM + Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080 (8 GB VRAM) + M.2 SSD + Windows 10 64Bit DCS Panavia Tornado (IDS) really needs to be a thing!
Kirk66 Posted February 14, 2022 Posted February 14, 2022 On 2/10/2022 at 6:02 PM, TLTeo said: The Israeli were not the only ones to use the multiple racks, plus the Viper and A-10 carry them despite those issues, so I would think it will be an option in DCS. Good chance I was at Moody AFB (in the 70th TFS White Knights) when this photo was taken (78 - 80 timeframe), probably have time in one of those jets. We didn't have LAU-117s, only LAU-88s (as pictured); with all 6 stations loaded you can imagine the drag! We would fly around with a couple of TGMs (which are what are loaded in the photo - note only wings, no tail fins on the missiles) and practice getting as many Mavs off on a pass as possible; with As and Bs it was tough sometimes finding the real target; the TGMs didn't have the dome cover installed so the window rapidly became clouded with dust and dirt - and if you did a low level over the ocean forget it! Never had the opportunity to try a D or later - those needed LAU-117s and went to the Vipers and Hogs. Vulture 4
Kirk66 Posted February 14, 2022 Posted February 14, 2022 On 2/9/2022 at 6:59 PM, Psydshow said: You are correct, someone screwed up not connecting that cable. The LAU-117 had two connectors. One on top of the launcher was the interface to the aircraft. The second was on the rear of the launcher and connected the firing circuits to the missile. When you loaded a Maverick, you would lock it into the launcher, then fit the sacrificial connector that went between the launcher and the umbilical connector located above the rocket motor nozzle. Once that was connected, you could power the missile, blow the dome cover, everything but launch. Only if you connected the second cable, which went from the missile to the small cannon plug connector on the very rear of the LAU was the missile live. This was fitted at the end of the strip, when everything else was armed. There is no safety pin on a LAU-117. You can see on this rear view of the launcher the cannon plug socket used for live shots https://images.app.goo.gl/kS43ELpyz9Gi8ZU49 I spent way too many years maintaining and loading these missiles and launchers, B, D and G models and TGM Never saw a LAU-117 on any F-4E during my time, all LAU-88s. I think the F-4Gs got the LAU-117s when they got AGM-65Ds as part of their WW mission - all the better to whack a SAM site... We were pretty much stuck with As for training and Bs for combat. 1
Kirk66 Posted February 15, 2022 Posted February 15, 2022 On 2/2/2022 at 2:04 AM, Snappy said: Very interesting story&information, thank you very much for sharing it. If I may ask, with your experience , what did you consider as realistic engagement ranges for those early Maverick TV versions under average conditions (no adverse weather) and how much time did that approx. leave you with to spot and lock the individual target you were attacking? Kind regards, Snappy Hi Snappy - sorry for the late answer! With the A and B TV Mavericks I have experience with, the biggest issue was finding the target; so ranges against the main targets (tanks and vehicles) was pretty short; if you could see it and lock on to it, you were in range to shoot. So not a long range weapon, maybe 2 to 3 miles? Assuming targets were easy to see and close to each other (trucks on a road, for example) you could probably get a couple of missiles off on one pass, but any more and you are flying right over the guys you just really pissed off! Later, in the F-15E (my experience there is all in the sim, unfortunately) you could cue the IR Mavericks via the LANTIRN pod and get longer/more shots off (you could shoot far enough out that it was easy to catch up with the missile before it hit the target!). But the E wasn't a good platform for the Maverick (it took up the stations normally used for fuel tanks) so was removed about the time LANTIRN was replace by SNIPER and LITENING. I doubt any Maverick was ever fired from a Strike Eagle in combat. Short TV Mav story - We were running around southern Georgia looking for vehicles to practice Mav attacks on with our TGMs and found a bright orange school bus cruising down an asphalt country road. Perfect! So we set up an attack, and several unsuccessful passes later realized that the black and white TV tracking system could not distinguish between the bright orange of the bus and the gray of the road surface, even though it was perfectly visible in the cockpit TV screen. Disappointing, but at least the kids on the bus got a free airshow! Cheers, Vulture 8 2
Snappy Posted February 22, 2022 Posted February 22, 2022 (edited) On 2/15/2022 at 7:32 PM, Kirk66 said: Hi Snappy - sorry for the late answer! With the A and B TV Mavericks I have experience with, the biggest issue was finding the target; so ranges against the main targets (tanks and vehicles) was pretty short; if you could see it and lock on to it, you were in range to shoot. So not a long range weapon, maybe 2 to 3 miles? Assuming targets were easy to see and close to each other (trucks on a road, for example) you could probably get a couple of missiles off on one pass, but any more and you are flying right over the guys you just really pissed off! Later, in the F-15E (my experience there is all in the sim, unfortunately) you could cue the IR Mavericks via the LANTIRN pod and get longer/more shots off (you could shoot far enough out that it was easy to catch up with the missile before it hit the target!). But the E wasn't a good platform for the Maverick (it took up the stations normally used for fuel tanks) so was removed about the time LANTIRN was replace by SNIPER and LITENING. I doubt any Maverick was ever fired from a Strike Eagle in combat. Short TV Mav story - We were running around southern Georgia looking for vehicles to practice Mav attacks on with our TGMs and found a bright orange school bus cruising down an asphalt country road. Perfect! So we set up an attack, and several unsuccessful passes later realized that the black and white TV tracking system could not distinguish between the bright orange of the bus and the gray of the road surface, even though it was perfectly visible in the cockpit TV screen. Disappointing, but at least the kids on the bus got a free airshow! Cheers, Vulture Hi Vulture, no worries and thank you very much for your detailed reply! Most interesting. Certainly doesn’t sound like a lot of time (or remaining range) for the employment of the early maverick missiles. I imagine it to become very very difficult in regards to spotting and locking on quickly , in less than optimal weather , with camouflaged targets that are blending into the surroundings and probably shoot back at you in a European theater. Especially at the flying speed involved . Thank you again for sharing your experiences and stories here in the forums! Kind regards, Snappy Edited February 22, 2022 by Snappy
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