Impacts of Formation on ECM jamming

[SnakeEyes]

Hello ive been doing some research lately on ECM and how effective they are based on formations and such. I was wondering if this is in DCS because it currently does not seem like it. If not it would be very important to realism to implement especially due to a lot of high fidelity models now having operational ECM. Heres a short quote from a Ukrainian pilot on the impact of formation ECM jamming. "They use individual electronic countermeasures and some group ECM,” Juice added. “For example, in groups of strikers they use this formational ECM, which is very powerful, and there are also some choppers with EW on the border, and some more stuff on the ground. It makes it very hard to find anything, to lock onto something.” EW in general needs to be looked at more in DCS and it would be great if we could start with this.

[Cmptohocah]

From what I know ECM in DCS covers planes that are in a sphere 1km in radius around the jammer, when scanned by a fighter radar. EWR and AWACS are not affected.

Edited April 3, 2022 by Cmptohocah

[_Hoss]

The USN will use Growlers/Prowlers for area (A/O) jamming on a broad scale of known systems (Intellegence) they want to jam or deny use to the enemy.  DECM on tactical aircraft is only used to get the pilot into the target area and out of it again, DECM uses pulse for pulse deception of target tracking RADAR or the active seeker in the missiles nose. AN/ALE-41 type Chaff system is used to build corridors/walls like window chaff used in WWII. The Growlers don't care how far or close they are to the A/O because they are ACTIVE all the time.  Tactical DECM when set to Repeat/Transmit  will only start transmitting when they have a signal strength strong enough to enable circuits in the transmitter. So just because it's on does not mean it is actually transmitting. Once the A/C has deployed it's ordnance the DECM is designed to stay on a bit longer to allow time for it to get away.  So the Ukrainian Air Force is being highly adaptive in its use because they understand how it's used. But they have to get close enough to make the systems turn on, unless they hardwired/modified it to do otherwise. And another thing you have to remember, the Ukrainian and Russian systems are not dissimilar. But Mig-29s fighting other Mig-29s with the same RADAR/DECM system should not see each other as a threat unless one side or the other has modified the RADARS carrier freq, PRF and PRT of it's transmitted RADAR pulse, then one looks pretty much like the other.  I'm sure they are doing things you and I are not privy too, to overcome some of these situations. Case in point, during the Iran, Iraq war the Iranian AF had F-4's and F-14's, the US Navy came up with the AN/DLQ-3B (Pod) to handle this situation, because the AN/ALQ-100 in the F-14 and the AN/ALQ-126A in the A-7, and A-6s, the EA-6B even had it, would never respond to a lock from an F-4 or F-14, (pilot has to a call buddy spike) the threat library in the ALR-45/50 and ALQ-126A were programed to see it as friendly. I'm sure the Dev's have a broad understanding of how ECM and DECM, ECCM are supposed to work in theory, but in actuality, they have to assume for our entertainment experience. They can do anything they wish, with the code to make everyone happy, but is it authentic?...................  Who cares it's a GAME!........................... Sorry, a SIM.........

Cheers and happy flying!

Hoss

“Knowledge is the treasure, and practice is the key to it”  Lao Tzu

https://www.radartutorial.eu/16.eccm/ja01.en.html

Edited April 3, 2022 by 352nd_Hoss