need evidence Mavericks don't remember lock state when STEP

[amalahama]

Hi there,

I just did a quick check and, opposite to the F-16C which does maintain the lock when stepping between missiles, in the F/A-18C the lock is instantaneously dropped when stepping into another missile.

Since lock is done by the missile seeker and not by Hornet's MC, it's quite likely that the correct behavior is that lock are kept even if pilot select another missile for the attack.

This would allow effective multi-target attacks in one pass with the Maverick, without using the cumbersome markpoint method (just aim each missile independently and then launch in ripple)

[BIGNEWY]

Hi, 

do you have any public reference for this, if so please DM me 

thank you.

[amalahama]

Hi @BIGNEWY

It's difficult to find direct proper evidence, but I actually got some info that might be useful.

In the TAC-000 Harrier manual, which share many commonalities with the Hornet avionics, it explains in detail what happen when STEP is pressed. The Maverick circuitry is reset and the camera is boresighted, cancelling any lock that the missile may have at that point.

This is the current behavior of our hornet, so I would lend to think that current implementation is right and the F-16 may have some additional circuitry in the store management system to keep two missiles locked at the same time.

In fact, the manual also adds that the QTY value has no effect, and the missile can only be launched single

Best regards

Edited December 2, 2022 by amalahama

[BIGNEWY]

Sorry but evidence for one aircraft is not evidence for another, we have been caught out using this assumption in the past.