Experimental Equipment and designs for AI use

[Tank50us]

So, as many of you know when it comes to the Cold War and even the current day, there were a lot of things that were tested, but either never got accepted for service or never left the drawing board. These wouldn't be for players to use, but it would be kinda interesting to see them as AI units. Such examples are:

• Arsenal Ship: a potential US Navy counter to something like the Kirov-class Large Missile Cruiser
• ADATS: In limited use by Canada, but was proposed for use in the US
• MBT-70: A joint venture between the US and Germany. A few examples were built, but the project was canned and both countries looked into something better (M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 respectively)
• YB49: A flying wing bomber that saw an initial production run, but was canned and scrapped after a very high profile crash.
• Object 279: An early cold war era Soviet tank designed to take a nuke in the face and keep going. Well, more or less designed to operate in a post-nuclear wasteland, but still....
• XB-70 Valkyrie: A Supersonic jet bomber that although designed to deliver nuclear weapons could still deliver conventional bombs. Two were built, but the program was canned due to the advancement of Soviet SAMs
• USS United States: A conceptual Aircraft Carrier that was laid down but canceled to give funding for the B-36 "Peacemaker".

And many more.

Again, these wouldn't be player controlled (well, outside of the current Combined Arms), but they would add a bit to the Cold War setting, and play well into some alternate history scenarios.

[Silver_Dragon]

The ADATS was the only on service system from the list by canada with 36 units, the others has only "prototypes / concepts".... I dont like ED convert on a "WarT/WoT"... with unfinished prototypes, with has others many equipment to build. 

[WinterH]

Considering just how much are we missing from (rather important) historical units, and the speed at which we get new AI stuff, I'll have to say no.

Mods? Yeah, sure why not. Official? Nah... please don't.

[Gunfreak]

There's like a bazillion cold war assets that was actually used on large scale needed in DCS before we start adding prototypes, one offs. And rare exotic types. Given the time it takes to add a couple of new AI assets (years) any divination from what is most needed isn't something we need.

[upyr1]

This is a wishlist for the mod community. I don't see ED ever doing them officially. Even as AI 

[Northstar98]

Yeah, I'm with WinterH and Grunfreak here.
If our current theatres were fleshed out with applicable historically significant units, then I'd definitely be open to it, but as there aren't (and we're far from it) I don't think I can say that I am.

Spoiler

22 hours ago, Tank50us said:

Arsenal Ship: a potential US Navy counter to something like the Kirov-class Large Missile Cruiser

Yes, it would be cool, but when I bear in mind that we don't have a single allied escort type for WWII, nothing for the early/mid Cold War (despite getting applicable aircraft) and even the OHP and Ticonderoga are depicted 2000s+ (and it's not a trivial difference, or rather, it wouldn't be if they were properly modelled).

Then there's the fact that the Ticonderoga and the Arleigh Burke already are missing a load of weapons and the latter is somewhat of a Frankensteins monster.

22 hours ago, Tank50us said:

ADATS: In limited use by Canada, but was proposed for use in the US

I mean, fine for Canda I suppose, but In terms of western air defence systems, I think I'd rather have more radars (AN/MPQ-49 to complement the Dog Ear) or systems like Nike Hercules, completed/corrected battery components for the I-HAWK. For ground units in general we're missing a load of towed artillery, for the Cold War we're missing the M151 etc, etc, etc, I could go on.

22 hours ago, Tank50us said:

MBT-70: A joint venture between the US and Germany. A few examples were built, but the project was canned and both countries looked into something better (M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 respectively)

A very cool vehicle, don't get me wrong. But we're missing the M1 (initial)/M1IP, Challenger I, Chieftain Mk 10, Leopard 1A4/1A5 (though at least the 1A4 looks very similar to the 1A3 we have), M48A3/A5.

22 hours ago, Tank50us said:

YB49: A flying wing bomber that saw an initial production run, but was canned and scrapped after a very high profile crash.

While I've always found it interesting for sure, we're missing earlier B-52H/G (though at least we have the weapons, just missing defensive armament). Though I'd argue what we're really missing is Soviet bombers like the Tu-16 (initial [Badger A], K-10-26 [Badger C], P [Badger J], KSR-2-5-11 [Badger G] as examples) and the Tu-22RD/KD. Though, I'd even go for a pre-START I Tu-22M3 - at least that would only be a minor change (though missing the Kh-22NA and the conventional version of the Kh-15/-15S/-15P.

22 hours ago, Tank50us said:

Object 279: An early cold war era Soviet tank designed to take a nuke in the face and keep going. Well, more or less designed to operate in a post-nuclear wasteland, but still....

Again, a fascinating vehicle, I've always found it interesting, but we're missing:

• T-64A/B
• T-80B
• BTR-50/60PB (though I'd also include the BTR-60-PU-12 to flesh out PVO-SV systems)/70
• BMP-1P
• At least a few towed artillery pieces/anti-tank guns.
  • D-20
  • D-30
  • MT-12
• ZPU-1/-2/-4
• Plenty of radars, some of which are already applicable for SAM systems we already have: P-14 (S-200), P-18 (S-75, though P-12/-12M would also fit), P-37, P-40 (2K12, 2K22, 9K31, 9K33, 9K35, 9K37, ZSU-23-4), P-80, PRV-11, PRV-13/-17. We already have perfectly adequate models for the P-37 and PRV-11.
• Some missing SAMs/MANPADS, primarily the 2K11 (which the P-40 would also fit), the 9K32/32M and 9K34.

If we had some of those, then I'd be on the side of "why not?", but as it stands, IMO, there's a fairly big reason why not, when we're missing the above.

23 hours ago, Tank50us said:

XB-70 Valkyrie: A Supersonic jet bomber that although designed to deliver nuclear weapons could still deliver conventional bombs. Two were built, but the program was canned due to the advancement of Soviet SAMs

Again see above for the YB-49, but I'd even take an F-111 even if AI.

23 hours ago, Tank50us said:

USS United States: A conceptual Aircraft Carrier that was laid down but canceled to give funding for the B-36 "Peacemaker".

This one I'm less interested in, there's loads of historically accurate aircraft carriers missing from the Cold War that would also be appropriate to some of the maps we have/or are getting (CVA 43 USS Coral Sea, the rest of the Forrestals, CVA 63 USS John F. Kennedy, CVN 65 USS Enterprise, CVN 68/69/70 USS Nimitz/Eisenhower/Carl Vinson). The upcoming F-8J and A-1H are missing a post-SCB-125 Essex, which would better fit Vietnam than any current carriers).

Then as I alluded to above, there's still a load of NATO Cold War units missing (even just counting the USN):

• FF 1052 (Knox)
• FFG 7 (Oliver Hazard Perry) circa mid 1980s (i.e. with Mk 38 Mod 1 MGS, Mk 234 Nulka and AN/SQR-19 deleted, STIR added, SM-2MR corrected to RIM-66B SM-1MR, Mk 15 Phalanx Block 1B substituted for Mk 15 Phalanx Block 0).
• DD 963 (Spruance), preferably at least with Mk 15, Mk 23 and Harpoon. While I'd prefer to see the Mk 116 ASROC and either with/without ABL, DCS doesn't support ASW so the Mk 41 VLS fit from the mid 80s onwards is probably more appropriate to DCS.
• DDG 37 (Farragut)/DDG 2 (Charles F. Adams)
• CG 16 (Leahy)/CG 26 (Belknap)
• CG 47 (Ticonderoga) Baseline 0/1
• CGN 38 (Virginia)
• LHA 1 (Tarawa) pre COH (i.e. with 3× 5-inch/54 Mk 45 Mod 0 guns + 2× Mk 25 BPDMS)
• LPD 4 (Austin) - preferably the Cleveland subclass.
• LSD 36 (Anchorage)/LSD 41 (Whidbey Island)
• LST 1179 (Newport)
• AE 26 (Kilauea)
• AOE 1 (Sacremento)
• AOR 177 (Cimarron)

I'd like at least 1 FF/FFG, CG/CGN, LHA/LPD/LSD/LST, AE/AOE/AOR before considering hypothetical units.

[Slippa]

We could have men who stare at goats though?

Ok, maybe not. Plenty to be getting on with already.

[Logan54]

В 31.01.2024 в 13:38, Tank50us сказал:

So, as many of you know when it comes to the Cold War and even the current day, there were a lot of things that were tested, but either never got accepted for service or never left the drawing board. These wouldn't be for players to use, but it would be kinda interesting to see them as AI units.

I also want to see present AI as Su-24, Su-17, MiG-25, MiG-31, F-4 at more detailed level. What about mods? No, I dislike mod` collision realisation. Very weird things happens with mods. So I d like to see more historical stuff as WW2 objects but for Cold War. Official status will made them work correctly.

And if we would have such planes as SR-71 and XB-70 as AI, it would help FF MiG-25 come true.