AGM-45 Shrike Quick Guide by Klarsnow - updated June 5th 2024

[primus_TR]

1 hour ago, Hobel said:

Do you have tracks of your situations? And which Sam is it exactly?   Used correctly, the Shrike-45 is a very good weapon.

Could you demonstrate, when you have time, how to use the Shrike correctly against a SA2 (fan song) installation? A track would be most helpful.

[Stratos]

I'm struggling to get the Shrike work in the Phantom.

- I use Direct attack, select ARM, arm the proper pylon and Master Arm on.

- In the loadout menu I selected the proper seeker for the Sa-2

- I approach the Sa-2 that is aiming at me but never hear a tone, I can get as close as overflying the SAM, but the Shrike keeps silent.

Any idea?

[MBot]

On 5/25/2024 at 12:46 PM, HB_Painter said:

LABS Loft

Selecting LOFT on the LABS/WRCS knob will allow the LABS LOFT circuits to fire the shrike automatically. However this works Exactly Like it does for bombs, it simply applies the launch signal to the shrike launchers, instead of a release signal to bombs. So it is setup and used the exact same way. You will need to plan out an IP, a run in time to your loft point, and pick a loft angle, enter them in the LABS computer and timer in the backseat.

Once these are entered, you then overfly the IP, hold the pickle button down, point at the target, and follow the ADI needles, as you rotate through the preset loft angle with the pickle button held down, after the expiration of the run in timer, the missile will depart the jet.

This mode obviously requires preplanning, and the ability to know ballistically what angle you want to release the shrike at, and at what range to start the loft, and then use this to enter in the run in timer, select an IP and pick a loft angle. None of this is calculated for you, so only via trial and error and practice will you be able to figure out what settings will work for you.

 

For more information about Loft you can also take a look at our manual: Lofting & Tossing

LOFT with ARM doesn't seem to be working. Shrikes are shot immediately when you press and hold pickle at the IP.

[Hobel]

Am 6.7.2024 um 23:51 schrieb primus_TR:

Could you demonstrate, when you have time, how to use the Shrike correctly against a SA2 (fan song) installation? A track would be most helpful.

Here is one  Option from high alt.

this is a clean scenario where i attack a SA-2 position other missions other challenges.

but here's a way to take out the SA-2.
Use MK37 tape  and Direct Mode(Never use loft mode...) to destroy the EWR/search radar, after that the SA-2 is blind, provided that it loses the lock and you fly out of the "track cone".

Attacking the Sa-2 track radar with the shrike is a bit tricky, because if the loft is too high, the missle does not see the emitter, "blindspot". If you shoot the shrike too flat, it loses too much energy, in addition, if the SA-2 no longer tracks, the Shrike no longer sees it either.

Tacview-20240708-025832-DCS.zip.ac




 

  

Am 6.7.2024 um 23:29 schrieb MBot:

Well the problem is not that I can't get it to work. The question is rather if Shrike is better or worse than the other tactical options you have.

I guess one specific use case is against tactical SAMs such as SA-8, where the launcher might be difficult to pick out amongst other nearby vehicles:

Here a SA-8 was baited to reveal itself by provoking a launch. The enemy lock is defeated by terrain masking, which also resets the SAMs reaction timer (time to reacquire and preparing a launch). This gives a comfortable 30+ seconds window for a pop up attack. The SA-8 is struck by two Shrike which disable but fail to destroy it.

The advantage of Shrike here is that you don't need to know which vehicle exactly is the SAM launcher. If the SAM is easily identifiable on the other hand (such as a SA-2/3/6 in typical formation), a Maverick is probably the better option as even a single missile will ensure a kill.

yes of course there is something to it and one wonders why 65kg of explosives do not destroy or at least disable the SA-8, 2 shrike-45 are a bit much for such a light vehicle.

 

Edited July 8, 2024 by Hobel

[primus_TR]

@Hobel Thank you for taking the time to create this track and video.  Very helpful.  I'll try to learn from it. 

[t_hedlund]

On 7/7/2024 at 9:00 AM, Stratos said:

I'm struggling to get the Shrike work in the Phantom.

- I use Direct attack, select ARM, arm the proper pylon and Master Arm on.

- In the loadout menu I selected the proper seeker for the Sa-2

- I approach the Sa-2 that is aiming at me but never hear a tone, I can get as close as overflying the SAM, but the Shrike keeps silent.

Any idea?

Are you seeing the SA-2 site showing up on your RWR? Is this a premade mission or one that you created? Are you doing a cold start?

 

[primus_TR]

On 7/8/2024 at 4:09 AM, Hobel said:

Attacking the Sa-2 track radar with the shrike is a bit tricky

Having examined your attack, I noticed that the Fan Song tracking radar was sitting next to the Flat Face search radar, so when you took out the Flat Face, the Fan Song was also destroyed from the blast. In other words, the SA2 installation was not blinded because you knocked out the search radar; if Fan Song would be located a little farther from the search radar, it would not be destroyed, and executing a follow on AGM45D attack would be impossible; Fan Song would have happily destroyed you. So, you cheated a bit there  

Unfortunately, the problem with attacking SA2 sites with AGM45s is that it is almost impossible to destroy the Fan Song, unless you have a team mate who keeps Fan Song active and busy, while you take it out with a Shrike. If attacking solo, MK20s remains the weapon of choice, at least to me, for taking out a Fan Song. Hence my original comment above. 

[Hobel]

vor einer Stunde schrieb primus_TR:

Having examined your attack, I noticed that the Fan Song tracking radar was sitting next to the Flat Face search radar, so when you took out the Flat Face, the Fan Song was also destroyed from the blast. In other words, the SA2 installation was not blinded because you knocked out the search radar; if Fan Song would be located a little farther from the search radar, it would not be destroyed, and executing a follow on AGM45D attack would be impossible; Fan Song would have happily destroyed you. So, you cheated a bit there  

No, the track radar was not destroyed or damaged by the shrikes, only when I  directly shot at it later with the maverick.

 

You can also see in the Youtube video that the destroyed search radar is very far from the track radar (the column of smoke)   And as I said, if the search radar is destroyed, the sa2 is basically blind, but first you have to break the lock once.

[primus_TR]

57 minutes ago, Hobel said:

No, the track radar was not destroyed or damaged by the shrikes, only when I  directly shot at it later with the maverick.

 

You can also see in the Youtube video that the destroyed search radar is very far from the track radar (the column of smoke)   And as I said, if the search radar is destroyed, the sa2 is basically blind, but first you have to break the lock once.

I'll watch the video one more time  it's quite possible that  ny eyes may have failed me yet again. 

[SmirkingGerbil]

Uhhh pinch me (as of update from 7/11)? Right now I am running only SA-2 scenarios with mod 25's, and I am definitely getting much better results, tracking, and hits.

Now when I say "tracking and hits", I am not talking HARM's, but I am getting near hits, and proximity detonations damaging radar and taking it offline.

Prior to this update, that happened so rarely that when it did, I fainted with joy. Yesterday I would say about 40% with testing.

A volley of 4 off the rails, and some good AoA indications and holding the donut decently, would get at least one Shrike mod 25 onto target, using WRCS AGM45 mode.

MT is default when I fly, tested in SP, and MP.

[tripod3]

AI F-4 can't hit SAM Kub (SA-6). AGM-45 hits ground 3-10 meters before target.

[Castor Troy]

"(optional) Turn the Flight Director on (if you want the needles on the ADI indicating shrike seeker look angle)"

What setting do I need to turn the FD to indicate how far I am away from the target, and to get the indicating needles?  As of now I am only getting distance to a waypoint, when trying to attack a SAM site.

Edited July 17, 2024 by Castor Troy

[Hobel]

vor 53 Minuten schrieb Castor Troy:

"(optional) Turn the Flight Director on (if you want the needles on the ADI indicating shrike seeker look angle)"

What setting do I need to turn the FD to indicate how far I am away from the target, and to get the indicating needles?  As of now I am only getting distance to a waypoint, when trying to attack a SAM site.

 

Watch the video and you'll see everything you need to know. 

  I read the approximate range with the RWR, from the last "junp" that the symbol makes I can deduce to be about 30nm away from the emitter source, the max range for the wrcs, then I point the nose to the emitter using the FD, at the same time the wrcs also shows me the distance, bottom left next to the ADI, then press pickle and hold, now I pull the nose up for a loft, the wrcs then automatically shoots the Shrike-45 with the correct parameters.

 

https://youtu.be/mZ3-ZO6xspw

[Castor Troy]

 

 

I got it.....I didn't have the FD in the ON position. I'm dumb. Anyway, thanks for your help, works as advertised now.

Edited July 18, 2024 by Castor Troy

[Fliegerkalle]

Hi all,
1 noob question - can the shrike also be used against "Blue" Sams , like Roland or HAWK ? , Anybody knows which model i have to use then ? 

Edited July 19, 2024 by Fliegerkalle

[Hobel]

vor 11 Minuten schrieb Fliegerkalle:

Hi all,
1 noob question - can the shrike also be used against "Blue" Sams , like Roland or HAWK ? , Anybody knows which model i have to use then ? 

 

Look here

 

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/349673-agm-45-shrike-quick-guide-by-klarsnow-updated-june-5th-2024/?do=findComment&comment=5467470

[felixx75]

I still have big problems hitting anything at all with the shrikes. If I stick to the pull-up cues, the shrikes fall into the ground not just a little too short, but miles too short.
I use the AGM-45 mode, initial altitude about 30k ft. At about 20 nm distance the pull up cue comes. So I pull up until the donut comes. The shrike is fired and is miles too short. What am I doing wrong?
The target is an SA-6.

[primus_TR]

The pull up cues are completely dependent on where your align the horizontal and vertical bar at the moment you press and hold the pickle button. It is basically using trigonometry to calculate distance to target (as shown in HSI range indicator)  based on elevation and the onboard INS system for angle to target, so it's not very reliable.  

[Hobel]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb felixx75:

I still have big problems hitting anything at all with the shrikes. If I stick to the pull-up cues, the shrikes fall into the ground not just a little too short, but miles too short.
I use the AGM-45 mode, initial altitude about 30k ft. At about 20 nm distance the pull up cue comes. So I pull up until the donut comes. The shrike is fired and is miles too short. What am I doing wrong?
The target is an SA-6.

can you upload a track?

with these parameters, the best tip for now is not to use loft mode Shrike-45

[RavenFrost]

vor 4 Stunden schrieb felixx75:

I still have big problems hitting anything at all with the shrikes. If I stick to the pull-up cues, the shrikes fall into the ground not just a little too short, but miles too short.
I use the AGM-45 mode, initial altitude about 30k ft. At about 20 nm distance the pull up cue comes. So I pull up until the donut comes. The shrike is fired and is miles too short. What am I doing wrong?
The target is an SA-6.

ED implented "Evasion of ARM" behaviour to SAM-Sites. Thats means, as soon they detect any kind of ARM, they turn off the Radar. This option is enabled by Default, but can be set to Off via Missioneditor. This could be one of the reasons why your Shrikes miss.

[felixx75]

55 minutes ago, RavenFrost said:

ED implented "Evasion of ARM" behaviour to SAM-Sites. Thats means, as soon they detect any kind of ARM, they turn off the Radar. This option is enabled by Default, but can be set to Off via Missioneditor. This could be one of the reasons why your Shrikes miss.

I haven't heard that ED has implemented such a function (although I'm not a mission builder and may simply have missed it). But where is this option hidden?
 

edit:

You can set this function, but I think it is deactivated by default.
 

Edited August 13, 2024 by felixx75

[RavenFrost]

It was in the July 11th DCS-Update and yes it is in the waypoint options. Select it from the dropdown menu and untick the box to turn it off.

 

[felixx75]

1 hour ago, RavenFrost said:

It was in the July 11th DCS-Update and yes it is in the waypoint options. Select it from the dropdown menu and untick the box to turn it off.

 

Obviously it is not switched on by default. You can see it in my screenshot above. The waypoint options are empty, but you can activate it via "set option" and "evasion of ARM".
So either the description in the patch notes was/is incorrect, or it has been changed.

[Q3ark]

On 5/25/2024 at 3:03 PM, KlarSnow said:

there is a bug right now where if you reload missiles or change seekers using the rearm dialog in game, the shrikes will not guide. They only function correctly at the moment if they are on the jet at mission start, loaded by the mission editor. This could be a major reason for why people are having a lot of trouble with them.

Does anyone know if ED fixed the issue mentioned in the quote from KlarSnow? I couldn't see anything in the last few change logs.

Edited August 20, 2024 by Q3ark

[=475FG= Dawger]

4 hours ago, Q3ark said:

Does anyone know if ED fixed the issue mentioned in the quote from KlarSnow? I couldn't see anything in the last few change logs.

 

I shot some Mk49 Mod 0 Shrikes a few days ago at an SA-6 in an MP server that made evasion of ARM kick in. 
 

Does that mean they guided? No clue. I don’t know if evasion of ARM evaluates whether a weapon is guiding or if it just shuts down when it detects a missile. 
 

That might be something to test, I guess. 
 

I did kill a couple of Tin Shield radars in MP so Mk24’s are guiding for sure when loaded from rearm menu. 
 

 

Edited August 20, 2024 by =475FG= Dawger