Avoiding Missiles

[digitalJE5U5]

Looking for some strategies for avoiding missiles. Go hi, go low? Go fast? Turn into, turn away and run?

 

Right now, Im just flying like an idiot and spammin chaff/flares. Thinking there is a better strategy than that.

 

Also, how can you keep track of where the missile is? There a view I can set?

 

As always, thanks for any guidance you can provide.

 

/dj

[GGTharos]

Avoid being where the missiles are.

Failing that, avoid being where the missiles fly (eg. low for radar guided, high for heat seekers).

Failing that, terrain mask.

Failing that, flares against heaters work pretty well, assuming you see them coming - of course, you can always just assume there's some guy with an igla there waiting to stick you, and you dispense your flares pre-emptively.

Failing that, your virtual problems will soon be over. :D

 

Edit: Your first and best defense is to carefully plan your route, possibly fly around the terrain the mission will happen in in the editor, see the lay of the land.

Use the terrain to first and foremost block LOS from enemy SAM systems to you. For this, you must fly low which sticks you right into heater territory. If you only have heaters to face, don't bother flying low in you're flying in a valley, just use flares pre-mptively in any stretch of flight you expect to be Igla'd/Stingered.

If you fly into a radar guided SAM and someone didn't tell you it was there to start with (or at least, didn't tell you to expect it), I'd call this bad intel and bad luck.

Edited July 7, 2009 by GGTharos

[digitalJE5U5]

A great response in less than two minutes! Thanks GGTharos! Very helpful.

[CHola]

Well defeating missiles is a book for itself, but if you're in a hurry (either in or out), try to put a missile on a beam (3 or 9 o'clock). Than shake it up and down a bit and by the time it reaches you, it should be easy to outmaneuver.

If you have a luxury to hug the ground and the missile's coming from above, beaming will result in missile's lock break.

However, the best way to avoid missile altogether, is to avoid being launched upon in the first place...

Edited July 7, 2009 by CHola

[GGTharos]

He's flying a helicopter, not a jet. The missile would have to be shot right at the edge of its range for such a technique to work at all.

[digitalJE5U5]

He's flying a helicopter, not a jet. The missile would have to be shot right at the edge of its range for such a technique to work at all.

 

Actually, Im flying F-15s exclusively at the moment, getting some time in while I work through the F-15 campaign.:pilotfly:

 

Although, when I'm facing groups of 2-3 vs. me, I have been spending a lot of time in a parachute. Technically, the parachute is just a poor mans helicopter - without the lift.:helpsmilie:

 

I dont know how smart this is, but I have been flying directly at my target and his wingman, locking the lead up and waiting until they launch missiles. At that point, I am breaking away while keeping him locked up for another few seconds. Then Ill fire, break hard and dive. If Im lucky, then one goes down and I have a 1v1 situation. The trouble is that, #2 is usually pretty close on me and if I lose sight of him, I cannot tell how to dodge his missles. I get a missle launched tone, but I cannot tell whether to dive, close, or turn and climb.

 

Also, not sure when to engage ECM. Seems if I turn on too early, Im easier to detect - albeit slightly harder to get an initial lock? :dunno:

 

Another thing I've tried, is to use my AWACS to get me in the area, fly low into terrain and try and flank them with radar off, ECM off. The trouble is that if I can get in behind them, by the time I am in a position to get missiles pointing at them that they are both breaking on me hard.:cry:

 

Again, thanks for the advice.

 

/dj

[CHola]

Use ECM only until the enemy burn through it (starts tracking). After that point, ECM is just a beacon for enemy's RH missiles and should be deactivated.

 

As for 1 vs. 3 tactics, that's screwed, because you need to fight defensively all the time. I don't recommend engaging in such combat, but as I said, if you can't avoid it, try to keep below the enemy, ride theirs and missile's beams and use ARH/IR missiles to squeeze occasional snapshot, between beam riding.

Also, always try to maintain an escape window, by keeping all of the enemies on one side of the aircraft. This is known as creeping at the edge of a bogey cloud and confers at least some degree of situational awareness. If you got surrounded, your escape window and situational awareness are gone...

 

Against IR missiles, if you must pass high over a lower positioned enemy, try to keep a Sun close to your back. Similar goes when lower than the enemy, but you need to keep close to the sea/lake water surfaces. Occasionally those surfaces spoil missile's tracking...

 

As for flight vs. flight tactics, put one wingman to cover you and the other two to pincer the enemy. It's especially useful to have one wingman engaging from below, since he'll have clear view of the enemies. Timing is critical for this type of combat, but once you master it, even the numerically superior enemy, won't be able to stand against you.

Sometimes, this is referred to as creating a virtual excess in numbers by achieving positional superiority.

 

Finally, once you need to draw on flares and chaff, you're with one foot in grave. Never the less, don't deploy chaff/flares like AI does. It's more useful to create temporary saturation, than deploy constantly with lower saturation. Once you get a hang over it, you'll be able to evade/survive missile shots even at deadly aspects, close.

 

Cheers, Cola

Edited July 8, 2009 by CHola

[71st_Mastiff]

no i think he's flying Lock - on gold 1.12b

[topol-m]

And some cowardly tactics for the campaigns here :) If you happen to be in a situation with 2 or more bandits closer than 10 miles from you and have lost your situation awareness (you are struggling to find them and at the same time avoiding missiles): turn your back, full afterburner, get low - 200-300m and go straight to the closest area full of friendly SAMs. When you pass over them climb to several thounsand m to give their missiles extended range. In the best scenario the SAMs will take care of the enemy chasers, in the worse they will force them to maneuver to avoid missiles and give you the opportunity to turn and shoot them down. Using AWACS guidance all the time is critical.

[104th_Crunch]

And some cowardly tactics for the campaigns here :) ...

 

No, no. The term you were looking for was "tactical retreat". ;)

[topol-m]

No, no. The term you were looking for was "tactical retreat". ;)

 

Yep. But forever gone are the times when you face your enemy at hands reach and can see the fear in his eyes, now the first and last thing you see is just the explosion of a missile... ;)

Edited July 7, 2009 by topol-m

[GGTharos]

Serves me right for not reading what forum this was posted in :blush:

 

Some reading material:

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=31377

Edited July 7, 2009 by GGTharos

[CHola]

And some cowardly tactics...

 

Well, I wouldn't call it cowardly :smilewink:, but smart...

I put wingmen in the line of fire without the second thought, when I need to unload myself and buy some time and turn defensive into offensive situation. No shame in that.

They're big boys and should be able to share a burden of combat...

[digitalJE5U5]

Thanks guys. Very helpful indeed.