F15 campaign

[Ven]

Not sure if I'm supposed to post this in campaign section or if that's reserved for custom campaigns.

 

Having problem with the 4th mission where I and 3 of my wingmen have to intercept 4 Su27's and 4 Tu's. I did complete it after 3 tries but had to sacrifice all of my wingmen and was wondering if there's a better way to approach it.

 

Basically, Su27's close in with their ECM on. I know their distance from AWACS so I launch a 120 on HOJ. They launch on me. I turn my ECM on and break while I order my wingmen to engage bandits. I turn back after I evade the missiles and two of my wingmen are already on fire and 2 Su27's trying to finish off the 3rd. As I launch the 120C's on the remaining Su27's last wingman gets splashed. I got the mission completed but is not a satisfying feeling having sacrificed all 3 of my wing.

 

I watched the track later and sure enough, all of my wingmen engaged the same target and then they went for the bombers even though 2 Su27's were alive. As with A10 campaign, wing management seems to be the biggest challenge in these missions.

 

Any tricks or suggestions?

[EvilBivol-1]

In general, I would advise you against using the "engage bandits" command as this will sometimes lead to your wingmen chasing after targets not intended for your flight and very far away (such as the enemy AWACS). If you do use it, don't forget to command them to rejoin not too long after. Instead, it may be better to use "engage my target" whenever possible. You can also try sending them to engage in elements, i.e. 3rd and 4th wingman first. The timing and altitude of the attack also matter as your wingmen may need time to gain speed/altitude for better range, which is a disadvantage you have against the R-27ER.

 

POTENTIAL SPOILER

 

When having trouble, I think it's a reasonable option to use the Mission Planner to load up more AIM-120Cs for your flight. Note, in most cases only one wing in a Flanker flight will carry ECM. This will usually be either the lead or trail wingman.

Edited April 8, 2010 by EvilBivol-1

[Ven]

Thanks for that information. Does engage my target command work on jamming signal? And by the way, I didtinctively identified at least 3 jamming signals. Do the Tu's also use jammers? But that is good to know that only one will carry ECM.

Edited April 8, 2010 by Ven

[EvilBivol-1]

"Engage my target" should work in most cases, although may not always. In the case of bombers, each one carries an internal jammer, so that gets complicated.