D-Scythe Posted July 25, 2005 Posted July 25, 2005 In LOMAC, I always thought that the APG-70 radar was in some ways under-modelled, but since I'm neither an F-15C pilot or the CEO for Raytheon, I kept my opinions to myself. But I've been doing some reading, and have found some interesting (yet vague, because of unclassified nature) accounts of the performance of U.S. weapon systems. The most interesting is the results of the USAF/USN AIM-ACE missile shoot out, an exercise largely designed to come up with new tactics to exploit/counter all-aspect heat-seekers that were just entering service at that point. You can read about it in the Navy's Blue Baron Project report, or just read Wings of Fury by Robert Wilcox, which has several interesting excerpts from it (and which I read); the author managed to get the report declassified. Several key points that I would like to take note of: - BVR engagements were not allowed; targets must be visually acquired (first use of telescopes mounted on Eagle's HUD) - the best pilots of the USAF and USN were selected to fly in Blue Force F-15As/F-14As and Red Force F-5Es - Initially, most Tomcat kills were head-on AIM-7 shots, according to the Blue Baron report; to counter, the F-5s "beamed" the Tomcats - "The F-5s, however, couldn't use that tactic (beaming) with F-15s...because the Eagle radars were better and could hold the Tigers in the perpendicular" (presumably in WVR range) The picture I get, with the early -63 radars on the F-15A, is that for the most part, the system can hold a lock on a really small target (an F-5) in visual range. Now in LOMAC, I had my lock broken by beaming fighters at 2-3 nm, and the CAC modes often don't lock onto anything beaming until the aspect changes, no matter what the range. Worse still, I can't reliably pick up any choppers at high aspect until about 2 nm (i.e. when they reduce that aspect to engage me). Does this seem a bit overdone to anyone else? Combined with the cheating AI, decreased chaff/flares, decreased missile effectiveness, and target lock/launch warnings in HOJ with the F-15C, the Eagle sorta seemed to have taken a turn for the worse in V1.1, whether you play single player or multiplayer. If an F-15A can hold a lock on beaming F-5s in WVR, I sorta expect that an F-15C with AMRAAM capability should be able to hold a lock onto anything within 6-8 miles in LOMAC, beaming or not. Just my thoughts. Was sorta bored.
SwingKid Posted July 25, 2005 Posted July 25, 2005 Can you copy this to the F-15C avionics sticky thread? -SK
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