Weapons Delivery

[hassata]

With the Mav, you have to get a lock using the Mav Optics to successfully engage a target. With the GBU-12, you have to get the TGP looking at the target and Lase such target, without need to Area or Point lock, or designate as the SPI. With the 38 is pointing enough to pass the GPS coordinates to the weapon, or do you have to point lock, or SPI? And with Free fall? Is it just look, or lock, or SPI to get the HUD symbology?

 

Thanks

[GGTharos]

Um ... always give your weapon a SPI. It really helps the computer out to calculate where your rounds should go, even if they are unguided.

 

The 38 uses the coordinates of the SPI. So yes, you can just pass a set of coordinates, in the form of either creating a WP, markpoint or something else, and setting it as a SPI.

[hassata]

What I mean is, say I look at a bridge with the TGP and lock it up with TMS Up short, is that enough to pass the coordinates on to the 38? Or does it have to be the SPI?

 

With the 12s, you can just point the gate and Lase with no need to lock at all.

[Conure]

You will need to make a spi as it has no beam to chase I believe.

[cichlidfan]

With the 12s, you can just point the gate and Lase with no need to lock at all.

 

In that case the target point is defined by the laser beam intersecting the target. The missile is guiding on that reflection not on the beam itself.

 

For GPS, I would imagine that until the TGP locks onto something it is just looking in a direction as opposed to a specific point along that line.

[Crescendo]

What I mean is, say I look at a bridge with the TGP and lock it up with TMS Up short, is that enough to pass the coordinates on to the 38? Or does it have to be the SPI?

 

If you just slew the TGP onto a target and do not designate it as a SPI, the automated weapons delivery computer onboard has no way of 'knowing' that you intend to prosecute that target. For all the computer 'knows' you are just looking around with the camera.

 

Whenever you designate a SPI you are essentially telling the avionics that this particular point in space (a set of coordinates) is of interest to you, that is, at this specific set of coordinates I am telling you that there is a target. The computer now 'knows' that you have found a target and so it is now able to calculate an accurate release solution based on that set of coordinates.

 

So no, if you don't designate a SPI with the TGP when looking at a target, the GBU-38 in fact has no way of 'knowing' if there is a target there at all. It needs you to tell it that yes, there is a target at this set of coordinates, and yes, I do want you to calculate a valid release solution for that set of coordinates.

 

By the way, point tracking is just a method of tracking a specific object (especially a moving one). When initiating a point track you are not 'telling' the avionics that there is a valid target at that location, you are simply telling it to keep looking at that specific spot. Until you designate that spot as a SPI, the avionics do not know what you intend to do. Are you just looking at that set of coordinates, or do you want to attack that set of coordinates?

 

To use your terminology, initiating a point track lock is not equivalent to locking a target when it comes to weapon release. You need to tell the computer what you want to do, and locking a target is done by designating a SPI.

 

By the way, I prefer not to use the term "locking" or "lock", as it can be confusing. Are you talking about locking a target in point track mode, or locking a target as a SPI? For this reason I prefer just to think of it as initiating a point track and designating a SPI.

 

With the 12s, you can just point the gate and Lase with no need to lock at all.

 

It's true that you can just lase a target without a designating a SPI. The problem is that the GBU-12 will not always find the target unless you happen to release it near the target.

 

Consider this example: if you are doing a CCRP GBU-12 release on a bridge that is currently being lased but your SPI is 10nm away, the computer will be telling you to drop the GBU-12 ten miles from the target. In this example the laser seeker in the nose of the bomb will never 'see' the target (because it is 10nm away), and thus the bomb guidance system will have nothing to guide to.

 

This is obviously an extreme example, but if you aren't careful about setting your SPI close enough to the target the bomb's laser seeker will not always work. For this reason it is always best to designate your target as SPI, so that the computer is always calculating a valid solution that will allow the bomb to 'see' the target.

 

I suppose you could lase a target and just drop the bomb manually, but you would be always be guessing where to drop the bomb. It is definitely possible to do this consistently of course (the seeker head field of view is quite generous) and in rare cases it may be desirable to do so, but why take the risk of a non-guiding bomb if you don't have to?

Edited June 25, 2011 by Crescendo
Fixing grammatical errors.

[hassata]

Thanks-that clears things up. One question-won't you get release symbology for dumb or GBU-12 drop on a particular point when you initiate a point track even without designating as SPI?

 

Edit: One situation where lasing without designation as SPI or even initiating a point track could prove useful would be when releasing multiple 12s at specific intervals than moving the 'lase' down a line of proximate targets.

Edited June 25, 2011 by hassata

[Crescendo]

Maybe set the hack clock to 20 seconds and fly a level CCRP run until the TTRN started at 20, start the clock, switch to CCIP for manual release, and then pickle watching the clock.

 

That's pretty much exactly what I do, sometimes without the clock.

 

CCRP as an indicator of time to release (with an appropriate SPI of course!), then switch to CCIP and drop GBU-12s as needed.

[Crescendo]

(...)One situation where lasing without designation as SPI...could prove useful(...)

 

It's still better to have a SPI for reasons outlined above.

[hassata]

Awesome-thanks guys.