Flying low in Russian planes

[dooom]

If I am online without a wingman, this seems to be the only successful strategy vs. a blu force of f15 opponents. Yet I continue to hear complaints about flying low and how it should be stopped. I fail to see how these tactics ( low using eos/ terrain masking/ notching) can be considered an exploit against the f15 radar and aim120.

 

Just because the tactic isn't used in rl doesn't mean it's not valid - can someone enlighten me to why a rl military would not endorse a workable strategy if you find yourself without a wingman?

[EtherealN]

Well, an RL military wouldn't send you out alone, so things go kind of off-kilter from the start from the realism perspective. Regarding whether it's acceptable tactic or not... I don't really mind it if people fly low, they're easier for me to attack that way. :P (I can launch on them from far out, they can't launch on me.)

 

However, the thing of course is that there are other strategies to employ, though they're easiest if you are multiples. In a BVR fight the russian planes are at a disadvantage if it's even numbers (and especially 1v1), but you do have advantages such as being able to launch earlier (if you pack ER's, which in FC2 are better against fighters than they should be) and you can use this to get your missile out in good time such that you can splash the bandit and then notch the incoming 120. Dangerous game to play ofc, and since I don't fly the russian fighters in FC2 much at all I only have experience of being shot down by them but very little as far as sitting in one of them and killing people with it. But I'll say that at least as far as killing me, going high and using the right weapons and tactics up there works a lot better than going low. (I generally avoid mountains and such nice ambush-spots, and out in the open there is very little advantage to going low.)

 

Might be a case of people complaining because they failed to adapt to what the enemy was doing. :)

[GGTharos]

Nope, it's fine except for one small detail, which is the missile guidance floor. If you fly a meter or two off the ground, missiles won't track you, which isn't right.

In addition, FC missiles do some truly silly things when it comes to low altitude bandit, such as not filtering their dive guidance correctly. Real ones should work a little better, depending on the type of missile.

 

In all fairness, people who like to sniff the ground should have to deal with the prospect of bird strikes, but most people turn them off, so there's really no danger to you from flying so low like there is in reality - you won't FOD up your engines by flying too low either, and you won't be facing turbulence that will slam you into the ground while you're skimming the ground at one meter altitude.

 

Now you know the background of why it is annoying :)

 

On the other hand, people who can't deal with a lawnmower have other problems - it's a tactic that works, and as long as you don't abuse the game's limitations with it (and even if you do) I don't see a huge problem with it.

 

In fact, real russian tactics depended on the notch because of the F-15's superior radar.

 

If I am online without a wingman, this seems to be the only successful strategy vs. a blu force of f15 opponents. Yet I continue to hear complaints about flying low and how it should be stopped. I fail to see how these tactics ( low using eos/ terrain masking/ notching) can be considered an exploit against the f15 radar and aim120.

 

Don't engage without a wingman is the realistic answer ... there's something called 'minimum participation' and it's almost never, ever less than two, AFAIK.

 

Just because the tactic isn't used in rl doesn't mean it's not valid - can someone enlighten me to why a rl military would not endorse a workable strategy if you find yourself without a wingman?

[Frostie]

Some Russian aircraft suffer heavily in the look down situation.

It's a Russian tactic against F-15's to notch the radar so as to close the engagement to WVR. By using force of numbers to get an unseen shooter into the engagement is the plan.

The problem in servers is that a lot of the time everyone has this unseen plan.

[dooom]

The missile/ tracking issues were unknown to me. Excellent point about the bird strikes. Probability should increase oveer forests and low alt.

[Cali]

Dooom, you'll hear complaints from both sides. 15 drivers will complain about migs/su's flying low and migs/su drivers will complain if you fly high in the 15 and fire from 30nm out. Let them cry and keep doing what you have to do.

[RIPTIDE]

If I am online without a wingman, this seems to be the only successful strategy vs. a blu force of f15 opponents. Yet I continue to hear complaints about flying low and how it should be stopped. I fail to see how these tactics ( low using eos/ terrain masking/ notching) can be considered an exploit against the f15 radar and aim120.

 

Just because the tactic isn't used in rl doesn't mean it's not valid - can someone enlighten me to why a rl military would not endorse a workable strategy if you find yourself without a wingman?

How "low" is low?

 

Not speaking about you, but I think that many people fly low because of laziness., Laziness to actually get a few more 1'000 feet. Or maybe there's a subconscious comfort in been able to see the ground in the foreground when looking sideways or through the HUD.

 

Anyway, the one sure thing about flying low is you piss through fuel very fast. Ironically it's very often the MiGs who are flying low, burning way too much fuel. That's why most of them never RTB. :D

Edited March 11, 2012 by RIPTIDE