Jump to content

Surface-to-air missile tracking and vectoring


Recommended Posts

Posted

Attachment to follow; I just have to jot this down before I forget ( again :noexpression: ).

 

This is more a note of weird behavior than a bug with DCS:World 1.1.2.1.

 

To me, it seems like the surface-to-air missile vectoring (at least for some of the missile systems) is over-simplified. This is especially apparent with the Sea Sparrow missile. It will start turning hard as to intercept the target already from 7-10km out from the target and gives more the impression of mimicking the target vector than actually homing.

The Roland is a bit the same. If timed adequately, you may with relative ease make the missile crash just by entering a prolonged dive; the missile tend to over-vector towards the ground and crash half way between you and the launcher.

I am no weapons expert (or rocket scientist), but to me it would seem like the vertical vectoring during the first 3/4 of the distance to the target is exaggerated.

Posted

Depending on the missile system in question this is normal.

 

A missile (A/A or S/A) has no knowledge of the ground, it's altitude, speed or its position in 3d space. Missiles simply fly a course to intercept the target. Some missiles fly pure persuit, some lead persuit (using proportional navigation) and some fly lead collision.

 

Missiles that use lead persuit (the majority) are vulnerable to the things you mention as the greater the range to target the more a missile has to manoeuvre to mantain its lead. If you pull 5G in a turn a missile would have to pull several times that to mantain lead.

 

 

  • 1 month later...
Posted

Soviet S-75 SAM had a half-lead K mode, which prevented missles from going below target altitude. But that one used command guidance. I don't know if a similar mode is implemented in missles with radar.

 

As far as I know, SAM operators often launch 2 missles at a target with different guidance algorithms (persuit and lead for example) so maneuvering against one missle does not save from another one. Hope this wil be implemented in DCS because there is little use in launching 2 missles with same guidance...

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...