How do you detect oncoming missiles?

[fitness88]

I can never see a missile or the missile smoke trail from any closing missiles, so I get shot down a lot. Is there a way to look in the direction the SPO indicates to try and eyeball the missile or do you have to look at your SPO, jink a lot and pray a lot more?

[golfsierra2]

The SPO tells you the direction and distance. Look out of the cockpit and zoom in as much as you can.

Good luck!

[Robin_Hood]

Missiles generate smoke only as long as their rocket engines are on. So that if you see smoke coming from the msisile (especially air-to-air varieties), it has probably been fired real close, and chances are you are already a dead man (Ctrl+E might be the solution), unless maybe you're engaged in dogfighting (but you seem to imply BVR combat).

 

If the missile has been fired from further away, and smoke is not visible as it is closing in on you, my experience in FC1&2 has taught me that you can usually see it maybe 1/2 second before it hits you - which is too late. So no real chance of counting on seeing the missile, but you know where it's coming from. You can try to break the lock by beaming (placing the missile in your 3 or 9 o'clock and getting lower so that it will hopefully mistaken you for a ground return), 'snaking' or some equivalent maneuver intended to make the missile lose it's energy (ie. speed) and maneuverability before it reaches you, or if you feel lucky, try a last chance barrel roll (for fox3 (active radar) missiles, try to make a high G barrel roll towards the missile when it is 1 to 2 seconds away from you - estimate time to impact with the SPO).

 

The SPO tells you the direction and distance. Look out of the cockpit and zoom in as much as you can.

Good luck!

 

To be exact, SPO gives you the power of the received radar radiation. It gives you an indication of the distance, but it depends on the power of the radar (a F-14 radar will appear 'closer' (ie. more powerful) than a F-4 radar). However, it will give you an indication of the closure of the radar.

 

I don't know if SPO modelisation has been changed in FC3, however

[Kenan]

I can never see a missile or the missile smoke trail from any closing missiles, so I get shot down a lot. Is there a way to look in the direction the SPO indicates to try and eyeball the missile or do you have to look at your SPO, jink a lot and pray a lot more?

 

Well, in your case ie. considering the tactics you're using, I suggest you should pray a lot more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

J/K :D

[fitness88]

Thank you all for your advice...especially praying a lot. I know the SPO is the best reactive measure to an oncoming missile. But why when you watch movies, for example, Behind Enemy Lines, the FA/18 REO was able to call out the turns to the pilot to avoid being hit by eyeballing the actual missiles and their smoke trails. Yes I know it was a movie and some of you might say it doesn't work like that in the real world...and if so it seems a pilot has a low probability of coming home after a missile is fired at close range.

[Cali]

That's a movie, and those were SAM's fired at them, but again, it was a movie.

[L0op8ack]

It IS a movie.

Fired as IR missile, guided as radio-command one.

 

If it's a radio-command one, the heros should have a radar warning, or 'Made in USA'(yes, paint near the nose) is an irony.

If it's not, it should never turn back while target missed.

 

[Robin_Hood]

Well, actually this particular movie scene is extremely silly. Not only the missile literally scratches the tail of the aircraft without exploding (ever heard of proximity fuze ?), but it makes a 360° and comes back again (and keeps on chasing the F/A-18 with a helluva low closure rate) ! Now that must be a next generation SAM, not an old serbian model. :music_whistling:

 

But the thing is, SAMs are more likely to be spotted, yes. Again, if not fired from too far, but a lot of them are medium-to-short range. You can often see the smoke trail coming from the ground. MANPADS and other IR SAMs lauches can usualy be spotted and if they are, hopefully avoided with a hard maneuver and a bunch of flares (when able, I recommend a wingman looking for launches). That is actually the only way against IR SAMs (that is, apart from not being fired upon).

I wouldn't try it with radar-guided SAMs. If not too high, it would be best to beam and dive to the ground, or even turn your back and pump, and come again later.

[EtherealN]

A lot depends on range as well, in the right situation you can bleed the missile's energy through maneuvers.

 

Old video I made:

 

DkYM8UWSnok

 

Not terribly well done (I ceased the bleed maneuvers too early and survived purely by luck), but that's one way to handle it.

[L0op8ack]

Yes, it's true IF the bad guy shoot from MAXIMUM, EtherealN.

 

CA make a VERY huge change of SAM behaviors in DCS World.

 

If 'Fog of war' is set, CA can lock target with IR/binocular by informations (target course/distance/height) from F10 map，fire missiles ONLY when target is close enough.

If you are flying high(8-10km) but not high enough(12km), you will be dead man.

 

Yes, now we get it: SA-15 is the best one for ambushing.

 

Edited December 15, 2012 by L0op8ack

[EtherealN]

Well, that's obvious - if the shot is a good one there's pretty much nothing you can do anyway. :P