Effective range of SAMs

[eFirehawk]

Hello everyone,

 

Ultra noob questions here. Before I start on any of the campaigns I'm training how to protect myself from SAMs, so I've created some very simple missions in which I approach a site containing multiple types of SAMs, fire as soon as I get a lock and break off. Until now everything ok except for the fact that I can, until now, snipe many types of SAM with the Maverick D. Before I'm able to lock I'm well within the "danger zone", but they only fire at me when I'm relatively right next to them, specially the SA-8.

 

I've attached two TacView images. The first shows how I crossed radar detection zones, went well inside their firing range, got a lock, fired the missile and was still able to escape without any missile being fired at me. Is it really supposed to be like this? As long as I figure out their locations from far away I can destroy almost all types of air threats?

 

The second image shows how close I had to get to an SA-8 before it actually decided to fire. The only advantage I can think of for waiting to fire at me when I'm so close is that by getting dangerously close the missile won't run out of fuel before reaching me, making my chances of dodging them next to zero.

 

What are the anti-air defences in DCS World that an A-10C loaded with Mavericks cannot get a lock before being fired at?

 

The AI for the SAMs was set to excellent and they were not moving. And I was indeed detected and was being locked on to by all of them before I reached their effective ranges.

 

Thanks

Edited March 13, 2013 by eFirehawk

[Darkwolf]

People with more experience will surely help better than me - if i remember well..... the SAM code has been improved recently so the SAM don't start firing at max range, but rather wait a little so the approaching target can't escape.

 

What are the anti-air defences in DCS World that an A-10C loaded with Mavericks cannot get a lock before being fired at?

 

Only Patriots and S200 i think.

 

.....And manpads. Those are the worst, you don't see them, you don't detect them, you only hear a big bang near your engines.

[GGTharos]

What Darkwolf said.

 

There are a couple of issues at play here. First, you have some rather excellent maverick sensors. Typical employment is about 5nm for many reasons, and from that range you can and will be fired on in RL, as long as the missile can go that distance and chase you down if you try to run (or alternativaly, it may choose to keep you away by launching early). Your ability to detect the position of a SAM is superior to what there might be in RL in the scenarios we face in-game. In reality, very modern avionics and datalinks will make sighting SAMs that emit the way they do in DCS fairly easy.

 

But in reality, SAMs aren't sitting there, blasting trons in search mode for you find.

 

There's going to be a powerful search radar or two, or three, plus datalinks between SAM units, and they'll wait for you to be in lethal range before they fire ... your first sign of them will be a lock followed right away by a missile launch, and you'll find yourself with nowhere to go.

 

Good mission designers are able to implement such things, but it isn't easy to accomplish in DCS.

 

So, to make the explanation simple for you, at least as much as I can: SAMs are not being used to their full potential. The AI isn't capable of doing such a thing right now. When they get 'smarter', it won't matter that you can fire at them before they can ... because you won't see them, you won't know they're there until they light you up right when you enter their WEZ.

[Eddie]

Not to mention that in a realistic scenario there would be far more SHORAD and AAA systems than you could ever pick off with Mavericks. Your job in the A-10 is to avoid the air defence, and kill the armour & artillery.

[WildBillKelsoe]

.....And manpads.

 

only when you're under 12,000

[Sgt_Baker]

.....And manpads. Those are the worst, you don't see them, you don't detect them, you only hear a big bang near your engines.

 

The Missile Approach Warning does sometimes alert you to MANPADS popping small poles of death-by-boom in your direction, which will give you some time to react and drop countermeasures. Then again, it also has a habit of going off when nearby aircraft fire missiles at ground target.