Questions about Defeating SAMs

[MonsterZero]

So far in the stock campaign the primary threat that's causing me most of the damage is the small portable systems of the Strela/Stinger variety. Some of them are man portable, others are on vehicles, but they all behave similarly.

 

Here are my questions:

 

1) Should I bother carrying ECM pods under wings? As far as I know, they only work against complex radar-guided systems. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

2) How to spot SAM launchers so I can lock them up and take them out first?

 

I use the auto-lock cheat and labels cheat, but you don't recognize the targets until you're almost on top of them, which is very dangerous because they will fire SAMs at you.

Edited May 26, 2013 by MonsterZero

[ericoh]

Here is 1 unusual way to spot sam sites:

 

 

 

AFAIK, ECM Pods lower the distance you can get radar locked slightly, which can infact be a winning factor.

Edited May 26, 2013 by ericoh

[Nealius]

For systems like Strela/Stinger and other MANPADs/SHORADs the best thing to do is what they do in real life. Avoid them.

 

Or at least that's what I have been told they do in real life.

[Yellonet]

ECM will make a difference against the low level threats.

 

Finding every threat through vision alone is nearly impossible.

When you're over enemy territory you should fly and use counter measures as if you know there are AA threats aiming at you.

Either go low and fast in order to use terrain masking or high so that IR missiles won't reach up to you.

When exposing yourself in an attack run where you're low enough to be shot at by IR missiles, start pumping flares until you're back in relative safety again.

[ENO]

ECM appears to be somewhat placebo in the sim and has been said to be the most under modeled aspect of the game. If you think about it- shortening the distance to get a lock potentially brings you closer to the launcher- in effect putting you more firmly in its kill box and providing the missile with more attack energy throughout its intercept.

 

With an AI threat they are prone to launching when you are still out of range... A particularly nice feature when trying to contend with some of the anti-maverick systems out there like TOR and TUNG. If they are shooting at you out of range they can't target the Mavs you threw at them.

 

In addition ECM provides absolutely no protection against the IR threats you are describing.

 

A rule of thumb I have used with some success is the following:

 

SA18: hard deck 8000

SA9: hd 9000

SA13: hd 13000

 

This will vary with terrain- if it is up on a mountain it may be easier to go around.

 

I'm not sure if there has been any clear evidence that proactive flare use on an attack run works but I know many just do it anyway to get into the habit for when it does work- a slow 1 or 2 flare per second / 1.5 second interval for 10 cycles or so (duration of your run) with an armegedon pattern ready on either side. For example your attack run pattern set at B and aggressive patterns at A and C.

 

Sometimes flares accompanied by a throttle cut are enough- but the throttle cut needs to be timed with maneuvers that won't make you a sitting duck for the next missile. You also need to consider steep dives in that they will bring you into the killing threshold of a variety of systems you may not have been concerned about at your initial altitude...

 

Anyway I'm no master at this but these are little things I've picked up along the way.

Edited May 26, 2013 by ENO

[Essah]

The ECM can help you if you activate it after SAM launch, causing the launching SAM to loose lock and the missile to self detonate and meanwhile you can get the hell out of the area.

if you use it before then yes, you're just running deeper in to the SAM envelope, but if you know where it is, and just need to get in range to attack it, it could be useful.

[ENO]

So far in the stock campaign the primary threat that's causing me most of the damage is the small portable systems of the Strela/Stinger (edit in: Igla) variety.

 

 

Just to reitterate:

 

ECM will do nothing whatsoever for the threats you're describing above. Those are both IR guided and not affected by electronic jamming. Use avoidance and / or flares and / or maneuvering.

[Shepski]

Great video and triangulation works great but now the SA-15s shoot down the Mavs so you have to launch a volley at them.

[MonsterZero]

Thanks for all the suggestions, what seems to work in the Su-25T against the small portable IR SAMs is throttle back+release a bunch of flares. Also, the IR lamp needs to be turned on. During the last mission I received only a minor IR SAM hit.

 

If you're using the avionics mode cheat where you can track the approaching missile on the mini radar, they appear to hesitate once your engine temperature drops off (throttled back) while you throw flares behind you.

 

Of course, overflying the target is a big no-no, I do runs with guided missiles and break off as soon as I score a hit, fly back to friendlies, and then return for another run. However, occasionally they still manage to chase me with a missile.