Fire Mavericks quickly

[GC1993]

Hi

I am wondering if there is a fast way that I don't know about to fire mavericks at different ground targets in very quick succession.

 

Refer to this video, and skip to 3:04.

 

The player in the distance (linebacker) can be seen firing off his AGM-65s impressively quickly.

 

Ordinarily from a distance, I use the TGP to find a target and make a SPI, then slave my maverick sensor to the SPI, lock it up and fire. This works fine....for a first shot. Occasionally, I can fire moderately fast shots by using the maverick sensor itself, setting a nice slow slew rate, and waiting for it to auto-lock when it finds a signature (this is usually a close range job though, 3 NMs or less), even then there's a good few seconds between launches.

 

Does anybody have any tips for quick maverick firing on multiple targets except for just using the maverick sensor itself and being skilled at slewing?

 

Any advice welcome, thanks.

[Guest Izoul123]

Set targets first with multiple mark points. Then simply cycle fast between them and fire away. It's also dependent on having TMWH for much faster cycling on HOTAS and Stick vs keyboard/other joystick mapped commands jumping...muscle memory very fast rifles. Even if you don't have them set to mark points in advance, I found once I got the TMWH I was about 2x-3x more efficient and faster firing this way. Video "gamer" skills to play part of this equation as well.

[PFunk1606688187]

As long as you have a slew function on your stick or HOTAS combined with all the other TMS and DMS functions conveniently at hand then you should be able to get the technique down to cycle multiple targets quickly.

 

Moving targets are messier and involve slewing to find them, but if they're stationary its pretty simple to just set up a string of mark points then do a run in on the nearest one and cycle through the mark points one after the other locking and firing.

 

I use an X-52 and I have a full HOTAS set up that lets me use all target marking functions on the HOTAS which is much faster than using keyboard shortcuts, but I also mapped the UFC Steer + and - to two of the flat buttons on the throttle, which makes things easier.

 

 

Overall once you're confident in your method and your keys/stick setup its all about practicing til the muscle memory allows you do it effectively and while coping with the dynamic threat environment.

 

The most important thing about executing these attacks is to not be a slave to the technology. Good situational awareness means you're able to know where you should look through the rather foggy and zoomed out Maverick view and that you're not just finding yourself utterly useless when faced with not having your elegant TGP view making it oh so easy on you.

 

Real pilots plan even CAS attacks very carefully and never rely only on heads-down SA exclusively. You need to be able to look out the cockpit and see where you're going and what you're shooting so that you're not overcomplicating the process by trying to use the TGP too much. Its a high resolution view, but its very very narrow. Its a window into target fixation.

 

In reality a real pilot wouldn't NEED mark points to make the attack, he'd be able to pick his targets, roll in, and be able to cycle between them using his innate SA of the situation. Mark points and TGP just help make it faster and more accurate and safer since you can gather intel and get position data from further away.

 

I found early on in my learning process that you can become pretty good at rifling Mavericks in safe practice, and yet be utterly useless in a real mission because your method becomes too staged and you're practicing in an environment that allows you to be overly "head down" in the cockpit.

[Bushmanni]

Put autopilot in path mode and when doing the attack run, point your velocity vector towards or slightly above the target group and engage autopilot. This will effectively ground stabilize the maverick seeker and you can lock the targets with ease by slewing the seeker. If you start from max range you can fire all your mavericks this way before getting too close if the group isn't too spread out.

[camsr]

Don't bank too far on the run in, or the seeker finds it way off the HUD. Probably best to plan a bank from the close to far target, each being at opposite sides of a 'cone' that you bank across.

[159th_Viper]

Hi

I am wondering if there is a fast way that I don't know about to fire mavericks at different ground targets in very quick succession.....

 

IZoul123 is correct - use markpoints:

 

KEFQAk1aS50

[GC1993]

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm fairly new to A10c - only bought it when the summer sale started. I'm fairly mission capable but it's the little tips like these that improve me a lot, much appreciated!

 

:)

[Tetra]

There are several good video tuts for this, Fish's one:

 

Also here is another but with only annotations:

Edited July 13, 2013 by Tetra

[Hamblue]

With practice you can learn to rifle the mav's off at a fast pace.

If the targets are relatively close you start with the first target setting it as SPI and tms up short assigning the first mav to it. Don't forget to china hat short forward to zoom. After the first shot, hit china hat forward again to zoom, steer to 2nd target , tms up short and fire. Repeat with the rest.

Once again with practice you can get a mav off every few seconds and empty 6 in one run with ease. Even more practice and you can get the 6 mavs off followed by a cbu or 2. :thumbup::pilotfly:

[ralfidude]

Seeing as this is my video you are referencing, what linebacker did here actually was not markpoints but he just manually fired them off one after the other.

 

Basically when you fire off one maverick at a location, the new maverick will already be looking at that same spot you just fired at, so, all you do is move the cursor, or slew the maverick a bit, and let it auto lock the next nearest thing.

 

He was firing at a tightly condensed cluster of vehicles so it was rather easy, all 6 mavericks in quick succession is all.

 

Mark point attacks are very nice too obviously, but you won't be able to fire them off quite as quickly as how Linebacker did there.

 

I mainly use mark points to drop multiple GPS guided bombs, and to do a maverick pop up attack like explained in this video tutorial I made recently to take out SA-10/11 sites:

 

Just takes practice man.

[Maverick-X]

Once again with practice you can get a mav off every few seconds and empty 6 in one run with ease. Even more practice and you can get the 6 mavs off followed by a cbu or 2. :thumbup::pilotfly:

 

Possible, but I question the usefullness and realism. I mainly use Mavericks against airdefense targets and try to save as much of them as possible. Just rifeling Mavs at all targets I see in an Area seems a bit of a waste to me, as the main advantage of the Mav is the standoff capability. So why use them against a Target that doesnt pose a real threat to me? (OFC if the Mav is the best or only option I use it... doesnt make sense to take it back either ^^)

 

Also I never fly with 6 Mavericks as the true maximum loadout of the A10 is 4 Mavericks. The inner ones would burn off the tires. Actually they only use 3 when equiped with TGP as the outer Mav would burn the TGP, too. But I guess this is more than optional in DCS ^^

[PFunk1606688187]

To me Mavericks are all about fast dynamic targets. If its stationary its probably better to bomb it. If it can shoot back up to 15 000 its probably better to just leave it alone. :P

[Night]

I've been using the AGM-65 Maverick a lot lately, and I've noticed something strange. About 25% of the time my maverick will miss the target by about 15 feet. Occurs on both AGM-65D and H. I've been using the TGP to set SPI and slaving the maverick to the SPI, and I know for a certainty that I am aiming it at the target correctly. Does anyone know why this could be?

[PFunk1606688187]

I've been using the AGM-65 Maverick a lot lately, and I've noticed something strange. About 25% of the time my maverick will miss the target by about 15 feet. Occurs on both AGM-65D and H. I've been using the TGP to set SPI and slaving the maverick to the SPI, and I know for a certainty that I am aiming it at the target correctly. Does anyone know why this could be?

 

Mavericks don't have 100% hit capability. Its not being lasered onto a target, its electro optical or thermal or charged coupled or whatever the particular model is, and its basically reading the background of the image to identify a contrast in the image ( to simplify things along how I understand it). Its going to be less accurate because it isn't being lead onto a target by a strong guide like a laser or an advanced INS or GPS that can make sure its hitting a place on a map.

 

There are lots of things I don't know and won't try to speak to, but suffice to say I've read many in the know complain that Mavericks are if anything too accurate in DCS.

 

Someone else can probably give a better summation.

[Home Fries]

My RL maverick experience is limited, and only with the F model, but every Maverick we shot hit the target. As long as you launch within parameters, the missile should maintain lock on its target and have the energy to make it there.

 

The trick with maverick is locking the target in the first place. Flying near the US/Canadian border (cool with low humidity), we could lock up ships well beyond the range of the missile, and the seeker head would snap to the target with no problem. However, in warmer and more humid environments (WESTPAC, Arabian Gulf) we would often have trouble locking targets at close range. The IR seeker would often not lock or break lock while looking directly at the target.

 

However, once a target is locked, the Maverick is a pitbull. True fire and forget.

[ralfidude]

Someone here mentioned as well that its not viable to shoot all mavericks like that but there are cases where you must.

 

For example, I went in with a friend to attack an airbase that was retartedly hard defended. Every missile got shot down, so we decided to spam the living christ out of missiles at once to kill just one thing.

 

In this video recording (Go full screen) skip to 1:36:40 to see my friends attempt in SEAD frog, then mine with a-10 and mavs at 1:39:55, by 1:40:45 you can see the amount of missiles being fired every which way, it was psychotic.

 

http://www.twitch.tv/ralfidude/b/431049592

Edited July 16, 2013 by ralfidude

[GC1993]

Seeing as this is my video you are referencing, what linebacker did here actually was not markpoints but he just manually fired them off one after the other.

 

Basically when you fire off one maverick at a location, the new maverick will already be looking at that same spot you just fired at, so, all you do is move the cursor, or slew the maverick a bit, and let it auto lock the next nearest thing.

 

He was firing at a tightly condensed cluster of vehicles so it was rather easy, all 6 mavericks in quick succession is all.

 

Mark point attacks are very nice too obviously, but you won't be able to fire them off quite as quickly as how Linebacker did there.

 

I mainly use mark points to drop multiple GPS guided bombs, and to do a maverick pop up attack like explained in this video tutorial I made recently to take out SA-10/11 sites:

 

Just takes practice man.

Hi Ralfi

I was gonna credit you somehow in my post to show people it was your vid, just didn't know how to tag your username or what not (big fan of your videos btw).

If line didn't have mark points then that answers my initial question - it can be done just by setting a nice slew rate and being fairly practised and controlled in slewing?

Seen your SA-10 vid and practised the technique (although I generally try to stay away from SA-10s unless I can't avoid them as the A10 has no HARMS)

 

Cheers for the help

[Maverick-X]

Someone here mentioned as well that its not viable to shoot all mavericks like that but there are cases where you must.

 

I didnt mean to say its never usefull to do that. I just wanted to say it is a waste since not every target in an Area requires standoff engagement and in RL the number of Mavericks available is 3-4 at max. Ofc this only applies to situations with groundtargets guarded by only a few SAM / AAA.

 

In cases like the one you showed, with heavy airdefense capable of missiledefense it sure is useful to rifle more to get a killshot through / engage a max number of priority targets.

 

BTW: really good flying in the vid! Missiles everywhere xD

Edited July 16, 2013 by Maverick-X

[Vlerkies]

I markpoint everything I can see, especially all the nasty's (the ones that shoot back) before engaging in an area.

 

Then I cycle through the markpoints with the sensors slewed, first objective is to minimise the enemy longer range defences. (missiles mainly). They always get the Mav treatment :D

[Night]

I markpoint everything I can see, especially all the nasty's (the ones that shoot back) before engaging in an area.

 

Then I cycle through the markpoints with the sensors slewed, first objective is to minimise the enemy longer range defences. (missiles mainly). They always get the Mav treatment :D

Do you know of any example videos of this being done and how to create markpoints? Can you slave the maverick to these as well, like creating an SPI? Normally I've just bee creating an SPI and using the maverick's seekerhead to find the rest of the targets. It works ok, but to really rifle off mavericks when necessary markpoints would be very nice.

 

And yeah I'm a noob sorry if it is a question obvious to everyone lol.

 

Edit: found a good one -

Edited July 16, 2013 by Night

[Vize]

Hi,

 

for example:

 

note: instead of clicking steerpoint up on the UFC you can also use DMS up with HUD as SOI

 

and of course...google is your friend...

 

Andreas

[Night]

So I can see how to create mark points, that is fantastic. How exactly do you erase mark points once you move on to another waypoint?

[Hitpoint]

As far as I know, that is not possible during Flight

[ralfidude]

can't

 

EDIT: Really strong magnet, swipe through your data cartridge?

[St3v3f]

I think there is a DTS option under the NAV page of the CDU. If you go there, press 'orig data' and it'll restore the original data from the mission start. That means markpoints gone, but also all modifications to waypoints or flightplans and all created waypoints will be gone as well.