Arleigh Burke class destroyer

[chops 111]

Thanks to the pioneering work done my mankyle with his LCS 2 technological demonstrator, I've managed to at least get this model in game.

If you'll pardon the pun, I'm pretty much all at sea when it comes to the finer points of O2, configs and the like. I'll be stumbling my way through releasing this, hopefully with some help from those of you in the community who are more skilled at this.

This addon will represent a "Flight IIA" Arleigh Burke class destroyer of the US Navy. Weapon systems included will be:

1 × 5-inch (127-mm)/62 Mk-45 mod 4 lightweight gun

2 x 20mm Phalanx CIWS*

A Verticle Launcher Cell equipped with:

RIM-174A Standard ERAM

RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missle

RUM-139 Vertical Launch ASROC

BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles

2 × Mark 32 triple torpedo tubes

*Flight IIA ships only have one, but I want moar gunz.

It will have a functional helideck. The extent and details of this depend on what happens when the game is finally released. I'm not going to invest a load of time on work-arounds or scripts or the like, only to find the game develops in a different direction regarding vehicles on vehicles and PhysX. This will also be the case with weapons and countermeasure systems. Not only do I have no idea how to implement much of a weapons/countermeasures system, I imagine the likes of Mando Missles will be far better anyway, and allow me to concentrate on the model.

Cheers

Chops

[scorch_052 127]

Cool! Loving the attention naval combat is getting in arma 3.

[Sakai 1]

I envy you all buggers who can model... But at least you are bringing something to ArmA 3 I love... NAVY!

[HorbeySpector 164]

looks very nice :)

[Brain 12]

I already see huge 'Invasion of Altis' Missions coming! Great work, nice model!

[[aps]gnat 28]

Nice work

As a suggestion, if you dont want to do the whole model, i.e. weapons, then look for a partner.

(No not me sorry, too many projects as is)

[mankyle 418]

Gnat;2448149']Nice work

As a suggestion' date=' if you dont want to do the whole model, i.e. weapons, then look for a partner.

(No not me sorry, too many projects as is)[/quote']

If you need help with the config or the model.cfg just PM me. Nice DDG model, BTW.

The problem with Arma engine is that there are some limitations that are engine related and cannot be avoided.

For example, only the turret configured as

Primarygunner=1

Can work with the ballistic computer.

Only driver, codriver, primarygunner and primaryobserver can have the "magic radar"

For SSMs some scripting must be done. For SAMs arma 3 have some lines that allow a missile to target only air targets.

Torpedoes cannot be done without scripting.

PHYSx doesn't work properly yet.

Some can be solved, other problems can be circunvented. Some other don't have a solution yet.

[Rich_R 1087]

Nice!

[Von Quest 1163]

Have a background in computer science, but never had the chance to play around with gaming stuff.

I'm jealous. Wish I had the time... maybe over winter. Looks Great! Need more naval stuff.

[astast 12]

Dude that is sick!

Love that boat and the look of it :S Will you be adding static version aswell? could be cool to do pirat hunting aswell with this, like putting smaller boats into the water and sending over a seal team or whatever to investigate :D

So many cool things you can do with this addon! <3 (NoHomo)

[BadHabitz 235]

I've been waiting for someone to start working on an Arleigh Burke DDG! This absolutely made my day. I like the flight IIA, but I don't like the lack of Harpoon launchers.

Please let me know if/when you need any help in testing this thing.

[chops 111]

@ Scorch_052, ltsThomas, Brain, Mustangdelta, Goblin: Thanks for the kind words. They help keep me motivated:D

@ Sakai: This is all done with Blender and GIMP. Both are free and there are plenty of online tutorials for both. Nothing stopping you!

@ [APS]Gnat: I have enlisted the kind help of mankyle ship-building consultation services ;).

@ astast: I'm planning to have deployable zodiacs/RHIBs. Most of the deck will be walkable, at least when the ship is stationary.

@ BadHabitz: Thanks, nice to hear. Seems the RIM missiles have an anti-surface mode (and greater range than the Harpoon?).

Once I have the multiple turrets (mk45, 2xCWIS, 2xMk32 torpedo tubes and perhaps some M2s) figured out and a few other animations working, I'll start modelling the bridge.

Not very exciting, but for the OPFOR divers out there, it's modelled below the waterline too.

Thanks everyone for your encouragement :o

[Sakai 1]

Hopefully you will do some old cold war style ships! Would love to use the in FAC

[BadHabitz 235]

@ BadHabitz: Thanks, nice to hear. Seems the RIM missiles have an anti-surface mode (and greater range than the Harpoon?).

I know the old Sea Sparrow missiles had some anti-surface capability that they discovered by accident after an accidental launch wiped out the bridge crew of a Turkish ship. Either way, none of the RIMs pack the same punch as good ol' Harpoons. Harpoons have an unclassified range of about 70 miles, which I think would be plenty. Still, I don't see a bunch of surface combat in A3. I see the DDG most as a support platform for naval gunfire support, anti-air warfare, small team helo insertion and strike warfare.

[DrWub 1]

Cant wait to get my hands on it!

[chortles 263]

If you'll pardon the pun, I'm pretty much all at sea when it comes to the finer points of O2, configs and the like. I'll be stumbling my way through releasing this, hopefully with some help from those of you in the community who are more skilled at this.

Looking good so far, but basically the difficulty comes down to what you want to be possible with the in-game destroyer. It's a lot easier for example if you don't want/need the ship to be "walkable" (the notorious Holy Grail of Arma vehicle simulation) since "driveable" warships with functional weapon turrets have been done for years in Arma, and of course there's been "static object" walkable aircraft carriers and amphibious warfare ships in prior years, albeit whose special capabilities were scripted, i.e. launch/recovery of aircraft or of amphibious vehicles/RHIBs/landing craft.

If it helps with modeling and animations, here (port) and here (starboard, Wikipedia link here) are MK 46 MOD 5 torpedo launches from MK 32 MOD 15 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes on a Flight IIA, and look here for an authentic range of motion for the MK 45 MOD 4 gun (traverse +/- 160 degrees, elevate +65 degrees or depress -15 degrees; the photo shows the axis).

Based on this side view of that same Flight IIA (over a decade after the torpedo launch photos) it looks like you made the "alteration" by essentially keeping the earlier superstructure profile and thus creating a "hybrid" look, or did you model yours on DDG-81 through DDG-84 which do have two Phalanxes? :D (It was DDG-85 onward through DDG-112 that had one Phalanx, while DDG-79 and DDG-80 were the only two Flight IIA's with the shorter 5-inch/54 caliber gun and two Phalanxes each, and DDG-91 through DDG-96 had their MK 32 torpedo tubes moved to the missile deck from amidship.)

As far as ammo capacities I'm seeing six-hundred-eighty (680) gun rounds on the Arleigh Burke-class, six (6) torpedoes (MK 46, MK 50 and on DDG-91 onward the MK 54) and a whopping ninety-six (96) VLS cells, which I believe that you correctly modeled as sixty-four (64) aft and thirty-two (32) fore. Note that there can be up to four (4) Evolved Seasparrow Missiles per cell, and The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World (15th Edition, 2007) mentioned that six cells were to be allocated for ESSMs from which I derive a capacity of twenty-four ESSMs, at least for the one-Phalanx Flight IIA's.

If you're "moar gunz" though... aren't there supposed to be a pair of 25 mm guns in front of the fore stack? ;) Paired with the MK 88 mounts to form the MK 38 MOD 2 machine gun system with both infrared and laser rangefinders. (Also, here's one of the four .50 cal MGs, which can be glimpsed at the bow of that ship. (I also see what looks like a pair of M240s further up top on the superstructure, but they're covered or absent in this photo that shows the position of the MK 38's, and this photo has the M240s absent while the port MK 38 is both covered up and flanked by the highest-up sailors.) According to a brochure PDF from Rafael, the MK 38 MOD 2 may traverse +/- 160 degrees and elevate +45 degrees or depress -20 degrees, and hold two hundred (200) rounds per gun mount.

It will have a functional helideck. The extent and details of this depend on what happens when the game is finally released. I'm not going to invest a load of time on work-arounds or scripts or the like, only to find the game develops in a different direction regarding vehicles on vehicles and PhysX. This will also be the case with weapons and countermeasure systems. Not only do I have no idea how to implement much of a weapons/countermeasures system, I imagine the likes of Mando Missles will be far better anyway, and allow me to concentrate on the model.

I would note however that Mando Missile Arma hasn't been publicly updated for almost two years and Mandoble hasn't posted on the BI forums for close to that (since November 2011). While a more in-depth/complex "weapons and countermeasures" capability can be worked on later, I would nevertheless suggest also chatting with [APS]Gnat about using or adapting the "lash/secure" helicopter system (read: scripts) from FSF-1 (in Gnat's signature no less) or the Frigates, Weapons and Waves Pack so that you can also represent the helicopter launch/recovery/stowage capability.

I know the old Sea Sparrow missiles had some anti-surface capability that they discovered by accident after an accidental launch wiped out the bridge crew of a Turkish ship.

For anyone wondering, BadHabitz is referring to the TCG Muavenet (DM 357) incident... though the incident was apparently the first time that someone even thought of using Seasparrows for anti-surface warfare (exercise or live) at all!

TL;DR: The firing officer console operator (FOC) and the target acquisition system operator (TAS) were both under the mistaken belief that it was "a real-world, live-fire hostile tactical situation", while neither the ship's weapons coordinator (SWC) nor the tactical action officer (TAO) realized that the FOC and TAS were mistaken! As the Navy report concluded: "Sadly, in this case, the (Sea Sparrow) performed exactly according to design."

(The report has a much more detailed take, although this comment accuses culpability of going higher than the report states.)

Still, I don't see a bunch of surface combat in A3. I see the DDG most as a support platform for naval gunfire support, anti-air warfare, small team helo insertion and strike warfare.

This is the main issue with "warships in Arma": unless there's other large surface or undersea combatants (read: bigger than Arma 3's unarmed RHIBs, armed speedboats and SDVs) then you've just described all that a surface warship can do in a combined arms scenario. :( Hence my remark to Chops about "what do you want to do with this ship".

[BadHabitz 235]

This is the main issue with "warships in Arma": unless there's other large surface or undersea combatants (read: bigger than Arma 3's unarmed RHIBs, armed speedboats and SDVs) then you've just described all that a surface warship can do in a combined arms scenario. :( Hence my remark to Chops about "what do you want to do with this ship".

I'm 110% ok with it if that's all it can do. I can envision a scenario where a Burke launches a helo full of troops and serves as a repair/refueling point. It then serves as a platform for 5 inch naval gunfire support to hit hardened targets onshore. Soon after you're directed to conduct a series of Tomahawk strikes. Then you finish the scenario monitoring theater air defense. That's quite a bit of action for those involved in the scenario, and well worth the time for those making the mod.

[chortles 263]

At which point I have to wonder where could the OPFOR divers or SDV launch from in order to get into position to assault or otherwise attack this Arleigh Burke-class from, i.e. by limpet mine? ;) (I'm thinking of Operations Frankton and Jaywick as WWII examples of successful deployment of them, albeit delivered by small surface boat, as opposed to the USS Cole bombing where a boat was brought up to the port side thereof.)

Edited July 27, 2013 by Chortles

[BadHabitz 235]

At which point I have to wonder where could the OPFOR divers or SDV launch from in order to get into position to assault or otherwise attack this Arleigh Burke-class from, i.e. by limpet mine? ;) (I'm thinking of Operations Frankton and Jaywick as WWII examples of successful deployment of them, albeit delivered by small surface boat, as opposed to the USS Cole bombing where a boat was brought up to the port side thereof.)

I was thinking the main threat could be from air-launched anti-ship missiles, or maybe someone could cook up some coastal missile batteries or a launcher on the back of a truck. That would be a good target for a squad performing a HALO, to knock out the SSMs in order for the surface ship to be able to move in.

[DrWub 1]

With CWIS systems, Anti-Ship missiles shouldn't be a problem.

[chortles 263]

With CWIS systems, Anti-Ship missiles shouldn't be a problem.

That only works -- or matters -- if Chops simulates the Phalanx is as being manually operated and able to traverse, elevate and depress fast enough that a human player can "keep up" with an inbound aircraft or ASM, or simulated as being entirely automated but able to target aircraft, surface vessels (with the Block 1B's "Phalanx Surface Mode") and/or ASMs... using AI to feign "automated" is one possible workaround, but I'm not aware if "anti-missile" capability (for gun rounds) is simulated in Arma 3 at all, and if I recall MMA was only able to perform target/track MMA missiles but not BI missiles.

[DrWub 1]

That only works -- or matters -- if Chops simulates the Phalanx is as being manually operated and able to traverse, elevate and depress fast enough that a human player can "keep up" with an inbound aircraft or ASM, or simulated as being entirely automated but able to target aircraft, surface vessels (with the Block 1B's "Phalanx Surface Mode") and/or ASMs... using AI to feign "automated" is one possible workaround, but I'm not aware if "anti-missile" capability (for gun rounds) is simulated in Arma 3 at all, and if I recall MMA was only able to perform target/track MMA missiles but not BI missiles.

Im not a master at the game. But another problem would be that the missile model has no "hitbox". As far as I know.

Edited July 28, 2013 by DrWub
Rephrase

[mankyle 418]

but I'm not aware if "anti-missile" capability (for gun rounds) is simulated in Arma 3 at all, and if I recall MMA was only able to perform target/track MMA missiles but not BI missiles.

We will see. If in the end tanks receive some kind of activer countermeasure system such as the israeli Trophy or the russian Arena, theoretically one could program a missile so it would home on enemy missiles and destroy them.

That would depend on BIS. For the moment, working Chaff-like countermeasures do work and I have already enabled them in the last version I have of the USS Independence LCS 2. I will post a new version of that demonstrator soon, along with a detailed "How-to" configure a working PHYSx ship.

Im not a master at the game. But another problem would be that the missile model has no "hitbox". As far as I know.

Yep. You are right. Unless in Arma 3 things have changed, in Arma 2 I tried to destroy a couple of big missiles with a 20 mm cannon flying a F-35 and the bullets couldn't destroy missiles. It was as if they were ghosts. No Fire Geometry?

[DrWub 1]

Suggestion to Chops! Add ship flares and chaff!

[phronk 898]

Although it may be in the somewhat distant future, will this ship have a full walkable interior? Would be awesome to do ship-boarding/infiltrating missions on this :D