UAV and laser guided artillery

[bardosy 158]

I create a mission and the player's objective is to destroy hidden iranian artillery assets in an area. He can operate an UAV (sorry, I don't remember the names, but it was the quadrocopter) and I can find the self propelled iranian artillery in the woods, then lase it and check back to the operator and call a laser guided arty support. The result is very chaotic: sometimes it hit the target very nice, but sometimes it missed the target 500m away or the splash never come (the radio chatter also never say "splash, over"). I made a lot of test and I have no clue why not always works.

My only idea, the laser designator don't work if the target is not completely visible. Because when I saw the iranian arty by the UAV, it always works. But if I only saw half of the vehicle it sometimes works sometimes didn't.

Any advice?

[tinter 186]

Are you running any mods? I've had mods interfere with artillery and the like.

[bardosy 158]

No, just the official arma3. And this was my first meet with the game since alpha. So I had a delay and I like the concept with UAVs. So it's not an actual mission, it's just a test what can I do with this. But somehow it wont work.

BTW, maybe it's important: My quadrocopter redmarked iranian element (only one) and if I lase it, it always work, but if I lase a different target what UAV marked with red marker, it sometimes works but sometimes didn't.

[wgaf 10]

I've had zero luck on many attempts using an UAV to laser guide in artillery, one more disappointment.

[bardosy 158]

:( Well, so I'm lucky to get 50% of success with this UAV-LGarty...? It's a bad news.

[bigshot 64]

yea, i Have not had any luck even getting the Darter to lase anything...it seems to lock onto things on it's own such as enemy vehicles, but if I try to lase at anything as im flying around such as any point on the ground, nothing seems to happen (havent tried it yet as an actual Operator unit, just placed a terminal into my non-Operator unit).

Also...does anyone know how to recharge these Darters after they run out of battery power?...they dont last too long right now and then it may as well be disposable, lol.

[f27sharps 1]

Laser guided artillery ammo can be used only with direct firing mod of the M4 or 2S9, he's not active with the other laser system

[bigshot 64]

What can be used to fire upon Darter lase points?

[bardosy 158]

@ F27Sharps: It's not quite true. I could use LG ammo with M4 as an arty support and quadrocopter as a laser designator. And if vehicle - what I targeted - was 90% visible (not covered by woods) it works and LG ammo direct hit (with indirect firing mode). But if target is only 10% visible, the LG ammo is missed.

@Bigshot: The fixed wing drone (with postfix CAS) worked 99% when I lasered a target with Dart. So you put a flying fixed wing drone (the CAS one) and put waypoints to circle around the zone. And it just flying around until I use laser of Dart. Then it will strike the lasered target.

But I want artillery support in my mission.

[bigshot 64]

But I want artillery support in my mission.

Me too. I want my AI ground troops to be able to fire upon a lase point that I choose when I take turret control of the Darter. Artillary is what im trying to use for this, and also I would want to see my AI attack choppers to be able to lock on and fire as well...otherwise they're of no use to me other than maybe some very brief recon intel.

[f27sharps 1]

@ F27Sharps: It's not quite true. I could use LG ammo with M4 as an arty support and quadrocopter as a laser designator. And if vehicle - what I targeted - was 90% visible (not covered by woods) it works and LG ammo direct hit (with indirect firing mode). But if target is only 10% visible, the LG ammo is missed.

@Bigshot: The fixed wing drone (with postfix CAS) worked 99% when I lasered a target with Dart. So you put a flying fixed wing drone (the CAS one) and put waypoints to circle around the zone. And it just flying around until I use laser of Dart. Then it will strike the lasered target.

But I want artillery support in my mission.

The principle of laser designation is to allow an autonomous ammunition locked the target via an external system, with the M4 or e 2S9 we can't locking anything, so no, it does not work.

[Hellbeard 10]

I tried several times with no success. I don't know why. Didn't even see the explosion.

[bardosy 158]

The principle of laser designation is to allow an autonomous ammunition locked the target via an external system, with the M4 or e 2S9 we can't locking anything, so no, it does not work.

Probably we don't understand each other. M4 cannot lock, I agree. But M4 can fire a laser guided projectile to an area, and if there is a target pointed by a laser designator, the LG projectile with hit it. And it works for me, if I pointed the laser to a target clearly visible.

EDIT: If you are a man with a laser designator, and lase something (eg. a house) and call a support from an M4 with LG ammo, it will hit the house always. This is the concept. And I thought, there is no difference between a man with laser pointer and a drone with laserpointer. And I'm very sure the concept is same, probably it's a bug if drone not always use laser designator well.

Edited September 17, 2013 by bardosy