Apex Vehicles Feedback

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

Jet Ski still performs weird, almost as if on rails? Hard to explain. It should go fast, but it doesn't drift like the Speedboat does, it just instantly turns. Not that it shouldn't but it shouldn't act so weird and jerky when it does. should be sorta smooth, but fast.

[mickeymen 324]

I understand what you're saying, but by that logic Harriers should be classed a Helicopter then cause that can go VTOL? Or the F35B is a helicopter due to VTOL. 

Today, Arma 3, has no - Harriers or F35B. 

Perhaps, questions with these aircraft, relate only to Arma-modifications. 

Now, I'm just trying to talk about how to improve the existing gameplay A3.

It seems to me, all aircraft in A3, should have approximately the same detail of flight and damages. Thus, a player will not be see contrast in the detalisation between the all flying vehicles in the game. I hope, one day BIS will be able to adapt the BIS V-44 X Blackfish VTOL and Y-32 Xi'an VTOL to the Advanced Flight Model also.

[xxgetbuck123 945]

 

Today, Arma 3, has no - Harriers or F35B. 

Perhaps, questions with these aircraft, relate only to Arma-modifications. 

Now, I'm just trying to talk about how to improve the existing gameplay A3.

It seems to me, all aircraft in A3, should have approximately the same detail of flight and damages. Thus, a player will not be see contrast in the detalisation between the all flying vehicles in the game. I hope, one day BIS will be able to adapt the BIS V-44 X Blackfish VTOL and Y-32 Xi'an VTOL to the Advanced Flight Model also.

 

 

I know Arma 3 vanilla has no Harriers or F35B, but from what your saying means that the modders would have to reconfig their VTOL aircraft to a helicopter config, which wouldn't work on a Harrier or F35B, that's what I'm getting at. Also trust me, people have wanted AFM for plane aircraft for a while now however it has never happened, so don't expect AFM for the VTOLs anytime soon. 

[Hemling 0]

It is sad that the rail from the black fish can make not on :(

[ceolnariazz 39]

armed vtols wouldbe nice for support modules as well ;)

[dragon01 902]

I have another idea for the "Loiter" waypoint. Could it be changed so that the "Loiter Altitude" is set above the waypoint, not above the ground the vehicle is over? Yes, it could cause crashes into terrain if the loiter waypoint isn't placed right, but it'd be invaluable for maintaining a stable loiter pattern in rough terrain, which is essential for accurate gunnery and lasing. Also, it'd make it easier to use "tabulated" settings for a pylon turn, even in a very jagged terrain. It'd be up to mission maker (or UAV controller, but I don't think fixed wing UAVs fly that low anyway) to place the waypoint so that the loitering vehicle doesn't crash, but I think we can handle that. :)

[twistking 204]

@dragon01:

you can put this into the waypoints on activation field, or into the planes init...

this flyinheightASL [altitude, altitude, altitude];

where altitude is your height in meter for different combat modes.

[dragon01 902]

I know, but it's not what I want. I want this functionality to be built into the "LOITER" waypoint to make it work better and more intuitively, not a "duct tape" solution that relies on scripting. For example, that change would slightly smooth out UAV loitering over rough terrain, as well as applying to Zeus-spawned Blackfish gunships and helos (I don't think Zeus can execute scripts). The command may work in pre-scripted cases, but it's limited to them, thus rather useless in other situations.

[instagoat 133]

I have another idea for the "Loiter" waypoint. Could it be changed so that the "Loiter Altitude" is set above the waypoint, not above the ground the vehicle is over? Yes, it could cause crashes into terrain if the loiter waypoint isn't placed right, but it'd be invaluable for maintaining a stable loiter pattern in rough terrain, which is essential for accurate gunnery and lasing. Also, it'd make it easier to use "tabulated" settings for a pylon turn, even in a very jagged terrain. It'd be up to mission maker (or UAV controller, but I don't think fixed wing UAVs fly that low anyway) to place the waypoint so that the loitering vehicle doesn't crash, but I think we can handle that. :)

 

This already exists. One of the bottommost boxes in the attributes menu for the waypoint, if I recall correctly.

[fn_Quiksilver 1636]

NATO (Pacific) squad leader

 

Running around inside metal cargo HQ

 

client RPT:

 

21:06:16 Sound: Error: File: a3\sounds_f_exp\characters\footsteps\metalplate_int_run_7.wss not found !!!
21:06:17 Sound: Error: File: a3\sounds_f_exp\characters\footsteps\metalplate_int_run_8.wss not found !!!
21:06:17 Sound: Error: File: a3\sounds_f_exp\characters\footsteps\metalplate_int_run_1.wss not found !!!
21:06:17 Sound: Error: File: a3\sounds_f_exp\characters\footsteps\metalplate_int_run_3.wss not found !!!

[twistking 204]

I hope i'm not going to far off-topic wis this:

 

I was wondering if it would be much work to reconfigure some of the existent vehicles to different roles? If it is feasible, i would suggest some variants of the "old" MRAPs and "old" APCs without the "boring" tv-turret, but with a FFV position on top (should be "launcher compatible, like in the new fast attack vehicles).

 

For small encounters, the HMG/GMG turrets, that allow firing with full armor protection, are too strong (can only be effectively countered with rpg / missle) and also boring to play with. An APC with no turret, but only FFV could also serve as a medical support vehicle (maybe just lock the back passenger department and put a medical symbol on the side), while an MRAP or APC with a AT-missile-soldier in the FFV position could act as a deadly anti-tank support vehicle, that can still be fought off without dedicated heavy weaponry...

 

Also the syndicat helicopter (and of course the identical civilian and nato version of it) should get FFV for passengers or at least for copilot. Without it, it seems a bit pointless for syndicat.

 

Would be much appreciated. Keep up the splendid work!!!

 

Ps: Do you still plan to deliever all main faction vehicles in jungle camo (nato vehicles, csat helicopters)? I'm especially interested in the helicopters. Helis in the old csat camo look out of place in tanoa and despite the new VTOLs i think helis are still essential for a vietnam-like terrain as tanoa.

[dragon01 902]

This already exists. One of the bottommost boxes in the attributes menu for the waypoint, if I recall correctly.

No, it doesn't. There is a "Loiter altitude field" (also my suggestion from a while back), but it's measured like normal flight altitude. I want it to be altitude ASL+altitude of the waypoint. Right now, the loitering plane follows the terrain.

[Big-Rooney 5]

A more general question about the new tanoa vehicles,

why did NATO and CSAT receive the Prowler and Quilin from their pacific factions, yet the drones and vtols remain exclusive to the pacific faction?

 

Cheers

Cause the Drones and VTOLs use the same base game Crew, where as the LSVs use faction specific crews (maybe to cut the need to place an empty one and have to place crew inside)

[WolfenswanFA 19]

Also the syndicat helicopter (and of course the identical civilian and nato version of it) should get FFV for passengers or at least for copilot. Without it, it seems a bit pointless for syndicat.

 

This is preference of course, but I think the green/olive hellcat suits (paramilitary) Syndikat very well.

 

Furthermore, Syndikat should be given armed offroads in a suitable color. Most of the FIA colorings are a bit too bright for Tanoa.

[peterla 14]

Hi all,

I don't know if somebody mention that before but all the CSAT vehicles that have been retextured for the Pacific need some balancing in the inventory. The Katiba is no longer used(by the crew) but the vehicles are full of caseless 6.5mm ammo and none of the new Car-95 family guns.

Regards,

 

PS: Hopefully will saw some retexture on the Nato faction.

[frankfranconi 24]

I'm a bit disappointed that almost two weeks after release, the MQ-12 Falcon still has configuration issues that would only take a few minutes to fix but really screw up the vehicle as it is.

• The driver/pilot camera is zoomed in way too much by default. I really don't understand this one, because all the other UAVs with identical pilot cameras have no zoom applied and have been working perfectly for years now.
• The pilot camera still has no HUD with an aiming reticle for the unguided DAR rockets, which makes them pretty useless when flying it in first person. Why bother having them in the first place if you can't aim properly (only in 3rd person)?

[panduhh 40]

Proposal for the modification of V-44 Blackfish to AV-44B Spearfish standard

 

Let me start off by saying I spent 12 years maintaining AC-130H Spectres and AC-130U Spooky IIs (Electronic Warfare, specifically) and the rest of the AFSOC fleet. I have missed working on the CV-22s but they are flying overhead pretty frequently here on the Florida Gulf Coast.

 

Wall of text to follow.

 

 

There are numerous issues with the armed Blackfish, many of which have been enumerated here in this thread since last month's reveal.

 

To wit:

 

• Poor training of (AI) aircrew resulting in an inability to perform autonomous fire missions.
• Complete failure of onboard systems to provide an accurate view of the target area through proper sensors.
• Preference for nap of the earth (NOE) terrain following flight paths.
• Poor training of mission planners misusing expensive assets in high threat environments resulting in higher than acceptable loss
• As special operations aircraft, a distinct lack of proper identification
• Various cosmetic errors

 

As the Blackfish is in service in the 2030s, for comparison purposes it seems appropriate to discuss the AC-130 as it is currently fielded in 2016.

 

AC-130U crew positions:

on the flight deck (cockpit):

Pilot, copilot, navigator, flight engineer

 

in the Battle Management Center (BMC):

fire control officer (FCO - offensive systems), electronic warfare officer (EWO - defensive systems), TV operator, Infrared Detection Set operator

 

in the back of the bus:

loadmaster and 4 gunners.

 

Sensors:

• Nose mounted radar incorporating several enhanced air-to-ground modes such as fixed target track, ground moving target indication and track, projectile impact point position, beacon track, and a weather detection mode (enhanced version of the radar from the F-15E Strike Eagle)
• Chin mounted Infrared Detection Set, functionally similar to LW FLIR but higher resolution/longer range
• Left wheel well mounted Gunship Multispectral Sensor System EO/IR fire control system consists of mid-wave infrared (MWIR) FLIR, two Image-Intensified Television (I2TV) cameras (CCD-TV), laser target designator/rangefinder with eyesafe mode (1064 and 1570 nm dual mode laser emitter), and near-infrared (NIR) laser pointer/marker (860 nm laser emitter)

Defensive systems:

 

Radar warning receiver

Missile approach warning system

Radar jammer

laser-based Directional Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) for "heatseeking" missiles

chaff/flare countermeasures dispensers (located between the pair of engines on each side, either side of the nose gear doors, fuselage sides just forward of the ramp area and the bottom of the tail tip).

Heat shields around the engine exhausts to reduce IR signature

 

Unsurprisingly, the cockpit crew's main task is to provide limousine service to the area of operations (gunship forward operating bases aren't that forward - the USAF stays well back from the frontlines to do their maintenance). The pilot (left hand seat) has a HUD with an aimpoint reticle so that he can maintain the aircraft's orbit once over the target. The copilot has no means to handle this task.

 

The FCO is the mission commander and has final word on target selection. IIRC, he and the nav share control of the radar for preliminary target acquisition. As I understand it, the nav has the task of coordinating calls for fire from outside sources (JTACs, HQ, etc.) with the BMC crew.

 

The TV and IDS operators do the majority of the final target acquisition/pointing the guns. The TV operator has a laser rangefinder and target designator & the ability to detect other designators and lase targets for others to attack. Note the gunship can track and fire on 2 separate targets simulaneously (within the guns' FOV).

 

The gunners hump the ammo, 4 round stripper clips for the 40mm and single shells for the 105, signalling the rest of the crew when ready. Note USAF uses different munitions than the standard US Army/NATO ammo for the same ground-based versions. The 25mm Gatling gun works in a similar manner to the standard M61 20mm used in most US fighters being autoloaded from a drum but on a trainable mount like the bigger guns.

 

I feel it is important to say that gunship crews are very highly skilled and singular in their ability to deliver mission success. They are the best snipers in the world and never miss what they are aiming at. They are thus extremely valuable and limited resources, especially as a new one costs $253 million (2016 money as the US is acquiring 'new' -U models as a stop-gap until they have enough -J models).

 

Defensive operations:

As noted above, AC-130s have a large suite for self-protection purposes although in practice they avoid threats as much as possible. Due to the weight of the guns and their asymmetric loading, gunships are even less maneuverable than a slick C-130 (except in the downward direction). If they do run into a spot of trouble, the EWO and ground crew will have already configured the systems for the local threat environment so much action is automatic. The Radar and Missile Approach Warning systems will detect a threat and coordinate a response from the various countermeasures - a radar jamming package or chaff for radar-based threats and stealthy/covert jam signal from the DIRCM or very visible flares for IR guided missiles. For the record, a standard deployment of flares from C-130s is a single burst with a single flare from each station at once no more often than 3 seconds apart. Those "Angel of Death" pictures are public relations bullshit. The idea is to give the inbound threat something hotter than the aircraft engines to look at and then have them drop away taking the missile's FOV with it until the aircraft can no longer be acquired by the missile seeker. If you release flares too often, the missile will just climb back up the trail of flares and take out the aircraft.

 

AC-130J Ghostrider:

Lockheed delivered the first AC-130J earlier this year (2016). Data for it is obviously somewhat hard to come by but we do know a few things.

 

Mission

The AC-130J Ghostrider's primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Close air support missions include troops in contact, convoy escort and point air defense. Air interdiction missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity and include strike coordination and reconnaissance and overwatch mission sets. The AC-130J will provide ground forces an expeditionary, direct-fire platform that is persistent, ideally suited for urban operations and delivers precision low-yield munitions against ground targets.

 

Thanks to the fully integrated digital avionics of the advanced 2-crew flight deck, the AC-130J has a reduced complement:

2 pilots

2 Combat Systems Officers (CSO)

1 Sensor Operator (enlisted)

4 gunners

 

It also has the Precision Strike Package adding the ability to standoff at longer range (something like 16,000m) using Precision Guided Munitions. The mission management system fuses sensor, communication, environment, order of battle and threat information into a common operating picture.

 

The future:

"AFSOC is interested in adding a directed energy weapon to the AC-130J by 2020, similar to the previous Advanced Tactical Laser program. It is to produce a beam of up to 120 kW, or potentially even 180-200 kW, weigh about 5,000 lb (2,300 kg), defensively destroy anti-aircraft missiles, and offensively engage communications towers, boats, cars, and aircraft. However, laser armament may only be installed on a few aircraft rather than the entire AC-130J fleet; the laser will be mounted on the side in place of the 30 mm cannon. Other potential additions include an active denial system to perform airborne crowd control, and small unmanned aerial vehicles from the common launch tubes to provide remote video feed and coordinates to weapons operators through cloud cover. Called the Tactical Off-board Sensor, the drones would be expendable and fly along a preprogrammed orbit to verify targets the aircraft can't see itself because of bad weather or standing off from air defenses. The Air Force is also interested in acquiring a glide bomb that can be launched from the common launch tubes capable of hitting ground vehicles traveling as fast as 120 km/h (70 mph) while above 10,000 ft (3,000 m); it could be ready for combat deployment by mid-2017."

 

While AC-130 gunships have served with distinction in the nearly 50 years since first deployment, future operations are in question as they are unable to survive in any kind of contested airspace due to their large size and relatively slow speed. This is a major reason why most missions are at night (preferably poorly lit ones - crescent moon or less). A total of 7 gunships have been lost to combat since 1969, the first 6 in Vietnam with the original variants before the USAF learned countermeasures. The most recent one, in 1991, was out past daybreak and took a shoulder launched heatseeker from below to the heavyside (port) engines.To be honest I have a hard time reconciling this fact with the choice to go with a VTOL gunship and its added complexity/expense/slowness.

 

Accepting BI's reasoning for a Blackfish gunship, to be a viable vehicle several changes are needed:

• The addition of a gunsight HUD & reticle for the pilot (facing out the lefthand window) with info for orbit center, weapon aimpoints and status (READY/NOT READY), target markers and basic flight data (airspeed, altitude and VSI)
• Switch gunners' views from just below the relevant big gun to one of 2 sensors, FLIR ball (nose mounted) or an ALLTV with laser (IR) illuminator. Both gunners should be able to see ground based laser designations and radio based beacons from JTACs and other spotters. Nice to have would be enabling the 2 blank displays provided to the gunners for situational awareness (map/BLUFOR tracker). The other display would show the secondary sensor (that is, the one the other guy is using).
• The ability to properly enter and hold a pylon turn at the ideal bank angle and slant range, most likely with an autopilot function. (The asymmetric weight and balance of the AC-130 may assist IRL aircrews in maintaining their orbits.)
• Improved flight display information for pilot & copilot
• Various cosmetic changes:

Relocation of nose FLIR ball more to the left as it would be blocked by the fuselage when observing the target area.

 

Redo this thing on the left side of the Blackfish that is completely unusable. It should be a full ball like the FLIR and located on the left side of the belly to avoid gun gas soot. This image shows the FLIR of the AC-130U. The ALLTV ball is the black one just aft and below the 30mm gun on the left sponson.

 

Remove the "6237" number on the outside. It is suppposed to be the aircraft tail number which should be the same as the radio call sign. In place of "6237" I'd like to see a gunship logo of some kind as a counterpoint to the Xi'an's griffin. IRL ones have featured a crescent moon and a ghost/spectre firing a Gatling gun. The AC-130Us are currently sporting this one. A logo would also work better on the right side of the aircraft as a mirror image than numbers.

 

The small square display directly above the radio call sign is a threat warning display on the CV-22. The dashed inner circle marks the lethal zone of the displayed threat. This means if the threat symbol is outside the dashes, the bad guys have their eye on you but can't hit you. Inside the circle they can hit you. Note this is a relative distance for each threat not actual range from your aircraft.

 

Current Blackfish cockpit displays

 

This is the cockpit of an MC-130J which should be similar to the AC-130J. The slightly tinted clear panel up high is a HUD. Gunships wouldn't need this forward facing one. The big screen directly in front of the pilot has nav info (compass headings around the circle and landmarks inside). To the right are digital engine instruments, an aviation map and an unknown view, possibly an aerial view of the destination.

 

This is the copilot's display inflight during a paratrooper static line jump from a Marine MV-22 (ref at the 0:53 mark). Note the left monitor has nav info (compass/bearing/heading overlayed on an aviation map. The right hand map appears to be a FLIR image with helo style HUD info overlaid.

 

This is the front end of a USAF CV-22. There are some important differences over the more basic Marine MV-22.

 

The round bump with light gray ring high on the nose is the Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance radar, vital for NOE flight in all weather conditions.

 

The blister on the left side just aft of the nose is the defensive system sensors. Note these are different from the ones on the MV-22 and the Blackfish. The black and orange circle is the Missile Approach sensor and the flat spot above covers the radar warning antenna.

 

The 2 bare metal "L" shaped arms are pitot tubes for airspeed measurement. The Blackfish's are incorrectly facing aft and on the belly where they would be destroyed quite quickly.

 

Just aft of the black triangle window and also straight below look to be the VSI and angle of attack sensors. I believe the lower one works like a wind vane and pivots depending on the direction of airflow.

 

In this view we get another look at a Missile Approach sensor. Down and to the right, that turreted ball is the DIRCM laser. There are a few SATCOM and UHF antennas along the top of the fuselage.

 

In this view we can see the radar jammer trasmit antenna just aft of the large cockpit window (The forward RESCUE arrow points right at it). I believe the companion receive antenna is on the chin (the black circle just outside the nose gear). The orange rounded squares around the white squares are a really horrible sealing job and flare dispensers. More countermeasures dispensers can be found in the 2 white rectangles between the aft Missile Approach sensor and the DIRCM turret. The various other protusions on the belly of the aircraft should be UHF/VHF antennas for comms with ground troops.

 

On the vertical stabilizer we see a dark gray vertical rectangle, that's a formation light. the stalk mounted items lower down on the trailing edge are transmit and receive antennas for the radar jammer.

 

 

Well, this certainly took me several hours longer than I planned on. I hope my brain dump here helps the BIminions improve the working of the armed Blackfish. You don't need to use "Spearfish" but the gunship ought to have a different name and desgnation from the other models. If you are feeling froggy, I wouldn't mind seeing a special ops (MV-44) Blackfish version to be more in keeping with its NOE/precision all-weather flying capability. Thanks for making it to the end.

[xxgetbuck123 945]

Proposal for the modification of V-44 Blackfish to AV-44B Spearfish standard

 

Let me start off by saying I spent 12 years maintaining AC-130H Spectres and AC-130U Spooky IIs (Electronic Warfare, specifically) and the rest of the AFSOC fleet. I have missed working on the CV-22s but they are flying overhead pretty frequently here on the Florida Gulf Coast.

 

Wall of text to follow.

 

 

There are numerous issues with the armed Blackfish, many of which have been enumerated here in this thread since last month's reveal.

 

To wit:

 

• Poor training of (AI) aircrew resulting in an inability to perform autonomous fire missions.
• Complete failure of onboard systems to provide an accurate view of the target area through proper sensors.
• Preference for nap of the earth (NOE) terrain following flight paths.
• Poor training of mission planners misusing expensive assets in high threat environments resulting in higher than acceptable loss
• As special operations aircraft, a distinct lack of proper identification
• Various cosmetic errors

 

As the Blackfish is in service in the 2030s, for comparison purposes it seems appropriate to discuss the AC-130 as it is currently fielded in 2016.

 

AC-130U crew positions:

on the flight deck (cockpit):

Pilot, copilot, navigator, flight engineer

 

in the Battle Management Center (BMC):

fire control officer (FCO - offensive systems), electronic warfare officer (EWO - defensive systems), TV operator, Infrared Detection Set operator

 

in the back of the bus:

loadmaster and 4 gunners.

 

Sensors:

• Nose mounted radar incorporating several enhanced air-to-ground modes such as fixed target track, ground moving target indication and track, projectile impact point position, beacon track, and a weather detection mode (enhanced version of the radar from the F-15E Strike Eagle)
• Chin mounted Infrared Detection Set, functionally similar to LW FLIR but higher resolution/longer range
• Left wheel well mounted Gunship Multispectral Sensor System EO/IR fire control system consists of mid-wave infrared (MWIR) FLIR, two Image-Intensified Television (I2TV) cameras (CCD-TV), laser target designator/rangefinder with eyesafe mode (1064 and 1570 nm dual mode laser emitter), and near-infrared (NIR) laser pointer/marker (860 nm laser emitter)

Defensive systems:

 

Radar warning receiver

Missile approach warning system

Radar jammer

laser-based Directional Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM) for "heatseeking" missiles

chaff/flare countermeasures dispensers (located between the pair of engines on each side, either side of the nose gear doors, fuselage sides just forward of the ramp area and the bottom of the tail tip).

Heat shields around the engine exhausts to reduce IR signature

 

Unsurprisingly, the cockpit crew's main task is to provide limousine service to the area of operations (gunship forward operating bases aren't that forward - the USAF stays well back from the frontlines to do their maintenance). The pilot (left hand seat) has a HUD with an aimpoint reticle so that he can maintain the aircraft's orbit once over the target. The copilot has no means to handle this task.

 

The FCO is the mission commander and has final word on target selection. IIRC, he and the nav share control of the radar for preliminary target acquisition. As I understand it, the nav has the task of coordinating calls for fire from outside sources (JTACs, HQ, etc.) with the BMC crew.

 

The TV and IDS operators do the majority of the final target acquisition/pointing the guns. The TV operator has a laser rangefinder and target designator & the ability to detect other designators and lase targets for others to attack. Note the gunship can track and fire on 2 separate targets simulaneously (within the guns' FOV).

 

The gunners hump the ammo, 4 round stripper clips for the 40mm and single shells for the 105, signalling the rest of the crew when ready. Note USAF uses different munitions than the standard US Army/NATO ammo for the same ground-based versions. The 25mm Gatling gun works in a similar manner to the standard M61 20mm used in most US fighters being autoloaded from a drum but on a trainable mount like the bigger guns.

 

I feel it is important to say that gunship crews are very highly skilled and singular in their ability to deliver mission success. They are the best snipers in the world and never miss what they are aiming at. They are thus extremely valuable and limited resources, especially as a new one costs $253 million (2016 money as the US is acquiring 'new' -U models as a stop-gap until they have enough -J models).

 

Defensive operations:

As noted above, AC-130s have a large suite for self-protection purposes although in practice they avoid threats as much as possible. Due to the weight of the guns and their asymmetric loading, gunships are even less maneuverable than a slick C-130 (except in the downward direction). If they do run into a spot of trouble, the EWO and ground crew will have already configured the systems for the local threat environment so much action is automatic. The Radar and Missile Approach Warning systems will detect a threat and coordinate a response from the various countermeasures - a radar jamming package or chaff for radar-based threats and stealthy/covert jam signal from the DIRCM or very visible flares for IR guided missiles. For the record, a standard deployment of flares from C-130s is a single burst with a single flare from each station at once no more often than 3 seconds apart. Those "Angel of Death" pictures are public relations bullshit. The idea is to give the inbound threat something hotter than the aircraft engines to look at and then have them drop away taking the missile's FOV with it until the aircraft can no longer be acquired by the missile seeker. If you release flares too often, the missile will just climb back up the trail of flares and take out the aircraft.

 

AC-130J Ghostrider:

Lockheed delivered the first AC-130J earlier this year (2016). Data for it is obviously somewhat hard to come by but we do know a few things.

 

Mission

The AC-130J Ghostrider's primary missions are close air support, air interdiction and armed reconnaissance. Close air support missions include troops in contact, convoy escort and point air defense. Air interdiction missions are conducted against preplanned targets or targets of opportunity and include strike coordination and reconnaissance and overwatch mission sets. The AC-130J will provide ground forces an expeditionary, direct-fire platform that is persistent, ideally suited for urban operations and delivers precision low-yield munitions against ground targets.

 

Thanks to the fully integrated digital avionics of the advanced 2-crew flight deck, the AC-130J has a reduced complement:

2 pilots

2 Combat Systems Officers (CSO)

1 Sensor Operator (enlisted)

4 gunners

 

It also has the Precision Strike Package adding the ability to standoff at longer range (something like 16,000m) using Precision Guided Munitions. The mission management system fuses sensor, communication, environment, order of battle and threat information into a common operating picture.

 

The future:

"AFSOC is interested in adding a directed energy weapon to the AC-130J by 2020, similar to the previous Advanced Tactical Laser program. It is to produce a beam of up to 120 kW, or potentially even 180-200 kW, weigh about 5,000 lb (2,300 kg), defensively destroy anti-aircraft missiles, and offensively engage communications towers, boats, cars, and aircraft. However, laser armament may only be installed on a few aircraft rather than the entire AC-130J fleet; the laser will be mounted on the side in place of the 30 mm cannon. Other potential additions include an active denial system to perform airborne crowd control, and small unmanned aerial vehicles from the common launch tubes to provide remote video feed and coordinates to weapons operators through cloud cover. Called the Tactical Off-board Sensor, the drones would be expendable and fly along a preprogrammed orbit to verify targets the aircraft can't see itself because of bad weather or standing off from air defenses. The Air Force is also interested in acquiring a glide bomb that can be launched from the common launch tubes capable of hitting ground vehicles traveling as fast as 120 km/h (70 mph) while above 10,000 ft (3,000 m); it could be ready for combat deployment by mid-2017."

 

While AC-130 gunships have served with distinction in the nearly 50 years since first deployment, future operations are in question as they are unable to survive in any kind of contested airspace due to their large size and relatively slow speed. This is a major reason why most missions are at night (preferably poorly lit ones - crescent moon or less). A total of 7 gunships have been lost to combat since 1969, the first 6 in Vietnam with the original variants before the USAF learned countermeasures. The most recent one, in 1991, was out past daybreak and took a shoulder launched heatseeker from below to the heavyside (port) engines.To be honest I have a hard time reconciling this fact with the choice to go with a VTOL gunship and its added complexity/expense/slowness.

 

Accepting BI's reasoning for a Blackfish gunship, to be a viable vehicle several changes are needed:

• The addition of a gunsight HUD & reticle for the pilot (facing out the lefthand window) with info for orbit center, weapon aimpoints and status (READY/NOT READY), target markers and basic flight data (airspeed, altitude and VSI)
• Switch gunners' views from just below the relevant big gun to one of 2 sensors, FLIR ball (nose mounted) or an ALLTV with laser (IR) illuminator. Both gunners should be able to see ground based laser designations and radio based beacons from JTACs and other spotters. Nice to have would be enabling the 2 blank displays provided to the gunners for situational awareness (map/BLUFOR tracker). The other display would show the secondary sensor (that is, the one the other guy is using).
• The ability to properly enter and hold a pylon turn at the ideal bank angle and slant range, most likely with an autopilot function. (The asymmetric weight and balance of the AC-130 may assist IRL aircrews in maintaining their orbits.)
• Improved flight display information for pilot & copilot
• Various cosmetic changes:

Relocation of nose FLIR ball more to the left as it would be blocked by the fuselage when observing the target area.

 

Redo this thing on the left side of the Blackfish that is completely unusable. It should be a full ball like the FLIR and located on the left side of the belly to avoid gun gas soot. This image shows the FLIR of the AC-130U. The ALLTV ball is the black one just aft and below the 30mm gun on the left sponson.

 

Remove the "6237" number on the outside. It is suppposed to be the aircraft tail number which should be the same as the radio call sign. In place of "6237" I'd like to see a gunship logo of some kind as a counterpoint to the Xi'an's griffin. IRL ones have featured a crescent moon and a ghost/spectre firing a Gatling gun. The AC-130Us are currently sporting this one. A logo would also work better on the right side of the aircraft as a mirror image than numbers.

 

The small square display directly above the radio call sign is a threat warning display on the CV-22. The dashed inner circle marks the lethal zone of the displayed threat. This means if the threat symbol is outside the dashes, the bad guys have their eye on you but can't hit you. Inside the circle they can hit you. Note this is a relative distance for each threat not actual range from your aircraft.

 

Current Blackfish cockpit displays

 

This is the cockpit of an MC-130J which should be similar to the AC-130J. The slightly tinted clear panel up high is a HUD. Gunships wouldn't need this forward facing one. The big screen directly in front of the pilot has nav info (compass headings around the circle and landmarks inside). To the right are digital engine instruments, an aviation map and an unknown view, possibly an aerial view of the destination.

 

This is the copilot's display inflight during a paratrooper static line jump from a Marine MV-22 (ref at the 0:53 mark). Note the left monitor has nav info (compass/bearing/heading overlayed on an aviation map. The right hand map appears to be a FLIR image with helo style HUD info overlaid.

 

This is the front end of a USAF CV-22. There are some important differences over the more basic Marine MV-22.

 

The round bump with light gray ring high on the nose is the Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance radar, vital for NOE flight in all weather conditions.

 

The blister on the left side just aft of the nose is the defensive system sensors. Note these are different from the ones on the MV-22 and the Blackfish. The black and orange circle is the Missile Approach sensor and the flat spot above covers the radar warning antenna.

 

The 2 bare metal "L" shaped arms are pitot tubes for airspeed measurement. The Blackfish's are incorrectly facing aft and on the belly where they would be destroyed quite quickly.

 

Just aft of the black triangle window and also straight below look to be the VSI and angle of attack sensors. I believe the lower one works like a wind vane and pivots depending on the direction of airflow.

 

In this view we get another look at a Missile Approach sensor. Down and to the right, that turreted ball is the DIRCM laser. There are a few SATCOM and UHF antennas along the top of the fuselage.

 

In this view we can see the radar jammer trasmit antenna just aft of the large cockpit window (The forward RESCUE arrow points right at it). I believe the companion receive antenna is on the chin (the black circle just outside the nose gear). The orange rounded squares around the white squares are a really horrible sealing job and flare dispensers. More countermeasures dispensers can be found in the 2 white rectangles between the aft Missile Approach sensor and the DIRCM turret. The various other protusions on the belly of the aircraft should be UHF/VHF antennas for comms with ground troops.

 

On the vertical stabilizer we see a dark gray vertical rectangle, that's a formation light. the stalk mounted items lower down on the trailing edge are transmit and receive antennas for the radar jammer.

 

 

Well, this certainly took me several hours longer than I planned on. I hope my brain dump here helps the BIminions improve the working of the armed Blackfish. You don't need to use "Spearfish" but the gunship ought to have a different name and desgnation from the other models. If you are feeling froggy, I wouldn't mind seeing a special ops (MV-44) Blackfish version to be more in keeping with its NOE/precision all-weather flying capability. Thanks for making it to the end.

 

What a quality read +1

[x3kj 1247]

BIS, could you give us a reason why you removed the swimming ability of tracked vehicles everywhere except for arma3diag.exe ? Or more importantly - will it come back to "regular" branches?

[arziben 23]

Speaking of the Falcon, I wonder if the pilot camera could be made into a fisheye lens (basically just a large FOV), or at least have such a mode (as commander for example). Since it can be piloted manually and that the camera is fixed it would help a lot with spatial awareness during flight.

[frankfranconi 24]

We almost have that already because you can decrease the zoom so much you basically get that effect.

 

But yeah, the Falcon is definitely subpar right now. It's so puzzling, because they've managed to more or less get all the other UAVs right before.

[arziben 23]

Next DLC: "drones" add a few interesting drones you have to pay for (its 2035 guys, where is the small tracked with a .50, where is the low profile water based drone, where is the unmanned submarine !? :D ), small differences added between the factions drones (since iirc the fact of having only one design shared by all factions was because "placeholder") for free along with new and improved existing features for free

[CaptainAzimuth 714]

The Zoom level on the Prowler HMG is glitched. I think this may also be the case with the Speedboat HMG. The gun is zoomed far out, as if it's less than even 1X zoom. However, on on other weapons with the same sights, they seem to be zoomed fine.

[frankfranconi 24]

The Zoom level on the Prowler HMG is glitched. I think this may also be the case with the Speedboat HMG. The gun is zoomed far out, as if it's less than even 1X zoom. However, on on other weapons with the same sights, they seem to be zoomed fine.

True. Another one of the strange configuration issues that could be fixed very easily but seems to have been left out.

[fn_Quiksilver 1636]

Hi BI minions,

 

Requesting a variable to override the VTOL ViV unload logic, so we can add our own parachute to the unloaded vehicle, when at altitude.

 

I'd like to override and spawn a script to wait until the vehicle is 25-50m off the ground before opening the chute.