AGM 65 minimum dive angle?
-
Sorry for creating yet another “help me with my Mavericks!”-thread, but there’s so many search-hits when looking for Maverick posts, I can’t find the relevant ones. When doing the AGM65 TE firing 65Gs at the bridge in VIS-mode, I AREA-lock the designatet targets, get the cross inside the keyhole, have the carret on the barpole well within range (halfway down, ish), wait for the cross to stop flashing, and pickle. The missiles fly off the rail, burn for a few seconds and then goes gliding steadily into the ground not even halfway to the target. Is this correct behaviour? I do fly the attack run just a few hundred feet off the ground, but when I have a good weapons solution and the crosshair stop flashing, I expect that the missile is able to reach the target when I’m within the documented limits. I can’t find any documented minimum dive angle so the question is, doesn’t the Maverick account for available drop-distance / shallow angles when showing a steady cross? If so, is a lofting manouver acceptable to resolve lacking height?
-
IRL, the missiles self loft. Dont know if they do that in BMS. If you try to give them anything more than a very gentle pitch up, they will likely end up outside their tracking ‘keyhole’.
Silly question, were the missiles targeted near the SPI? Its quite possible to have the HUD display the missile as being in range on an out of range target, if the missile LOS is slewed away from the SPI.
AFAIK, the steady/flashing cross has nothing to do with how close to the ground you are, just how stable the lock of the picture is.
-
Well, I found the problem. I didn’t actually lock on the target! After activating AREA with TMS Right, I have to TMS Up to designate the target again, it doesn’t work like the TGP Area. Once I TMS Up, the screen center cross (the one extending to the screen edges) closes fully on the target, and the missile finds its way. If I just leave it in AREA and pickle, the missile doesn’t navigate and drop like a MK82, detonating on impact. Seems a revision of the training manual is necessary, because this is what it has to say on the topic: @BMS:
TMS down to cancel track and depress TMS right to select the force correlation mode. AREA is then displayed at OSB 7. Move the cursors to the third span. You don’t need to designate track with TMS up but aim for the lowest possible spot on the span. In the force correlation mode the missile will track the intersection of the crosshairs. Check for a steady pointing cross and let the last missile go. It will hit the exact spot your weapon page was tracking.
-
You might get solid force correlate crosshairs if you slew the Maverick and then stop but not if you never slewed it at all.