Using the jammer to avoid dying
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…. Some sensors (read radars) can reacquire after they lose a track (Otherwise why would a Mad Dog ever work?), …
I could be 100% wrong, but I don’t think this is how (or why) Maddog works at all.
There is no ‘reacquisition’ necessary at all to affect a Maddog. Maddog is fired from BORE mode …. no lock or track file required. You point your nose to an area where you expect an enemy jet to be and launch. At some point, the Maddog’s radar goes active. If it finds a target to lock within it’s FOV/LOS, it acquires that target, otherwise, it will just go ballistic.
Edit:
Slight clarification on when the Maddog goes active:
@Dash1:
OSB #19 toggles SLAVE or BORE. Radar missiles can be set to SLAVE or BORE. When set to SLAVE the missile is slaved to the FCR and when set to BORE the missile is pointed six degrees below the gun cross and will fire without command guidance. It will switch on its own radar and go autonomous right after launch. That’s a MADDOG shot as it will go after the first thing it ‘sees’.
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I was referring to the concept from the code perspective, not the functional perspective from an end user launch. From the code perspective, it looks more or less the same whether it loses target or is fired without a target. The weapon does a check to see if it HAS a target, and if it doesn’t, it goes into active search mode.
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In some ways it almost sounds like the jammer should be as needed/situation specific in implementation. Which raise a question. If I may quote Viper Pilot, DH said that when going into “Weasel Mode” the jammer was broadcasting. Hhhmmm.
While we’re here, does anyone have an impression on how Hornet C burnthrough time would compare to the Viper?