AI element in strike didnt drop bombs on targets
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Hi just done a strike on Kusong nuclear plant in my campaign and the AI element didnt drop their bombs on target. I set the nuclear plants and few other targets as target steers. switched to the steer for one of the nuclear plants and wanted to order my element to engage my target, but the option was greyed out. I thought they would just go ahead and bomb the targets anyway but they didnt. I had my wingman armed with HARMs to take out an SA-3 fan song (as we had no SEAD escort, only escort) and when i switched to target steer for that, at first option was greyed out (to order wingman to engage it) but after about a min i could click it and he engaged it.
So why didnt my element who had same A-G ordnance as me not bomb the nuclear plant, and why couldnt i order them to bomb them with target steers selected? (whilst also being in A-G mastermode).
EDIT: I also had element go trail once i was about 9 miles from target. Also even though my bombs hit their targets, they only damaged them which resulted in mission failed. If my element had dropped theirs and they hit then both nuclear plants would have been destroyed, and after the debrief the ATO have fragged another strike on the same plant.
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What kind of weapon?
What was IP to target distance?
Altitude?
How aligned was the preIP-IP leg to the IP-target leg?
Overflew IP? -
What kind of weapon?
What was IP to target distance?
Altitude?
How aligned was the preIP-IP leg to the IP-target leg?
Overflew IP?Weapon: GBU-10A/B (i think, but i remember it was def a GBU-10)
IP distance to target: Think if i remember correctly was 8.9nm
Altitude: Was about 22,000
I wouldnt say they were all straight, the pre IP to IP with IP to target. But pretty sure IP to target was straight…should this matter? if so and other factors like altitude and overflying IP can make the AI not drop bombs then that should be rectified in a future update if possible, coz that is just not workable imo. I was able to drop bombs on target so they should have too.I did the same sortie again on the same nuclear plant, this time i had GBU-24s and i had 4 (before had only 2 GBU-10s) and this time my wingman and element had just A-A loadouts. Worked a treat as my bombs destroyed the primary targets and there was a fair amount of enemy air threats which the AI dealt with surprisingly very well (element lead shot down 2 J-11s with heaters). So when i do strikes i’ll just be the one with the A-G ordnance from now on, but i’ll only do them if i know i have enough to destroy the primary targets.
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With LGBs the AI will take on a 20,000’ altitude (I think) and release them one at a time. Upon engaging AI adopt a very high speed a curve toward the target. If they don’t get lined up in time or are otherwise too close they won’t release the first pass. Changing altitude and heading take time which increases the required distance. A little descent is better than a climb as it helps the speed and keeps the “in” and “out” members separated by height.
First point I notice is you mention “I set one of the target as steer but attack my target was grayed out.” Steer point never matters for that command. What does matter is that you have a target under your sensor’s cursor (GM, TGP, padlock, Maverick, HAD). It doesn’t have to be locked but over such that if you did lock that would be the object, either works. In your case if the GM FCR cursors were over the various targets then the A-M-T command would be enabled.
There are two schools of thought on ordering an attack: specifying a target and A-M-T or flying the mission and weapons free command when you get close. With a 4-ship the element is only one unit to be commanded. I recall that an A-M-T for an element will have them sort it out between them and they should do shooter-cover since there is only a singular target and only one member will drop on it each pass. W-F enables all members to attack at self-selected (and deconflicted) targets.
A four-ship is a handful for a O.P.H.A. strike on a single objective. One possible tactic is to use W-F for the element as the first attack and follow them in later with #2 to target specific items that the element did not hit. This requires enough time separation for the element’s bombs to land and for you to evaluate the result and still have room for #2 to attack.
I did a test TE flying the generated flight plan. AI asked “let me at 'em” before IP. The next time it asked suspiciously close to when I manually advanced from IP to target steer prior to IP. Flying directly through IP and getting AI to ask hound dog I had to be exactly on altitude/speed/course and immediately clear WF when they ask (and I mean immediately, subtitles required.) The 9.8nm IP-to-target is very tight for that weapon/altitude.
After the first weapon is launched by all each member peels left to support the LGB. A simple “rejoin” is sufficient to cancel the WF for egress or allow them to circle around to 10-15nm to make a second run and then they auto rejoin when weapons complete.
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Thanks Frederf. I have similar issues all the time, and your break-down here is very useful.