Optical mast for the AH-94

[cyan warren]

Simple enough, a mast-mounted TGP for the AH like what a Kiowa Warrior uses.

The purpose is to offer a slightly more user-friendly alternative to the existing mast radar for firing at targets from cover. It would allow from-cover loft attacks for laser guided hellfires and APKWS with the downside that unlike with the radar-assisted optical variants and GPS-guided rocket-assist glide bombs, you'd have to keep the target lased the entire time. UI-wise, just have an OSB for switching between the forward sensor and the mast sensor.

Pros:

More user-friendly target designation than the existing AtG radar framework allows
Based on an existing sensor system both in-game and IRL (Should be fairly easy to implement from a development standpoint as all the code is already there)
Increase versatility of two-seater play as this would be considerably more difficult to use correctly flying solo than the radar because momentary loss of laser LoS is all it would take to foul your shot.)

Cons:

Not as useful solo due to the split attention between position keeping and sensor management
It's ultimatley going to be a superior system to the radarin mot circumstances unless-and-until we get a QoL update for the radar or weather conditions that require the use of radar over optical sensors

[timber compass]

https://thaimilitaryandasianregion.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mms.jpg?w=625

It sees all

[timber compass]

Also another con would be radar signature, cuz it’s just a sphere

[halcyon halo]

Upvote, pretty easy arguments against this but i love using the helo from behind cover and this would mix things up

The radar is better than optical in multiple ways though

it just detects thing "passively"

up to 8nm away

that's big

[timber compass]

Also, if this is added, it should replace the radar tab when used

[halcyon halo]

i think just replace the TGP ?

you can't look down though

so idk

[timber compass]

True, but it would be a great way to lob IR LOAL missiles or Hellfires from behind cover

[halcyon halo]

I sometimes think the GAM-45 should be repled with AGM-114L (radar hellfire)

so it's FaF with radar or TGP

[timber compass]

Nah, keep the TADS, since it works with the gun turret system

[halcyon halo]

but can't really be used against infantry

[timber compass]

WAIT NO, IDEA

Instead of replacing a tab, just put a new switch camera option in the TADS screen

That way you can keep close both upper and lower viewpoint weaknesses while minimally intrusive on the display

[halcyon halo]

yeah

[timber compass]

Also yeah, we should definitely have something like that, the lack of radar munitions on the AH is sad, even if the GBU can somewhat fill that role

[halcyon halo]

well the 145 fills the role of the FaF missile

and adding a radar hellfire would just confuse people i suppose

[timber compass]

Maybe

[halcyon halo]

i guess it's one of those "it's not my game" kinda moment

the german tigre helicopters have MMS

but no gun

gun pods

underwing

is that a radar right bellow the rotor ?

[timber compass]

I believe so, though I’m not 100% certain

[halcyon halo]

wikipedia only talks of a dopler radar under the avionics

yeah i think it is a radar

[earnest ivy]

you can just hit "slave" on the top mounted radar, and it will mark through the terrain

though i think this only works for getting GPS and AGM-145

[versed lynx]

ik the argument is already kinda ended but im gonna throw my two cents in and say the the optical mast should replace the radar instead of being something you can just tack on.

[timber compass]

Exactly, not IR-guided missiles. It’d be a way for people to stay behind cover and use things like Hellfires without exposing them. Not sure about Ballistas tho, haven’t used them enough

Niche but super useful for if you need it

Especially since not everyone brings the GBUs

[earnest ivy]

ballistas follow a semi-ballistic trajectory, so you can tilt them up and it will fly over a hill infront of you

[unborn wave]

(Or use auto pylon and it’ll auto adjust for range)

[earnest ivy]

you should have it fully pointed up so it arcs over the hill

[timber compass]

I’m sorry auto what

[versed lynx]

auto pylon? it automatically set the pylons to the optimal angle to loft missiles

or in the case of the hydra 70's it sets it at the perfect height to land where the tgp is looking

you can enable it by holding the cyclic trigger and pushing in the thumbstick(same for the cpg but just with the TADS instead)

[timber compass]

Why am I just now learning about this

[versed lynx]

i dont think its really in any tutorials

on yt or in game

[timber compass]

Man that’s awesome too

[versed lynx]

could be wrong tho

[versed lynx]

yeah its really convinent

[timber compass]

What do you mean by cyclic trigger tho

[versed lynx]

sorry the collective mb

swaped them in my mind lol

[timber compass]

Ohhhh lmao

So using that in the future tho

[versed lynx]

yeah, another way to get stuff on target is to use the PIP mode in the TGP. a lot of people skip over it but i find it quite useful for going through multiple targets at different ranges

[timber compass]

PIP?

I probably know what you mean but I’m just tired lmao

[versed lynx]

its a TGP setting that predicts where your munitions are going to land. it acts like a simplistic guidance computer for unguided munitions.

i mean you can just target stuff with the tgp and shot at it but pip is better for multiple targets at different ranges

[timber compass]

Oh is it the dot in the x?

[versed lynx]

?

what do you mean

[timber compass]

Nvm, was thinking of WT’s ballistic computer reticle

[versed lynx]

oh ok i dont play wt lmao

[timber compass]

But it’s basically a ballistic computer to show where the rockets would be landing at that time?

[versed lynx]

yeah its basically that but its built into the TGP

[timber compass]

Oh okay, yeah I know that mode then

[unborn wave]

Combat collective, not cyclic

[versed lynx]

ik i corrected that already

[unborn wave]

specifically combat collective

[versed lynx]

thats fair

[unborn wave]

flight collective trigger is the wheel brakes

[earnest ivy]

its not an advertised control

you just hold mod and click the thumbstick on the combat collective

similar to Hover AP on the flight collective

[timber compass]

I feel like there should be a tutorial showing this off

[halcyon halo]

yeah i didn’t know about auto pylons either, i would just point them all the way up to help the 145 get over the cover

[unborn wave]

?? 😭

an entire generation unknowing of the magical auto pylon system

💔

[timber compass]

(It wasn’t covered in the tutorials)

Either way, having an optical camera/laser system up top would be a great way to make the 114s work behind cover

[placid basin]

wait theres a auto pylon system?

[unborn wave]

Yes?

[halcyon ether]

ground units are typically on the ground under you rather than above.

[unborn wave]

It’s to look over hills and buildings.

We already use radar for this.

Unless you’re one of those that keeps your radar at -11 degrees or something.

[grizzled isle]

this is a really good idea for vtol ngl

I recently picked up the kiowa in dcs and its helped a few times

[cyan warren]

Then you, my friend, helicopter wrong. Treetop level, at least half a kilometer away, front toward enemy. Ideally behind cover spotting with the radar mast, but given the 94's radar is so massively nerfed from the capabilities of the Longbow...

[lean pumice]

I promise you, it does make your cross section bigger, it might but you and your enemy won't notice it and it is definitely smaller than the atg radar on the top

[versed lynx]

also wouldn't it be relatively small since a sphere would bounce away any radar waves that arent directly looking at it? im just taking a guess based on my loose understanding of constant curvature and its role in stealth but i could very definitely be wrong

i mean some waves can wrap around the whole thing and come back but idk how much that would effect it

[halcyon halo]

seems to me like RCS isn’t super important for the helo.

[versed lynx]

the Ah-94 is a stealth helicopter, its meant to have a relatively low RCS and IR signature in comparison to other attack helicopters

thats the reason it has retractable landing gear

and part of the reason for its weird ahh tail

[halcyon halo]

IR is the most important one on my eyes

you have to get within 10nm anyway so any SAM radar will see you

[versed lynx]

and? Low RCS is still important, especially against SAAW's and enemy planes.