ShackTac ArmA2 TTP2 Guide/Vehicle Usage/Air Vehicles

This section is intended to detail all sorts of considerations that every ArmA2 pilot must make during flight. Further sections follow that are specifically oriented towards rotary-wing (helicopter) and fixed-wing (jet) pilots and the special considerations they must make.

Minimizing Risk

There are a number of things that can be done to limit the threat of anti-aircraft weapon systems. Several methods of tactical prevention are listed below, broken down by whether they're general methods or more specifically oriented towards gun or missile threats. In addition to that, countermeasure systems are discussed, as are evasive maneuvers.

Tactical Risk Prevention

Tactical prevention is simply the art of using proper aircraft employment and maneuver tactics to minimize the threats posed by enemy air defenses.

Prevention: General

These guidelines can be used to protect you from any anti-aircraft threats, regardless of type.

• Limit exposure over enemy areas. The less you're around to be shot at, the less shot you'll get.
• Mask with terrain. If they can't see you, they can't hit you.
• Maintain high speeds. If they can't lead you effectively, or you're exposed for short periods of time, they can't hit you.
• Use unpredictable flight patterns. If they can't predict where you'll be due to your maneuvers, they can't hit you.
• Avoid flying directly at/away from enemy infantry. If you're presenting a target that is moving relative to their perspective, it's much harder for them to hit you.

Prevention: Guns

These guidelines can be used to protect you specifically from anti-aircraft guns

• Fly at altitude. The higher you are, the harder it is to lead you.

Prevention: Missiles

These guidelines can be used to protect you specifically from anti-aircraft missile systems.

• Dump flares when going into an attack run if you expect a MANPAD threat on the ground.
• Dump flares when pulling out after an attack run. The enemy will very likely wait for a rear-aspect shot before engaging - putting flares in the air after an attack run will cause them to have difficulty locking you up, and will confuse any missiles already in flight.

Countermeasure Systems

Aircraft have two main types of countermeasures - flares and chaff. Unfortunately, neither is modeled in ArmA2 by default. Both are expected to be added by the community in short order, however, so we'll go ahead and cover the basics of how they work.

Flares

Flares are burning objects ejected from aircraft to attempt to spoof infrared (heat-seeking) missiles.

• Effective against: Infrared-guided (IR) missiles. The heat of the flares confuses the missile seeker, causing it to chase after a heat source that may not be the aircraft itself. Flares can also prevent the missile from being able to lock onto the aircraft in the first place.
• When to deploy: Whenever you think an IR missile has been launched at you, or when pulling out of an attack run or overflying known enemy positions.

Chaff

Chaff is a packet of thin metallic strips that spread into a cloud upon release and act to confuse radar systems.

• Effective against: Radar-guided missiles. The metallic strips of chaff give false radar reflections, confusing the missile guidance and frequently causing them to seek out invalid targets.
• When to deploy: Once given a launch warning or when you think one is imminent (ie, such as when 'locked up' and hearing a radar warning indicator)

Evasive Maneuvers

There are several standard types of evasive maneuvers available to aircraft pilots, regardless of whether they're flying a jet or a helicopter.

• Jinking. This is the act of making sharp, sudden, and unpredictable evasive maneuvers. Jinking makes it difficult to track and lead an aerial target. It is most effective against unguided weapons such as machineguns, cannons, rockets, et cetera.
• Break turn. A break turn is a sudden, sharp turn typically of 90 degrees or more. This is often used to attempt to evade a rocket or missile system, or when a heavy machinegun or anti-aircraft artillery piece has engaged the aircraft.
• Emergency climb/dive. An emergency climb or dive simply consists of the aircraft gaining or losing altitude rapidly in an attempt to evade a threat.
• Defensive roll. Used most frequently by helicopters, a defensive roll involves the helicopter rolling so that the bottom of it is between the threat weapon (typically machineguns) and the helicopter crew. A roll is usually accompanied by pulling the aircraft in the rolled direction, resulting in the aircraft pulling away from the threat.

Classifications of Aircraft Threats

How Threats are Classified

Throughout the course of flying in ArmA2, you will be confronted with a variety of different threat weapons. Each of the main classifications of these threats is described below, via a "Capabilities, Indicators, React" info breakdown. The "CIR" rating is intended to answer the following questions.

• Capabilities.
  • What can the threat weapon do?
  • What is unique about it compared to the other threat weapon types?
• Indicators.
  • What lets you know that one of these weapons is being fired at your aircraft?
• React.
  • What do you do when you take fire from one of these weapons?
  • What are the best evasive maneuvers to use?

Small Arms Fire (SAF)

Small Arms Fire is generally the most common threat to aircraft on the battlefield. While they pose little threat to jet aircraft, they can be a major issue for a helicopter crew that does not exercise proper tactical judgment while flying. Small Arms are anything typically employed by the infantry - light and medium machineguns, rifles, et cetera. Their Capabilities, Indicators, React (CIR) info is as follows.

Capabilities

• Can penetrate unarmored cockpits and passenger compartments
• Limited effective range. Dangerous at under 300 meters, moderately dangerous at 500m, and markedly less effective beyond that unless massed.
• Relatively light and 'weak' bullets
• Not stabilized, difficult to manage recoil to properly engage aircraft
• Difficult to properly lead aircraft moving at speed
• Often massed as 'ambush' fire in order to increase effects
• When sustained or massed, can cause tail rotor failure of fuel leaks

Indicators

• Muzzle flashes and smoke
• Normal-sized tracers going past the aircraft. Sometimes there will be no tracers at all, just the impact sounds of bullets hitting the aircraft.
• Visible infantry or no visible vehicles
• Sounds of bullets hitting vehicle hull, accompanied by light damage

React

• Break turn
• Jink
• Raise altitude or lower to mask with terrain

HMGs & Vehicle CSWs, including AAA

Heavy machineguns, crew-served weapons, and anti-aircraft artillery are a common threat. They are similar to SAF in many respects, but pack a heavier punch and have higher accuracy at range. Their CIR info is as follows.

Capabilities

• Stabilized, high accuracy
• Heavy, damaging bullet. In the case of AAA, this is often an explosive cannon round.

Indicators

• Large tracers
• Large muzzle flashes and smoke
• Stable stream of fire
• Vehicle at origin of fire (if veh CSW)
• High (HMG) or very high (AAA) damage from hits

React

• Break turn
• Jink
• Sharply raise altitude or lower to mask with terrain

Anti-Tank

Anti-tank assets are generally used in "target of opportunity" situations against slow & low helicopters. It requires a great deal of skill (or luck) for an AT shooter to take down an aircraft with an unguided rocket, or a great failure on the part of the aircraft crew to allow such a shot to be successful. The CIR info for AT is as follows.

Capabilities

• Very limited range (dangerous at 100-300m, falls off rapidly beyond that)
• Difficult to lead moving aircraft with AT
• Depending on the power of warhead, severe damage or destruction of aircraft is likely

Indicators

• Backblast dust/smoke
• Linear smoke trail
• No obvious vehicle having launched it (infantry AT) or ATGM-class vehicle (ie: BRDM ATGM) at launch site

React

• Dump flares. You do not have time to decide whether it's an AT rocket or a guided missile.
• Break turn until you are moving perpendicular to the launch site.
• At this point you should be able to tell that it is a rocket that was fired, and not a missile. Once this has been confirmed, cease flare dispensing.

MANPADs, SAMs, & Anti-Aircraft missiles

Missile systems tend to pose the most serious threats to aircraft. Their guidance systems allow them to track even the fastest jets, while their warheads can wreck an aircraft with a good hit.

Capabilities

• Seeking missile(s)
• Long range
• Difficult to detect (MANPAD)
• Difficult to evade - extremely fast and maneuverable
• Powerful warhead, can result in severe damage or destruction of aircraft
• Oftentimes multiple missiles available

Indicators

• Backblast dust/smoke
• Visible smoke trail coming from the ground
• Smoke trail is curving/changing direction, indicating a seeking warhead
• Radar warning receiver, IR launch indicator *1

React

• Dump flares (IR) or chaff (radar) *2
• Fly perpendicular to missile flight path ('beam' it)
• Put terrain between self and missile
• Continue dispensing flares or chaff until missile is no longer a threat and aircraft is out of engagement envelope of the launcher *3

Damage Model

Fuel Leaks

Oftentimes an aircraft will receive a fuel leak after being hit by a MANPAD missile or taking sustained machinegun fire. The indicator for this is simply that the fuel level begins to drop. If you take a hit that causes a fuel leak, announce it to the appropriate person (ie the FAC or PltCo) and head back to base if possible. If you can't make it back to base, find some place to set down (if a helo) or eject (if a plane). (Note: In , helicopter pilots typically cannot "bail" out of their helos while in the air and survive. Thus, you must land the aircraft if you'd like to live to talk about it.)