Intelligent SAM Operator Example 2

[Zathred]

Intelligent SAM Operator Example 2

This is a follow on from my original posting about using LUA to provide non-player SAM operators with more intelligent AI behaviour https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4716062

The example includes handling cases when the RED units have been destroyed or there are no contacts which cause LUA script errors in the original example.

In this example I’ve added more logic to the Range and Area check LUA routines as follows:

- If a contact is detected within the SA-12 MEZ then the Krasuha ELINT vehicle activates its OECM jammers.

- If a missile is detected within the SA-12 MEZ then the SA-12 shuts down the Grill Pan FCR. At the same time the SA-15 short range SAM brings up its target indicator radar (Dog Ear) in readiness to engage the incoming missile.

The idea is that the more valuable long-range SA-12 is shut down to prevent an ARM from homing on its emission whilst the short range SA-15 intercepts the attacking missiles.

Note there are specific changes to the doctrine for the SA-12 to implement this behaviour:

- The “Ignore EMCON while under attack” is set to NO to prevent the SA-12 from overriding the EMCON and activating its radars when a missile is approaching.

- The WRA is set to disable the use of the SA-12 missiles against incoming guided weapons. It will only fire at aircraft. The SA-15 intercepts incoming ordinance.


Example Scenario

In the test scenario we send a BLUE flight of x2 A-6 Intruders into the RED air defence zone and launch an AGM-45 Shrike at the SA-12.

1. Load the scenario in the Scenario Editor so you can see what’s going on behind the scenes.

2. Enter as BLUE and pause the sim.

3. Select the A-6 flight (Flight 267) and plot a course towards the SA-12 unit so that the flight stops around 20 miles away from the SAM within Shrike range.

4. Switch to RED and select the SA-12 unit. Note that the radar is currently set as inactive in the EMCON doctrine and the Sensors window shows the radar is inactive. The SA-15 radars are also inactive as is the OECM on the Krasuha ELINT.

5. Unpause the SIM.

As the A-6 flight enters the “SA-12 Zone” exclusion zone it is marked as Unfriendly by the zone rules. There is no change to the EMCON status of the SA-12, SA-15 and Krasuha units.

Shortly after the flight moves within 45nm of the SA-12 unit the “SA-12 Range Check” event action will switch the SA-12 Grill pan FCR radar to active mode and the Krasuha OECM to active. At this time the SA-15 radars are still inactive.

- Switch to BLUE and wait until the SA-12 is detected and classified.

- Pause the sim and manually (shift-F1) fire a single Shrike at the SA-12.

- Switch to RED and unpause the sim.

Shortly after the incoming Shrike is detected by the RED side the SA-12 radars will be shut down and the SA-15 Dog Ear target indicator radar made active ready for the intercept. This configuration will be maintained as long as there is a missile inside the SA-12 MEZ.

The SA-15 will attempt to shoot down the Shrike as it closes in on the SA-12. It might not succeed and the Strike may hit the SA-12 even though its radars are off (see below).

Once there are no more missiles inside the SA-12 MEZ the SA-15 will deactivate its radars and the SA-12 will bring its Grill Pan FCR back up if there are any aircraft contacts still inside the SA-12 MEZ.


Notes

Deactivating the SA-12 radar may not protect it from a Shrike if the SA-15 fails to intercept it as the Shrike may fly to the last known position of the emitter. The emitter shutdown strategy is likely to be more successful against an older ARM such as the AGM-45 Shrike rather than a modern weapon such as the AGM-88 HARM.

Even with the Grill Pan FCR inactive the SA-12 can launch missiles against the A-6s. The missiles are command guided towards the targets and the TEL Illuminator lights up when the missiles enter the terminal attack phase. You can see this by marking the A-6s as hostile while a Shrike is in flight and turning on the map “Illumination Vectors” option. I think the missiles are either being guided visually or with data from other co-operating radars in this case(*)

(*) The SA-12 firing and command guiding missiles with the Grill Pan FCR inactive is a defect which is in the list of todo fixes by the devs: https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4719666. To work around this you can use LUA to set the SA-12 Doctrine to HOLD for air targets when setting the radar to passive.

[tjhkkr]

Thank you!