Game Guide to Missiles tutorial

Guide to Missiles

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Air-to-Ground Missiles

9M120 Ataka (AT-9 Spiral-2):
Russia
Effective Range: 450 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.6
Guidance: Radio-command SACLOS

Employed by the Mi-28N and Mi-24 attack helicopters, the 9M120 Ataka missile is the primary air-launched anti-tank missile for taking out armored vehicles.

The missile employs Semi-Automatic Command to Line-of-Sight (SACLOS) guidance -- once the missile has been fired, your helicopter must face the target in order for it to continue to transmit guidance commands to the missile. If you fly away or turn away, missile will lose guidance and self-destruct. To prevent the chopper from facing the other direction, right-click on the enemy unit first, then fire the missile. This will make sure your helicopter holds its heading toward the target during the missile's flight time.The 9M120 missile can be volley-fired against a single target -- this should help you punch through enemy Active Protection Systems (APS).

9A4172 Vikhr (AT-16 Scallion):
Russia
Effective Range: 450 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.2
Guidance: Laser beam-riding CLOS

The Vikhr missile is fired by Su-25SM Frogfoot close air support aircraft. Its high speed allows it to reach the target quickly, giving enemy little time to react when deploying defensive countermeasures. To reduce cost, the missile employs only one control servo, at the expense of flight stability and maneuverability, causing it to slightly "spiral" during its flight. However, the high speed of the missile itself makes it very difficult to dodge for the target.

The missile uses laser beam-riding guidance -- it has to stay within the cone of 4 laser laser pattern beams fired from the aircraft. If the missile strays or aircraft turns away, missile will lose guidance.

AGM-114K Hellfire
USA
Effective Range: 450 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.3
Guidance: Inertial and terminal Semi-Active Laser Homing (SALH)

The Hellfire missile is available on Attack Helicopter for Beginners and the AH-1Z Viper Cobra helicopter, as well as the MQ-1 Predator drone. The missile uses Semi-Active Laser Homing (SALH) where the seeker locks onto the laser reflection from the target. Once fired the helicopter must stay within 110-120 degrees field of view from the target. If you fly away, missile will lose laser guidance.

The missile employs sophisticated auto-pilot using Inertial Navigation System (INS). By firing the missile at the ground near from your desired target, the missile will be launched using Lock On After Launch (LOAL) mode. When flying in LOAL mode, the missile will fly to the target coordinate using inertial navigation system. Once the missile comes closer, use your helicopter's Offensive Ability button again, this time on your desired enemy target. Your inbound missile will then acquire the laser and start diving onto it.

The AGM-114K Hellfire can also be guided by infantry JTAC units. Infantry players with JTAC can override air player's Hellfire targeting and re-guide it onto his desired target by using the Laser Designator offensive ability against the desired target.

Using the LOAL function, several Hellfires can be ripple-fired to a blank terrain next to the enemy. As several missiles are flying, lase the target (infantry can also lase with JTAC). As soon as first target is killed, quickly lase the next target. Repeat the entire process until all missiles have arrived onto their targets. Note that you'll need to separate your missile launches roughly about 1.5 second apart, so that you have enough time to redirect the remaining missiles onto their targets. With skilled ripple-firing, both infantry and air player together could destroy several targets simultaneously in one volley of missiles.

AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire
USA
Effective Range: 450 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.3
Guidance: Inertial with mid-course update and terminal Active Radar Homing (ARH)

The Longbow Hellfire missile is used by the Attack Helicopter for Experts. It uses millimeter-wave band (MMW) active radar seeker to lock onto the target and guide itself. The target can be acquired either by the APG-78 Longbow fire control radar, or using the Target Acquisition & Designation Sight (TADS).

When fired from close range, the missile locks onto the target with its MMW radar seeker prior to launching. It maintains the lock all the way into impact. This is the standard use case and is called Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) or "fire and forget" mode.

When employed from long range, the missile is fired using Lock On After Launch (LOAL) or "fire and update" mode. The missile flies to the general vicinity around the target using inertial navigation system. During the flight, your helicopter's APG-78 Longbow radar transmits course correction commands (known as 'mid-course update') every 0.5 second to ensure that the missile is going in the right direction. Once the missile closes in, its MMW radar seeker turns on, searches the area, then locks onto a target.

The Longbow radar and AGM-114L missile both use the Track While Scan (TWS) for fire control. As the radar is able to track 128 targets simultaneously, it remembers and maintains target tracks in memory. This allows a single Longbow radar to guide multiple AGM-114L missiles against several targets at once, providing mid-course update to several outbound missiles every 0.5 second.

Taking advantage of the TWS principle, two air players with several Attack Helicopter for Experts could join up and simultaneously attack the same target area. The Longbow system will automatically coordinate and distribute target track data between two air players and guide all outbound missiles simultaneously, with each missile assigned after a different target.

AGM-65D Maverick
USA
Effective Range: 450 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 0.9 to Mach 1.2
Guidance: Passive Electro-Optical/Imaging Infrared

The Maverick is US Air Force's premiere short-range air-to-surface missile, employed by a wide range of fixed-wing aircraft, including A-10C and F-16. The missile uses passive contrast-based imaging infrared seeker, making it a "fire and forget" missile. The missile has higher drag but its huge warhead will ensure consistent target destruction at all times.

Air-to-Air Missiles

R-27ER (AA-10 Alamo-C)
Russia
Effective Range: 750 to 900 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.5 to Mach 4.5
Guidance: Inertial and terminal Semi-Active Radar Homing (SARH)

The R-27ER is the fastest air-to-air missile with a No Escape Zone (NEZ) that rivals even the longest ranged SAM in game. The missile uses data-link with the launching Su-27 aircraft during its flight. Once the missile closes in, Su-27's radar provides radar illumination against the target during its terminal stage. If Su-27 is not available or flying in the other direction where it cannot provide illumination, missile will lose guidance.

The missile could be defeated with countermeasures and evasive maneuvers. However, its high speed makes most evasive maneuvers ineffective, especially when flying at altitude.

AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM
USA
Effective Range: 750 to 900 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.5 to Mach 4.0
Guidance: Inertial with mid-course update and terminal Active Radar Homing (ARH)

The Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is the most successful Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile today in the West. The missile is launched by F-22 and F-16 aircraft in game. The AIM-120C missile employing active radar seeker provides two guidance modes: Lock On Before Launch (LOBL) and Lock On After Launch (LOAL).

When launched at close range, AMRAAM is fired in LOBL or "fire and forget" mode. The missile's radar seeker acquires and locks onto the target prior to launch, and maintains lock until interception.

When fired from long range, LOAL or "fire and update" mode is used. During this mode, the missile flies toward the predicted target intercept area using Inertial Navigation System (INS). Mid-course update from launching aircraft radar is received periodically to keep the missile on course. Once missile closes within 375 wic meters range, it turns on its own active radar seeker and locks onto its target, continuing the remainder of intercept on its own.

The AMRAAM was designed with Track While Scan (TWS) mode in mind. A single F-16 or F-22 could ripple fire several AIM-120C's in a salvo and send mid-course updates to all outbound missiles simultaneously, against different targets.

Because the missile uses pulse-doppler look-down/shoot-down (LDSD) radar, it could engage low flying targets by filtering out ground clutter. However, it is vulnerable to notching/beaming maneuvers (flying perpendicular to missile's incoming axis (3 or 9 o'clock)) at low altitudes. When beaming the missile at 3 or 9 o'clock positions at low altitude, the air player could lead the missile into a "notch gate." Once notched, missile will lose track of the target.

R-73M
Russia
Effective Range: 320 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.5
Guidance: Passive Infrared Heatseeking

The R-73M missile is fired by air defense attack helicopter (medium helicopter), and all of Russian fixed-wing aircraft. The Su-27 in game carries 4 of these missiles. R-73 is Russia's premiere 4th generation dog-fighting missile with a very robust No Escape Zone.

The R-73M is a highly maneuverable missile -- it uses thrust vectoring control (TVC) and has a wide seeker field of vision (+45/-45 degrees). This allows the aircraft to fire the R-73M at "off-bore angle", where aircraft does not have to be lined up perfectly toward the target to launch the missile. As long as target falls within +45/-45 FOV, missile can lock onto it and maneuver itself to hit it.

The R-73M can be defeated with well timed counter-measures (release it just before impact); however, dodging this missile with evasive maneuver is next to impossible-- you'll have more chance at winning lottery instead.

AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II
USA
Effective Range: 320 to 500 wic meters
Maximum Speed: Mach 2.5 to Mach 2.8
Guidance: Passive Electro-Optical/Imaging Infrared

The AIM-9X Block II is a 5th generation short-range dog-fighting missile launched by AH-1Z Cobra and most of US fixed-wing aircraft in game. The missile is American response to the Russian R-73 and has a very wide seeker field of view (FOV) of +90/-90 FOV, with a very efficient thrust vectoring control. The target can be acquired and fired using JHMCS, by simply looking / selecting the target in any direction.

For targets exceeding the 180 degrees wide seeker FOV (i.e. if you are firing a missile at a target behind you), the Block II missile switches to Lock On After Launch (LOAL) mode and snaps backward to a position behind you using inertial navigation. As soon as the missile nears from completing its 360 degrees turn, it will search the target area at pre-assigned angles to lock onto using its imaging infrared seeker. This combination of LOAL and 'fire and update' principles allow the Sidewinder to ensure air superiority in every scenario.

The missile can also be fired using LOAL to a long distance with mid-course update data-link; however, as probability of kill is reduced at such long ranges, this mode is rarely used in game, if at all.

The AIM-9X can be dodged by carefully timing your defensive countermeasures (release it just before impact). However, if you manage to get yourself caught inside the missile's No Escape Zone, there is simply no escape from this venomous snake.