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CHAPTER 3
countermeasures / evasion
"I saw the launch high above my head though the
canopy – the captain saw it too, ‘FLARE FLARE’ he yelled. My thumb
repeatedly pushed the countermeasure control release, stick over - I banked hard right and
dived at the ground – too fast. The [beep beep] of the ground proximity made my heart
stop. Cursing myself for not looking where I was going, I pulled the stick back hard, all
the way to the stop. BOOM! Something exploded behind – but not us thankfully –
the missile had...well missed. I don’t remember thinking about the near miss at
the time, all I felt was relief at seeing the horizon and the instruments reading 20 AGL
and 120 knots - bloody dangerous. ‘ Where is he? You see him?’ ‘Got him, 1
o-clock high.’ The enemy fighter had passed right over us in its head-on missile
attack, in my dive and roll over I’d done a 180 and was now pulling the nose up
hard...and looking right up at the fighters receding tail pipe. ‘SHOOT!’ Two
stingers left our wing tips, one went wide, the other connected. We watched the
fighters’ engine spew fire and dive into the ground some miles away – no pilot
ejection. Chalk up another kill for the Ghostriders." – Captain Flexman
Hawley, Ghostrider flight, US Army, somewhere in South East Asia, March 1999
3.1
Spoofing IR and Radar Guided Missiles
In an area where enemy contact is expected keep one eye on
my ASE as advanced warning. Any with a connecting line means they've locked on to you and
will most probably engage.
When you get a launch warning the ASE or the Havoc’s TWD will indicate the type of
inbound missile and the number of seconds before impact.
While Apache Havoc has an option for automatic countermeasure launching, do not rely on
this to save your hide. By all means leave auto countermeasures turned on, as this takes
away the task of manually turning on the jammers. But you should get into the habit of
dumping CM stores by hand. Your survival rate will greatly increase.
Manual Countermeasure Launching
Both flares and chaff have an effective duration of three seconds from
launch. This means that a flare launched to spoof a missile that’s eight seconds away
will burn out when the missile is five seconds away. You should also be aware that a
spoofed missile can re-acquire you if the countermeasure it is chasing expires.
With this in mind, take a look at figure 3-1 below. This is the ASE page from the
Apache. The "countdown" shows the missile is 3.9 seconds from impact. This is
the earliest time it is wise to begin manual countermeasure dumping. If a chaff bundle is
launched now and the missile is spoofed, the chaff bundle will dissipate 0.9 seconds
from impact, but as the missile would be directed AWAY from the helicopter by the
trajectory of the countermeasure there is no way the missile can re-acquire you. However,
in practice you may need to repeatedly dump chaff or flares in this 4 second window.
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figure 3-1: Time for a decoy |
I recommend the following:
- Dump a flare or chaff bundle every two to three seconds.
- When a missile is less than three seconds away and still inbound, launch doubles.
- If the missile is one second away, keep hitting the dump key.
Do NOT feel you have to conserve chaff or flares, you can't use them once you're dead.
It really is a matter of use them or loose them.
You will know when the missile has been spoofed as the "countdown" will
vanish. In the Havoc the "countdown" is the light sequence as pictured in the
manual. Get familiar with the symbology if you are not already.
Accuracy
Travelling perpendicular to a tracking gun or missile will increase the angle of
error. This means a greater chance of it missing you since it requires more lead ahead on
the part of the tracking gun or missile seeker. All missiles in Apache Havoc compute Intercept
Trajectories, the further away from the computed intercept point you are with each
fraction of a second - the safer you are.
Ground clutter
Another trick you can use is hiding yourself in the ground clutter. At altitudes of
less than 40 feet AGL, radars (such as mobile SAMs) have difficulty tracking you. This is
the biggest weakness of remote SAM emplacements, if you are low enough you can approach
until they are within cannon range.
Exploit Lead Pursuit
All guided missiles in Apache Havoc follow a "lead pursuit" trajectory. A
dangerous low-level tactic can be employed to exploit this. At low level, a rapid loss of
altitude will make the missile nose into the ground as it plots an intercept point that is
"below ground". This requires good timing and consideration for the
"powered descent" effect.
| Reality Check Stingers are traditionally lag pursuit missiles,
however the Stinger missile upgrade program is producing a next generation lead pursuit
version. |
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3.2 Dealing with the Air Threat
The enemy air threat is without doubt the biggest, most dangerous threat you will face
on the battlefield. Attack helicopters don’t have the speed to run away from a fight.
Once the fight has begun, someone is going to die.
When to fight and when not to fight?
Remember the Borg from Star Trek? Sometimes it was possible to walk past them
unmolested because they didn’t consider the others a threat. And other times they
attacked everything that moved. Apache Havoc is a little like this, at the core of the
decision making is something called "the retaliation engine". Most of the time
aircraft are flying about on specific tasks/missions, if you happen to be flying past then
it’s not in their interest to attack you (unless they have been told to attack you or
they are on combat air patrol). So you should be able to safely pass enemy air threats
because you are not considered a threat, however once you open fire they will quickly
re-evaluate your presence and danger factor and prosecute an attack, even vectoring in
additional flights from nearby bases if needed.
So, the player can (mostly) choose when to fight and when not to fight. Of course if
you choose not to fight then those enemy helicopters or fighters will engage your forces
at some later time. It is a strategy decision you will have to make. However, enemy air
patrols may make the decision for you.
Detection
Detection is becoming aware of a potential threat. When using the Air radar sweep
mode hit the [ENEMY] filter key. This will only display those air contacts that are
recognized as…oddly enough…enemy aircraft. Also learn to recognize the symbols
which reveal what kind of contact it is, diamond for a fighter, two triangles pointing at
each other for helicopters. As soon as you have ANY symbols on this display you’ll
have to quickly decide your next course of action.
If you are retreating back into "friendly" territory you would be wise to
maintain a rapid rearward scan for early detection of inbound fighters possibly scrambled
to intercept you. Use the scan control keys to set the radar wedge to the rear 180’
or which ever direction you expect enemy response. If they are out looking for your ship
then keeping stealthy won’t help you very much.
There are two clear categories of air threats, each present a different challenge.
- Fighters
- Combat Helicopters
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Enemy Fighters
By far the most dangerous of air threats is the enemy
fighter. Their high speed allows them to approach, engage and extend out of range of your
air to air missile systems. Your helicopters air search radar can take several seconds to
conduct a full 360-degree sweep. In that time, the enemy aircraft can cover a maximum of
2km before you even know it’s there.
The best way to stay alive is simply avoid direct confrontation with enemy
fighters, particularly air superiority fighters.
A single attack helicopter against a single fighter is a winnable situation, engaging
two fighters is pushing the odds, however ground attack fighters are much more vulnerable
than air superiority or multi-role fighter aircraft. An engagement against more than two
fighters without support from friendly units and you are seriously outgunned. Face facts -
there are situations that should be avoided, getting into a furball against six Mig-29s
and Su-33s is one of them.
Avoid "Kill" or "Danger Zones"
The most dangerous areas are near enemy airbases or "hot" areas of enemy
activity. Examining trends can identify "Hot" areas, how often fighters are
observed patrolling those areas. Killing zones around enemy airbases are particularly
dangerous.
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| figure 3-2: Danger zone around a
Cuban airbase. |
When an engagement in this danger area has begun, it’s quite
probable that additional air support is being readied at the nearby airbase. Given your
proximity to the base you will have little time to "get out of Dodge" before
reinforcements arrive, this is what makes the area so dangerous. In fact this zone can
extend up to 32km from an enemy airbase (effective radio range). The area north of
Guantanamo bay in Cuba pictured above is a good example of deadly ground.
Defensive Positioning and Air Combat Maneuvering
While fighters are formidable opponents the well-flown attack helicopter is not
defenseless. The helicopter has a major turning advantage.
If the terrain allows the pilot should elect to deploy to cover, hiding in a terrain
feature that masks the helicopter. From such a position it may be possible to call for
help and slip away at NOE altitude.
However when terrain does not provide enough cover you may have to resort to more
aggressive Maneuvering.
A fighter requires that it position you on its nose for a missile or gunshot. The most
dangerous place to be is within the 120 degree "funnel" extending out from the
fighters’ nose. As the fighter approaches and closes to engage, the helicopter can
turn into the fighter and dive, this closes the distance and maneuvers you out of the
"funnel". By turning into the fighter and diving you force the fighter to
increase its dive angle, the fighter pilot will have to break off earlier to escape from
the maneuver.
figure 3-3: a fighters weapon lock area
Once the fighter has passed by it will attempt to extend and turn for a second pass
leaving the fighter vulnerable for a few seconds. The danger here is that the attack
helicopter bleeds too much speed while turning to track the passing fighter. If this
happens the helicopter becomes and easy target and sits in the air.
The general rules are:
- Turn into the fighter and dive.
- Maintain high forward air speed.
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Enemy
Attack Helicopters
Cannon - The most effective weapon against enemy aircraft is the 30-mm
cannon, but this only has a range of 1.2km. And then you have to be at or near the same
flight level as the target, preferably at its front or rear quarter. A side tracking shot
will probably miss.
Heat Seeking Missiles - Lightweight heat seeking missiles would almost
always be used against air threats. Apaches don’t normally carry flare dispensers,
hot magnesium sets tress and shrubbery on fire. However the Apache’s tail boom
dispenser is modular and can be fitted with flare cartridges if required. Soviet
helicopters are often seen fitted with large flare racks, a result of hard lessons learned
from years of conflict in Afghanistan where the shoulder launched heat-seeking missile was
extensively used.
Laser / Radar Guided Missiles - The second best weapon against fast
movers and helicopters are Laser guided Hellfires / Igla missiles. While it may seem odd
that the Apache’s Stingers are less effective Air to Air weapons, Laser Hellfires
can’t be spoofed (distracted) as they follow the target being tracked by the player
(using a laser designator). Stingers and Igla’s for that matter are IR guided weapons
and can be spoofed by flares. Igla’s tend to be mounted in racks of 8, double that of
the Apache’s A2A missile system, and as such can be launched in "double
whammys" increasing their effectiveness. One thing Laser Hellfires can’t do and
that’s maneuver very quickly, so unless you have a nose or tail shot at a fast moving
target then chances are it will miss.
Laser Hellfires are VERY effective against helicopters. A helicopters slow speed
combined with the inability to spoof them by normal means that a Laser Hellfire has a very
high chance of hitting its target. Also the extended range of the Hellfire enables you to
engage air targets from as far away as 7km. However this is only effective if the target
is heading right for you - if it's heading away, the motor of the slow moving missile will
burn out long before it gets within range.
Defense - The best defence against a laser guided Hellfire or Attacka
is removing the line of sight element. Without LOS the missile will go wild after a few
seconds. If this is not an option then "beaming" the missile (putting it onto
your 9 or 3 o’clock position) and diving for speed while dumping chaff is all you
have left.
| Reality Check Of course Hellfires, laser guided or otherwise has
never to my knowledge been employed against airborne threats. The TADS laser designator
would find it difficult to track all but the slowest moving targets even under manual
control.
IR fluctuations of a moving background
image would make it very difficult for a guidance system to automatically isolate and
track the aircraft without a human operator manually tracking and lasing the target. |
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3.3 Dealing with the SAM Threat
Know your Enemy. The threat from surface to air missiles
(SAMs) in an ever present danger behind the front line.
SAM vehicles are generally passive, they will
"listen" for enemy search radar or laser emissions. Once they are alerted to the
presence of possible enemy activity they will use their search and track radar systems. A
stealthy approach (sensors set to inactive) will enable you to go undetected unless you
are within visual range.
If you are within the visual detection (recon) range of a
ground vehicle (as specified in the simulations object database), detection by enemy units
can be based on line of sight (LOS). In which case, SA-19s will begin to track you.
Stay Tuned - ASE for Early Warning
Your Apache's ASE is tuned to listen for SAM search radar,
upon detection, a threat circle will be displayed on your Tactical Situation Display
(TSD).
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| figure 3-4: SAM Threat Circles |
This threat circle indicates the effective
killing range of the detected SAM threat. If you have LOS to the SAM then there is a high
probability you will be fired upon (reaction time is based upon the difficulty setting).
Double Threat Circles - Many bases and
cities will have some semi-fixed SAM protection in the form of two SAM vehicles. The SA-19
Grison and SA-13 Gopher are typically paired. They are generally parked in close proximity
to each other and since they have different max ranges, a "double threat circle"
is displayed in the ASE and TSD display.
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figure 3-5: Apache
ASE/TSD - Double SAM Threat Circles |
Many airbases can have 5 or 6 if these SAM
vehicle pairs around the perimeter. This arrangement does have one Achilles heel. The
SA-19 fires much more powerful and explosive warheads, as such, when it is destroyed, the
secondary explosion from the SA-19 will also destroy the SA-13. The SA-13 is a smaller
vehicle and will only damage the SA-19 when attacked. To rapidly and efficiently remove
SAM protection from an airbase, target ONLY the SA-19s at each location.
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3.4 CP/G Speech Feedback
Your CP/G is ever vigilant, regardless of your current
flight mode he will offer assistance whenever appropriate.
If you are being tracked by enemy SAMs, your CP/G say:
- "We are being tracked by radar".
If he tells you to:
- "Keep low and out of sight"
- "Use the cover"
- "Keep low and out of sight."
- "Use the terrain."
- "We're sitting ducks up here!"
You have been *seen* and targeted by an enemy object.
Also if your CP/G spots enemy aircraft he will announce:
- "Fast movers comming in hot and heavy"
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