Death comes silently

I am pretty new to DCS and am getting hours under my belt. I mostly fly the F/A-18 but also have some time in the AV-8B and a couple of other aircraft.

I am painfully aware that my situational awareness sucks but it seems to me that when death comes (and it comes frequently!) it all happens rather quietly. I just flew the F/A-18 Interdiction mission and got shot down by an SA-3, I had no RWR alarms and when it blew my right wing off I heard and felt no impact or explosion. Just started barrel rolling towards the ground.

My unscientific observation is that in other aircraft I get more ‘feedback’ when I am being shot down. I have also survived the odd hit in other aircraft which as far as I can tell has never happened in the Hornet because I generally just suddenly switch to F2 view and watch myself crash and burn (which is a bit jarring in VR!)

Should I expect to hear the munitions which kill me?

Make sure your rwr is on, the power button is below the middle screen

Thanks, I Will do! However it’s not so much that the RWR didn’t go off that bothers me. It’s more that I rarely, if ever, hear or *feel* the missile detonate immediately before beginning to crash and burn.

I don't understand, why are you hoping to hear a supersonic missile approaching in time to dodge it?

I don't understand **feeling** either.

You have four ways:

• Avoiding threat areas entirely
  
• Using your eyes
  
• Paying attention to the RWR for radar only missiles
  
• Using someone else's eyes/sensors
  

Manpads/IR you avoid by flying over their ceiling, no alarm from them. A tracking radar in CW mode indicates a launch of a radar guided missile.

I think it sounds like the former is finding you. Study the threat capabilities and it will become less of a mystery.

Thanks, I Will do! However it’s not so much that the RWR didn’t go off that bothers me. It’s more that I rarely, if ever, hear or *feel* the missile detonate immediately before beginning to crash and burn.

No, I don’t expect to dodge the missile based on the sound of it coming for me! I am just saying that in other aircraft I generally hear the missile detonate and feel the aircraft move as a result before I start to lose control, or get switched to F2 view. Maybe it’s just me.

Thanks for your advice though, it’s all good.

So no sound of impact and F2 view means your avatar (pilot) died from the impact/explosion of the supersonic missile.

Otherwise you'd of been able to jump in your seat from the impact noise/motion and then twiddle the stick, realize its hopeless, and elect to eject like you're use to. :D

I just flew the F/A-18 Interdiction mission and got shot down by an SA-3, I had no RWR alarms and when it blew my right wing off I heard and felt no impact or explosion. Just started barrel rolling towards the ground.

For practice in that mission, use the F10 map and let the Cap and SEAD flight do their job.

Hold back and orbit over the sea and watch on the F10 map.

Also have the RWR up on one of the DDI's so you know the sam sites are not operational.

Then do your mission.

Always keep an eye out.;)

Thanks for the advice, went back to the mission and waited it out for the SEAD to do their job. Worked a treat.

Make sure your rwr is on, the power button is below the middle screen

Yep, this helped enormously. Hadn’t realised that the RWR needed to be turned on...:thumbup: