CBU-97 CCIP: Cue never appears

So far I've had no problems doing CCIP drops with Mk82s and CBU-87s, but something is really off with the CBU-97s. Following the same delivery profiles I do with the CBU-87s and the -97 CCIP pipper never appears in the HUD. Ever. I have tried dive angles of 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 degrees. I have tried rolling in from 8,000ft to 13,000ft and everywhere in between. Still no joy. What's the deal?

The CBUs has a LOT of drag, hence you need a lot of speed or a lot of dive to actually see the pipper.

Since they are area of effect, I usually drop them in CCRP. You don't really need the accuracy of a dive CCIP run.

When wind is involved, is it better to nix the CBU-97s and just go with the -105s?

The CBU-87 is a bit like a half-slick bomb with a shotgun at the end. It won't quite be as ballistic as a regular low-drag, but close enough that the methodology for Mk-82 to work just fine.

The CBU-97, on the other hand, is a bunch of high-drag, slow-falling, parachute-equipped, semi-guided murderbots getting thrown out by an already non-aerodynamic lump at fairly high altitude. Where and when it actually hits, especially if wind is involved, has shockingly little to do with where the CBU itself actually goes. Hence why CCIP will very rarely be able to show you the actual impact zone.

Part of that can be fixed by setting up the HUD properly — notably the CCIP consent option. The way the CBU-97 falls, especially from high altitude, the pipper is quite likely not to show up until you're either close enough to the ground to blow yourself up and/or heading towards it at such an angle that it will blow you. It will always be that much below (or even behind) the aircraft.

To avoid this, go into the IFFCC test menu (IFFCC switch to middle position — if you do it while flying, try not to put it into the lower position because this will trip all kinds of aid systems and make the master alarm go off). At the top of the list, you should have ”CCIP CONSENT OPT”, which defaults to “OFF”.

Use the UFC data rocker to change this to either 3/9 or 5 MIL, and then switch the IFFCC switch back to the on position.

Now a CCIP ghost pipper will be pegged at the bottom of the HUD whenever you pitch down 3° or more, and you can use it to designate a desired target point. Holding down the release button will momentarily shift into a CCRP-like mode where you either have to just let the release cue get below the lower half of the pipper (it's 3–9 line, hence the name of the mode) or pass within the 5 MIL cue and the bombs will release. Which mode is better will depend on what you're releasing: any self guidance will usually make 3/9 work just fine; any area effect and 5 MIL will be sufficient.

You can read more on page 349 and 540 in the manual.

I thought the canister for the CBU-87 and -97 were exactly the same, only the inside munitions were different. If the canisters are the same, then why the difference in ballistics between release and the clam-shell burst?

I thought the canister for the CBU-87 and -97 were exactly the same, only the inside munitions were different. If the canisters are the same, then why the difference in ballistics between release and the clam-shell burst?

It's not the canister that makes the difference — it's the submunition. Yes, both canisters should pop open at roughly the same spot, all release parameters being equal, but where the submunitions then go in relation to that spot is drastically different.

Somewhat simplified, it goes:

CBU-87: canister falls ballistically with not-quite-low drag -> bomblets fall out -> ballutes deploy -> bomblets keep falling ballistically with high drag -> bomblets hit and go boom. That's basically just two ballistic arcs with a kink in the middle.

CBU-97: canister falls ballistically with not-quite-low drag -> submunitions fall out -> parachutes deploy -> submunitions waft in the breeze -> rocket engine fires -> submunitions stop falling and eject skeets in every direction -> sensors try to detect something vehicle:ish -> penetrators are fired in the direction of assumed targets. That's one ballistic arc followed by all kinds of floating and rocketing in every conceivable direction.

One gives a ccip solution that is just a bit lower than for a slick bomb; the other gives a solution, the geometry of which would best be described with some kind of HP Lovecraft quote. :P

CCIP consent is also a nice idea for Targets of Oportunity, but I'm so used to designate them with the TDC and set it as SPI for a CCRP drop that I almost always forget about CCIP consent.

One the subject of the -97s, what's the best way to prevent wind drift? Even with the -105s the skeets drift so far off target that I don't actually hit my SPI at all. The CDU already knows the wind speed/direction of my selected waypoint, so I thought it would be smart enough to correct for that?

One the subject of the -97s, what's the best way to prevent wind drift? Even with the -105s the skeets drift so far off target that I don't actually hit my SPI at all. The CDU already knows the wind speed/direction of my selected waypoint, so I thought it would be smart enough to correct for that?

As far as I know, the WCMDs will only steer to the desired release point, but will not correct for submunition wind drift. Which is kind of a downer, but that's the way it is (at least in DCS).

Specifically with the 97 and 105, it makes sense to pick a low HOF so that the time the submunitions spend on a chute is as short as possible. Any wind drift correction for the submunitions needs to be done by the pilot, but I don't have any rules of thumb, unfortunately. It's hit or miss, pun intended. ;)

I might stick to the -97s and use the 3/9 or 5-mil option, since Kentucky Windage is much easier to do with CCIP drops.

BTW, you can change the altitud in the inventory, set it to 300 ft and you will see the piper right in front of you if you are flying at 300 fts xD I use that a lot for quick pop up attacks

Another trick that I learned, but probably most already know is use all the cues for wind drift.

My brain one day said, hey stupid the wind is blowing this way, look at the smoke.

Holy hand grenade!

I had a wind sock this whole time!

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Setting to 3/9 worked a treat. Release altitude was lower than I wanted, but still took out an entire group of vehicles with 2 passes.