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Sniper targeting pod


Vampyr

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I know DCS A-10C will most likely never get the Sniper pod and I'm fine with that, so let me just get that out of the way. :)

 

Would the version of A-10C modeled in DCS be able to mount a Sniper pod in real life without needing any further upgrades or modifications? Snipers are basically just LANTIRNs with better opticals, right?

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So a software update would be the only thing necessary for Sniper pod capability? No hardware modifications/upgrades?

 

That's quite a leap!

 

a different software suite, at least

 

IIRC, Suite 5 at minimum

 

Of course, neither of us knows for sure. I'm sure someone like Snoopy will be along to set the record straight.

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While we're on the subject, does anyone know the mechanical basis of this "controversial" feature?:

“In fact, the aircraft’s targeting pod was not capable of detecting the marking devices,” the report says.

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/report-deaths-were-avoidable-in-afghan-friendly-fire-incident-1.301537

It can't detect IR strobes commonly worn by ground troops.

 

Less interested in the incident, which has been thoroughly covered elsewhere, but whether anyone here actually knows why the Sniper pod lacks this ability? I doubt it was intentionally omitted so it's likely an artifact of the design of the pod.

 

Does anyone know enough about the design of these things to speculate if the answer isn't already known?

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By the way, I see Strike Eagles carry both the sniper and lantirn. Why? Isn't the sniper supposed to be just a better, more modern version of the lantirn?

 

Huh, I've heard the opposite... the Sniper pod being older and less advance than the one we have on the A-10.

 

But that's just what I've heard

'Shadow'

 

Everybody gotta be offended and take it personally now-a-days

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Huh, I've heard the opposite... the Sniper pod being older and less advance than the one we have on the A-10.

 

But that's just what I've heard

 

I don't know which is older or newer, but I have heard that though the Sniper has better range and resolution, the LANTIRN is preferred for CAS.

 

That might explain why F-15Es and other multirole jets carry both.

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While we're on the subject, does anyone know the mechanical basis of this "controversial" feature?:

“In fact, the aircraft’s targeting pod was not capable of detecting the marking devices,” the report says.

https://www.stripes.com/news/us/report-deaths-were-avoidable-in-afghan-friendly-fire-incident-1.301537

It can't detect IR strobes commonly worn by ground troops.

 

Less interested in the incident, which has been thoroughly covered elsewhere, but whether anyone here actually knows why the Sniper pod lacks this ability? I doubt it was intentionally omitted so it's likely an artifact of the design of the pod.

 

Does anyone know enough about the design of these things to speculate if the answer isn't already known?

The IR imaging camera built in the targeting pod can't pick up IR lights emitted by strobes or IR laser designators, unlike NVGs.

They work on two different wavelengths. There's no need to exactly know the ranges, but it is important to know that they don't mix.


Edited by catt42
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Was actually earlier than that, here at moody at least.
LM and USAF completed deliveries of Snipers to Davis-Monthan and Spangdahlem in the spring of '09. Moody received [or rather, was scheduled... you know how these things work] theirs in the summer of '09.

 

Not employed in combat on board the A-10 until 2010, to my knowledge.

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LM and USAF completed deliveries of Snipers to Davis-Monthan and Spangdahlem in the spring of '09. Moody received [or rather, was scheduled... you know how these things work] theirs in the summer of '09.

 

Not employed in combat on board the A-10 until 2010, to my knowledge.

 

So your earlier post was about in combat and not in general. Otherwise I’m not sure what you’re getting at.


Edited by Snoopy
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Huh, I've heard the opposite... the Sniper pod being older and less advance than the one we have on the A-10.

 

But that's just what I've heard

 

Sniper pod is a much better improvement from the aircrew I have talked to and is without a doubt newer. They say it is much more precise than Litening. But the reason the litening pod is still having around supposedly is that the Sniper pod has a much narrower field of view compared to the Litening.

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Are Sniper pods only compatible with A-10Cs or can the A-10As also carry them?

 

Vanilla A-10As couldn’t carry any TGP. The A-10A+ could but I never touched one of those, IIrC they were only ANG and Reserve jets and I never touched or saw one.

 

https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/kicked-up-hogs-the-a-10a-program-04217/

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Vanilla A-10As couldn’t carry any TGP. The A-10A+ could but I never touched one of those, IIrC they were only ANG and Reserve jets and I never touched or saw one.

 

https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/kicked-up-hogs-the-a-10a-program-04217/

 

Can the A-10+ carry Sniper pods though?

 

This guy says they're incompatible with the A-10/A-10+ and that only the A-10C can carry them: http://warthognews.blogspot.ca/2009/10/identifying-upgraded-10c.html?m=1

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Can the A-10+ carry Sniper pods though?

 

This guy says they're incompatible with the A-10/A-10+ and that only the A-10C can carry them: http://warthognews.blogspot.ca/2009/10/identifying-upgraded-10c.html?m=1

 

AFAIK, there are no A-10a's or A+'s currently flying. All A-10 airframes in flying condition were converted to C's. This happened around 2006-7. The Sniper wasn't added to the A-10's inventory until around '09 according to the above posts, so no, the A's and A+'s would not have had the capability of carrying the Sniper pod.

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Can the A-10+ carry Sniper pods though?

 

This guy says they're incompatible with the A-10/A-10+ and that only the A-10C can carry them: http://warthognews.blogspot.ca/2009/10/identifying-upgraded-10c.html?m=1

 

AFAIK, there are no A-10a's or A+'s currently flying. All A-10 airframes in flying condition were converted to C's. This happened around 2006-7. The Sniper wasn't added to the A-10's inventory until around '09 according to the above posts, so no, the A's and A+'s would not have had the capability of carrying the Sniper pod.

 

I know they started the A-10C conversions around 2006/2007, but I think they didn't finish converting all aircraft until mid 2011.

 

Source: http://archive.li/PqheT

 

Maybe because of this there were still some A-10A+s knocking about when the Sniper pod was introduced?

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https://gamingshogun.com/2010/06/21/dcs-a-10c-producer-interview-exclusive-screenshots/

 

GS) Will the Sniper XR targeting pod be available for use in the upcoming sim?

 

MW) For DCS: A-10C we have instead decided to model the Lightning II AT targeting pod in great detail. Doing the Sniper TGP would not have allowed us to include the level of detail we want.

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  • 5 weeks later...
By the way, I see Strike Eagles carry both the sniper and lantirn. Why? Isn't the sniper supposed to be just a better, more modern version of the lantirn?

 

LANTIRN TGP is way older and lacks a ton of capability

 

The 15s went LANTIRN -> LITENING -> SNIPER.

 

The days of carrying the LANTIRN are more or less done. It was an availability thing. That's not really an issue any more.

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