CMDS Countermeasures Programs

I thought I would explain 4 pre-programmed countermeasures programs, as I haven't found any info about it in the manual.

1st PROGRAM: Dispenses 10 flares and 10 chaffs. 10 drops, 1 chaff and 1 flare per drop.

2nd PROGRAM: Dispenses 10 flares and 10 chaffs. 10 drops, 1 chaff and 1 flare per drop. Interval between drops is shorter than in 1st PROGRAM.

3rd PROGRAM: Dispenses 10 flares and 10 chaffs. 5 drops, 2 chaffs and 2 flares per drop.

4th PROGRAM: Dispenses 20 flares and 20 chaffs. 10 drops, 2 chaffs and 2 flares per drop. Interval between drops is shorter than in 3rd PROGRAM. This program makes us run out of countermeasures pretty fast.

There is also a CHAFF/FLARE Dispense Button (called like that in the controls as well). It drops 2 flares and 2 chaffs. 2 drops, 1 flare and 1 chaff per drop. Personally, I find it kinda useless as it doesn't allow to drop flares really fast like "BYPASS" setting in the Hornet.

I hope it helps! :thumbup:

Yeah, I was going to ask for someone explaining how these modes work. I never find these programs useful.

If I have a radar missile threat, why am I dropping flares?

and if I'm doing in a run in for a bomb run, and want to drop flare for MANPADs for ingress or egress, why on earth am i wasting chaff?

And if you want to change the programs you can edit....

Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World OpenBeta\Mods\aircraft\F-16C\Cockpit\Scripts\EWS\CMDS\device\CMDS_ALE47.lua

Thx for the information.

I tried that, but it doesn't work. Any idea what I did wrong?

Thx for the information.

I tried that, but it doesn't work. Any idea what I did wrong?

Did you tried to do it with Notepad++ or any other editors?

Of course I sure that you know about the bag with using MS Notepad to edit any DCS lua files... :music_whistling:

Of course...

Do I need to set the mode to bypass?

Is the CMS lft already working?

Send us you file.

Mine work fine.

I use SPUDKNOCKER tutorial.

Of course...

Do I need to set the mode to bypass?

Is the CMS lft already working?

MAN for manual

Edited the file as attached.

Filepath: D:\Steam\steamapps\common\DCSWorld\Mods\aircraft\F-16C\Cockpit\Scripts\EWS\CMDS\device

Idea:

Programm 1 for chaff

Programm 6 for flare

Set to manual and program 1

CMS Fwd should pop chaff

CMS Lft should pop flare

Does not work, unfortunately...

CMS fwd still pops 10 chaff & flare

CMS lft does nothing

CMDS_ALE47.lua

Hm i changed the values and for me it seemed to work flawlessly though I only use the manual programs and no bypass

If I have a radar missile threat, why am I dropping flares?

[/Quote]

 

As Soviet doctrine, before SARH missile launch they likely launch a IR missile. So before they come to range to launch SARH, they have already put a silent IR variant flying directly at you. Then launch a SARH to put you thinking that you have time to fly before missile is closer.

 

You as well need to flare, as the chaff does no good alone because Soviet fighters firing computers works simultaneously with radar and IRS. Even if radar lock is lost the IRS can track you and still guide the missile, and if you fly far enough from chaff, the missile can find you and not the chaff. It is similar to FLOOD mode. Like missiles R-24 and newer with datalink you can launch them silently and only activate radar seeker at further distance. This is as well similar with SAM systems.

 

if I'm doing in a run in for a bomb run, and want to drop flare for MANPADs for ingress or egress, why on earth am i wasting chaff?

 

Because you might be having a radar systems guiding a missile at you and you never know it. Soviet SAM systems are capable to launch and guide missiles at you silently. They can acquire you from their air defence network, and launch a missile at you and your predicated flight path. Your enemy is not the radar you do not hear, but the other radar at further distance and what you want is to generate as big cover that you can get behind to. When you hear the radar SAM activating and lockingto you, it is terminal guidance to missile and there is not much you can do. And again there likely is guidance done with optical channel as well, so your chaff has little to help in that phase.

 

In DCS the chaff works exactly like the flare, it is tiny spot in sky and alive just few seconds and every second missile/radar polls that do they lose a lock or not.

 

One day when chaff becomes more realistic, it will scatter quickly to larger area, it will stay up for hours even, it will block radar emissions behind it and near it by radar signal pulse properties. And that means all radars, meaning friendly, AWACS, SAM, and yourself. You can jam your own air-to-ground radar in target area for very long times. A AAA systems like Shilka doesn't appear in you RWR until they are ready to shoot. In DCS they appear like they would have search radars and looking at you all the time. While again those are networked with air defence net and they get their warnings over that, heading, range and altitude. They can sit silently while tracking you visually and prepare to fire and activate ranging radar just before firing to get the accurate ranging. Flying low means that you typically have less than 10 second surviving time, as reaction times are lower than that in AAA/SAM and even a AAA HMG teams reaction time is under 15 seconds. You need all the help you can get to avoid getting shot.

 

But if you know there ain't radar guided threats, be it then even a AAA with ranging radar, then you simply would program a program to use only flare.

 

In DCS that is possible, but in real combat environments it would be unlikely.

It works ; kinda…..

Great post Fri13. Very insightful. Thank you for typing all of that great info out.

If I have a radar missile threat, why am I dropping flares?

 

and if I'm doing in a run in for a bomb run, and want to drop flare for MANPADs for ingress or egress, why on earth am i wasting chaff?

Since the Viper only has 4 programs, I sort of thought this is what the CMS channel switches were for IRL. You could turn off the chaff or flare channels if you didn't want to expend them via the program. Sometimes I turn channels off mid-program to conserve those countermeasures. Of course, this was an opinion I held before I read Fri13's post above. Now I'm not so sure that was the design intent at all.

Just map the slap-switch to CMS left...now you have your selected program and a standard 'emergency' program ready to go on the CMS.

CMS Left is supposed to activate program 6 anyway (SS is prog 5)....guess not in this 'version' Viper thou.

Funny, I've never gotten bypass to work in the hornet. Programs always worked fine, but that was the only way I could get anything to dispense