Current Hornet Status

Hi all,

 

 

I've been away from DCS for a couple years and have just returned to check out where things are at in Hornet land. I began flying the Su27 in the old DOS days, and I've been patiently waiting years to get in the seat of a Hornet! I want to find out if now's the time to make the move. It appears the Hornet is still in 'early access'. I have some quick questions - apologies if these have been addressed elsewhere...I couldn't find the answers :smilewink:

 

 

 

1) Is the Hornet complete and functional enough to the point that it's time to jump back in, download DCS 2.5 and buy the module, or is there still a sizeable amount of work to be done?

 

 

2) I notice on the Hornet 'Buy' page it says it requires DCS 2.5.2. I also notice at the bottom of the 'Buy' page it says it will fly on DCS 2.5. Can anyone tell me which DCS I really need? If it's 2.5.2, how stable is that release? I'm guessing I just d'load 2.5 then patch up to 2.5.2, correct?

 

 

 

3) I only play offline mode and spend my time creating missions and recording the results for playback. With the Hornet in early access, will additional ongoing updates to the Hornet ruin any track files I create with a previous release?

 

 

4) Can anyone comment on the status of the Nimitz. I noticed on the Hornet info page it says it comes with the USS John C Stennis. Is the Nimitz going to be an add-on for purchase or will it be included in an incremental DCS world update?

 

 

 

Thanks!

Whilst I don't have too much helpful information the updates have been coming pretty thick and fast for the Hornet and there's a lot additional systems/weapons been added in the past couple of months or so.

 

As for the Nimitz class carrier I think it's going to be an additional module based on how much work is going into it so I honestly don't think it'll be included.

1) Is the Hornet complete and functional enough to the point that it's time to jump back in, download DCS 2.5 and buy the module, or is there still a sizeable amount of work to be done?

 

The Hornet has a lot of features added though it still has a ways to go. Major Hornet updates are down to once a month as the features/systems they are working take longer to code.

 

 

2) I notice on the Hornet 'Buy' page it says it requires DCS 2.5.2. I also notice at the bottom of the 'Buy' page it says it will fly on DCS 2.5. Can anyone tell me which DCS I really need? If it's 2.5.2, how stable is that release? I'm guessing I just d'load 2.5 then patch up to 2.5.2, correct?

Just download the latest Stable or Open Beta and you will be fine.

 

 

3) I only play offline mode and spend my time creating missions and recording the results for playback. With the Hornet in early access, will additional ongoing updates to the Hornet ruin any track files I create with a previous release?

Changes to modules and the core DCS World can potentially corrupt a previous track file. In fact you should always save a previously created mission in the ME after ever update.

 

 

4) Can anyone comment on the status of the Nimitz. I noticed on the Hornet info page it says it comes with the USS John C Stennis. Is the Nimitz going to be an add-on for purchase or will it be included in an incremental DCS world update?

We don't know much about the Nimitz. We have seen, recently, info on the deck crew and carrier comms. The Nimitz will be a pay-for-DLC.

1) it's still WIP - it's still missing a TGP, TWS, and the ground radar, and a few more weapons. Air to air wise its got 120s, the 9X, and the helmet mounted sight, datalink. Air to ground its got Mavericks, HARMs, laser guided bombs, JDAMs, JSOWs and dumb weapons. TGP is meant to come next week, but will probably slip into July.

 

2) both stable and open beta are past 2.5.2, download open beta to get the newest Hornet upgrades first.

 

3) it's DCS, old tracks are very unreliable.

 

4) the stennis is free and ingame already, the new carrier is a paid add on with deck crew and better comms.

1) it's still WIP - it's still missing a TGP, TWS, and the ground radar, and a few more weapons

 

 

So without the ground radar, I'm guessing the only ground attack capability is rockets/unguided bombs? Also, does that mean no laser lock/smart missile attack of ground objects? Any ETA on these additions?

 

 

Thanks!

Edited June 23, 2019 by WytchCrypt

So without the ground radar, I'm guessing the only ground attack capability is rockets/unguided bombs? Also, no laser lock/smart missile attack of ground objects? Any ETA on these additions?!

 

There are mavericks as well as Harm missiles. Limited use of laser guided bombs and jdams.

So without the ground radar, I'm guessing the only ground attack capability is rockets/unguided bombs? Also, no laser lock/smart missile attack of ground objects? Any ETA on these additions?

 

JDAM and JSOWs are in. You need something to feed you the target position, however, which is mainly from the map, which presumes it's visible there.

 

LGBs are in, but you need something else to designate, and it's up to you to get the bombs into the right area. Laser guided mavericks (AGM-65E) can double as LSTs until you let them off the rail.

 

IR Mavericks (AGM-65F) are in.

 

HARMs are mostly in, except Pre-Briefed mode.

 

We'll probably see AGM-84D (anti-ship) as the next weapon added.

If we still don't have the AG radar, it will require something to feed us a target position, we enter it as a waypoint, and fire at it.

Edited June 23, 2019 by mahuja

So without the ground radar, I'm guessing the only ground attack capability is rockets/unguided bombs?

 

The previous post explained what's in game at the moment but I'll repeat it for clarity

 

• JDAMS (GPS guided) i.e. GBU-38 though you'll need to get the co-ordinates off the F10 map or place a waypoint on the target.

• JSOW (GPS guided) GBU154 A /C Glide bomb that has a ~50 NM range, similar to the above.

• GBU-12s, etc. (laser guided) though there's no spot tracker and the Hornet doesn't take MGRS at the moment so you'll need to convert the JTAC's co-ordinates.

• AGM-65F Maverick is a IR Maverick, it's hard to ID targets from afar as we don't have a TPOD yet but it does the job.

 

Also, does that mean no laser lock/smart missile attack of ground objects? Any ETA on these additions?

• AGM-65E is a laser maverick - you'll need to use a JTAC (DCS or CTLD) to mark targets as without a TGP you can't self lase yet.

• AGM-88 is a HARM (anti-radiation) missile and can be launched from about 35 NM and self guide to SAM radars, etc.

 

There's plenty more to come https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3285514&postcount=13

We now have AGM65E/F, AGM88C, laser guided bomb, JDAM, JSOW, link 16, JHMCS, AIM-9X, AIM-120B/C, traditional iron bomb. Imminent possession: TGP

As some others have already pointed out there are a few much requested systems that are still in the works, namely the air-to-ground radar, track while scan mode for the air-to-air radar, and the LITENING targeting pod (which is expected in the very near future). In terms of A/G weapons, dumb bombs/rockets are working great, and we also have access to a number of JDAM, JSOW, and Maverick variants. Once we have the tpod, employment of those laser/GPS weapons will be much easier to achieve since you don't need any outside help to find and designate targets for you. HARMs are also a ton of fun to use, although not all the employment modes are complete. For A/A, all the weapons have already been added (except specific variants of the AIM-7 I believe), but not all radar modes are implemented and there are still a couple of kinks to be ironed out. This isn't to say it's not capable though, if you have an AWACS or other aircraft supporting you, the Hornet can achieve some of the best situational awareness in the air, and you can get a lot of work done with AMRAAMs and Sidewinders. On top of the weapons, there are tons of other systems and features that are already in the Hornet like countermeasures, JHMCS, datalink, and a large number of DDI pages to interact with. You are also able to take part in carrier ops, which will become even more interesting with the upcoming Nimitz module. There are always some who will complain about X system not being complete yet, but there really is a lot of content to sink your teeth into, in my opinion. By the time you've learned the ins-and-outs of all the systems already in game, I'm sure they'll have added a bunch more for you to get your hands on!

 

To answer your question about different DCS versions, the stable branch is always a few updates behind the OpenBeta, meaning you won't get immediate access to new features, but you can avoid some of the bugs that are inevitably present in the beta build. I might suggest learning all the systems on the stable build so that you don't run into any headaches with bugs, and then switching over to the beta if you're hungry for new content. I for one can definitely recommend the Hornet in it's current state, in my opinion it's one of the most versatile and feature-rich aircraft in DCS.

Edited June 23, 2019 by _mu110_

Thanks to all who contributed their expertise to my questions :thumbup:

 

I've decided I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by jumping back onto DCS and buying the Hornet (especially since Eagle decided to implement offline mode in the way I was hoping for - it was being hotly debated when I left).

 

I've been flying the Flanker (mostly the Su33 variant) since the 90's and love that plane and taking off on the Kuznetsov ramp...but...I've always really wanted to fly the Hornet off a carrier catapult and as I'm a little too old to ever become a Navy pilot, this is the closest I'm ever going to get so it's time to make it happen :smilewink:

In major systems the big 3 are TWS for A-A (which at least is getting mentioned and given LTWS is largely complete we can hope it won’t be too long), targeting pod (with the LITENING apparently imminent but ATFLIR a while off) and A-G radar (which will be longer to wait). There are other things (like jammer for example) but these are more minor.

 

With respect to weapons systems there are a lot, all the A-A ordinance and most of the more common A-G ordinance (particularly once the Harpoon and SLAM-ER are introduced). They do lack some modes.

 

It isn’t a bad time to jump in, the Hornet is very capable with lots to learn already and will only get more capable. It is already more capable than the largely complete Mirage (sure the Mirage has TWS but without active radar missiles it seems a bit moot) and really the only module that matches it for capability is the Tomcat, which it will surpass for stand-off weapons (at least for A-G, in A-A those Phoenix missiles will lead to a bad day). (Not throwing shade on either module, I love both the Mirage and Tomcat but am spending more and more of my time in the Hornet).

While track while scan is a big thing, just FYI that's not all that's missing from the radar. It has lots of other things not yet done as well.