Again you are comparing a short range missile (with an admittedly long range compared to other SRAAMs) to a medium range missile. It’s like comparing an AIM-9X or an IRIS-T to an AMRAAM and declaring the AMRAAM as better because it is longer ranged.
You are also assuming that the engagement unfolds in such a manner as to allow a MICA to be fired at it’s maximum range.
I’ll ask the question again then, why does anyone use short range missiles if range is the only thing that matters? Maybe because it’s not. Both in game and real life you see short range missiles being used. There are situations where you don’t want to or can’t use an AMRAAM and where having kinematically superior short range missile is useful.
And following this comparing the ASRAAM to the other short range IR missiles is also not very good. After all, MBDA calls the ASRAAM a « near BVR » missile, so it’s not like it fits in the category of short range IR missiles.
Looks like you just want to compare the ASRAAM with shorter range IR missiles to make it it looks good in all aspects, while its categorization is in between WVR and BVR, and thus, imo, it’s just as fair to compare it to the MICA IR (and lets disregard the NG for now) that it is comparing it to the IRIS-T.
After all, it seems that the difference in range between the MICA and ASRAAM is at the very least comparable to to the ASRAAM and IRIS-T, let alone the AIM 9X, if I follow the previous assumptions that were given of the range of the missile.
Is there ever a world where the Typhoon receives it’s actual counter measure systems?
MAWS and DASS are hopeless, I have never been protected by the flares from the DASS system
even Aim9H on an F-14 ignored them and the footage from the dev server of it countering an R-27ET also never happens.
I know TRDs are too hard to incorporate into game.
But what about this, give the Typhoon a greater chance against all the things that are coming to game.
Not to beat a dead horse, but AIM-9X/IRIS-T and AMRAAM are fundamentally different …
The first two are IR missiles with the ability to engage high off boresight targets in a close range fight.
AMRAAM is a radar guided missile that can’t engage high off boresight targets in a close range fight.
On the other hand, IR MICA / IR MICA NG, just like ASRAAM is an IR missile.
And apart from the fact that it can engage targets from further than ASRAAM can, unlike your example with AIM-9X/IRIS-T vs AMRAAM, where AMRAAM can’t engage high off boresight targets in a close range fight, MICA can do so, and is actually better than ASRAAM in doing so (thanks to its thrust vectoring) …
Well, if you want to go that route … “You are also assuming the engagement unfolds in such a manner as to allow an ASRAAM to be fired at all” …
That’s the thing, MICA can engage both short and long range targets
Whereas ASRAAM has a “sweet spot” that you have to engage your targets in …
It can’t reach as far as MICA, and it can’t engage as close as MICA due to lack of thrust vectoring …
Pretty much the only thing it has going for it (As far as we can tell … Who knows maybe IRL ASRAAM is 99% reliable and MICA loses target etc 9/10 times), is that it can reach “part of its range / envelope” slightly faster than MICA …
In essence, instead of the enemy having say 12 seconds to launch one back at you, he has say 10 seconds …
Of course all this is assuming IIR missiles are or will be “undefeatable” like people claim … Which I don’t think they will be in the game (And doubtful that they are IRL) … So if you are launching at say a 5-10km target, the higher speed might give it a little better IRCCM just like Magic II and PL-5EII currently have …
But what I’m saying is that this whole “ASRAAM’s speed makes sure you can kill the enemy before he kills you” doesn’t make sense …
Because in most scenarios the enemy will have plenty of time to launch one back at you …
And in closer engagements where the enemy won’t have the time to launch one back at you, he probably wouldn’t have time even if you launched a “slower” MICA that takes 6 seconds to get to him instead of an ASRAAM that takes 5 seconds to get to him …
But is it better then AIM-9X and IRIS-T at this off bore sight no
Does it beat ASRAAM in time to target at these close ranges no
MICA is just a mid missile really because it is trying to two things at once
it is mid as WVR missile because it turns worse then the other TVC missiles and can’t beat ASRAAM in speed or time on targert ( ASRAAM can also engage targets behind the aircraft it was done by the RAAF when they were testing it.) As a BVR missile it is mid at that because of it range as its not beating AMRAAM and only really beats Russian missiles which isn’t a higher bar
MICA is the worst of both modes and before you say that MICA IR can be launched at longer distances then ASRAAM and go really far that point is mute because an AMRAAM would and will always do that job better
I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but I think it is fair to say, that ASRAAM will be caried in bigger numbers than MICA. I will be playing 6x ASRAAM + 4x AIM-120B. On Rafale I would play 2x MICA-IR and 6x MICA-EM.
UV MAWS will only detect it when the motor is burning. After that it wont. So if its fired beyond its range, then the MAWS on the Rafale is useless. Typhoon’s MAW will detect it throughout its flight even after the motor has finished burning.
Yeah, as I said in the comment(s) that started this heated debate about ASRAAM vs MICA, later Typhoon as a platform will have more things going for it vs later Rafale, one being the ability to carry more missiles.
But the MICA EM and IR are interchangeable… meaning that the rafale can a carry 8 MICA IR (or 6 for earlier variants), if he choses to not carry any EM.
That’s untrue when it comes to the DDM NG equipped on rafale F3 and later, since we have primary sources stating that the MAW can detect missiles with their skin temperature.
Indeed, the son versatile is going a bit in circles. I originally just wanted to challenge the discussions on the actual performance of the ASRAAM, which brought very good informations, but right now it’s just everyone doubling down on their own beliefs
So can the MICA, and IRIS-T, and AIM9X… however how tight the turning circle is also very important. I think the ASRAAM would have the largest turning circle since it’s faster and lacks TVC.
