Currently, in the game, the Brimstone missile is implemented strictly as a Semi-Active Laser (SAL) guided weapon. This severely limits its historical and tactical capabilities, forcing advanced modern platforms like the Eurofighter Typhoon and Tornado IDS to act as laser designators, which completely contradicts the operational doctrine of this weapon system.
In reality, the primary and defining feature of the Brimstone missile since its inception is its millimetric-wave (mmW) Active Radar Homing (ARH) seeker. This allows the missile to operate in a true Fire-and-Forget (F&F) mode, enabling autonomous target acquisition and salvo firing against multiple ground targets without requiring continuous laser illumination from the carrier aircraft.
The Issue:
Current state: Brimstone is locked to Laser + INS guidance, creeping at low speeds with no autonomous capability.
Historical state: Brimstone utilizes an advanced dual-mode seeker (or pure mmW radar seeker depending on the modification) capable of autonomous target engagement, radar tracking, and true Fire-and-Forget functionality.
Suggested Changes:
Implement the Active Radar Homing (ARH / Fire-and-Forget) guidance mode for Brimstone missiles as their primary engagement method.
Allow salvo-firing capabilities where multiple missiles can be launched simultaneously to engage different targets autonomously within a designated zone.
Keep the Semi-Active Laser (SAL) mode only as a secondary/dual-mode option (if applicable to the specific missile block modeled in-game).
Sources:
MBDA Systems Official Documentation (Brimstone Product Page):
MBDA explicitly states that Brimstone is an “advanced radar-guided precision strike weapon” featuring a “94GHz millimetric wave (mmW) radar seeker” designed for “true fire-and-forget operations” against moving targets.
MMW seekers would be too OP and nothing can counter it according to Gaijin, so you won’t see it anytime soon.
And I don’t think Gaijin will implement how you suggested, but i like the first one
That makes no sense when you look at the actual in-game performance and flight physics of existing weaponry.
Kh-38MT and Kh-29TD already operate in a highly effective Fire-and-Forget mode with massive warheads. More importantly, they travel at extreme speeds (1.8 to 2.2 Mach). This high velocity leaves western SPAA systems like the ADATS or FlaRakRad with an incredibly small reaction window, making them nearly impossible to intercept consistently.
In contrast, the Brimstone travels at a much lower speed (around 1.3 Mach). Because it is significantly slower, it remains airborne for longer, giving SPAA systems plenty of time to detect, track, and shoot it down. A slower F&F missile is inherently much easier to counter for any competent SAM/Pantsir/ADATS operator than a Mach 2 supersonic missile. Keeping Brimstones artificially nerfed to SAL-only under the guise of “balance” is a massive double standard.
4 IRIST IIR shots vs 4 38MTs, at distance, 0 hits.
SM SV shoots 10+ JAGMs with SACLOS, without breaking a sweat.
Ppl are, actually, putting videos how to be a “better” SM SV player, on You Tube! :D
I mean, I don’t play GBs, but did 3 rounds in top tier, the other day. It’s a complete clownshow.
So, the post is fine, but, you know, we can’t have USSR’s WR drop below 70%.
Kh 29 is nothing special to be honest.
It uses TV seeker, not IR , so it doesnt get lock until 6-8km range, depending on map, and if there is even slight cloud you wont take a thing.
Also , there is no Thermals , unless your plane got targeting pod for it. And even using pods thermals, wont make 29’s lock any better,
And now, if there would be brimstones, etc ATG missiles using radar to quide, there would be only way to counter em is going behind building.
Would it be realistic, yes.
Would most of the players actually hate buffing cas more on top tier YES.
You are missing the main point. This post is not about “buffing CAS as a whole,” it is about establishing basic balance and giving European nations, especially Germany, at least ONE viable, historically accurate option for top-tier close air support.
Right now, Germany has practically NO competitive CAS compared to the USSR or USA. While Russia carries the lethal Kh-38MT with true F&F and Mach 2+ speed, Germany is left with crippled, laser-only weapons that force heavy aircraft like the Tornado IDS to fly in a straight line directly into the Pantsir’s engagement zone just to maintain a laser lock.
Even if you ignore the Kh-29, the presence of Kh-38 variants proves that high-speed, long-range F&F ordnance is already firmly established in the game’s meta. If Gaijin introduces cutting-edge, near-unavoidable SPAA systems like the Pantsir, they must provide counterpart nations with the exact standoff weapons those systems were built to counter in reality. Keeping the Brimstone artificially nerfed to SAL-only—while one side of the matchmaking enjoys high-speed F&F—is a blatant double standard that completely ruins top-tier Germany and not only her.
Yeah, “flying in a straight line” was a bit of an exaggeration, but the core issue remains: SAL (Semi-Active Laser) guidance locks your aircraft’s maneuverability because you must maintain a constant line of sight with the targeting pod to keep the laser on target. If you pull a hard evasive maneuver, you risk masking the pod, which immediately breaks the lock and wastes the missile.
As for the 1–3km launches… sure, it might work in a chaotic 1v1 vacuum, but in a real top-tier match, trying to get within 3km of a competent Pantsir operator just to drop a weapon is essentially a suicide run. It completely defeats the purpose of choosing a modern high-tier strike platform.
But I’m glad we agree on the bigger picture. The current meta with Mach 2+ F&F Kh-38s on one side and crippled laser weapons on the other is just fundamentally broken.
IOG that is mildly unreliable , which CAN be used to your advantage.
At close ranges no one forces you to turn on your laser… as such nothing prevents you from just designating a point on the map, firing a burst of 4-8 brimstones, and watching them just shotgun :))
@YaBoyCoconut True, you can drop them via IOG using the targeting pod to designate a grid coordinate on a stationary target without turning on the laser immediately. But let’s be real — relying on manual grid-bombing with Mach 1.3 missiles like a glorified Katyusha just to avoid being instantly swatted by a Pantsir completely highlights how artificially bottlenecked the system is. We shouldn’t be forced to play casino with inertial drift on a modern 4++ generation platform just because Gaijin refuses to give non-USSR trees their historical radar seekers.
@SFmerc Stating that the Eurofighter or Tornado platforms offer “better CAS than US top tier” is not entirely accurate. US aircraft possess an abundance of high-altitude options equipped with advanced thermal targeting pods and true Fire-and-Forget ordnance, such as the Maverick series. Meanwhile, European strike options remain artificially bottlenecked by these restrictive guidance workarounds.
Also, bringing up the ground-based IRIS-T SLM as an argument makes no sense in a CAS discussion. Having a SAM system on the ground does absolutely nothing to solve the lack of viable, radar-guided standoff weapons needed for aircraft to strike ground targets from a safe distance. If the Eurofighter is stripped of its historical active radar-guided Brimstones, it cannot be called “one of the best CAS planes” when facing top-tier SPAA meta.
You brought up Pantsir on this topic, and wanting counterpart on other nations. So yes this is valid because of YOU!.
Yeah it is not, trying to come and say TORNADO is TOP TIER CAS PLANE! Last tornado is 12.3 on ground
Let me remind you
Also, USA planes on 12.7-13.0
Has 4-6 F&F mavericks/agm84’s depending on plane.
You can look up, how many IR bombs + Brims you get on EF/Typhoon example.
And please let us not even start talking about flight models and amount of CM’s on USA vs EF/Typhoon on 13.0 ground.
No offence but you truly are clueless about USA cas “power” on top tier.
My apologies, I see what you mean now. I misunderstood your initial point regarding the IRIS-T SLM. You are entirely correct that with nations like Germany receiving top-tier ground-based SAM systems to counter jets, other nations absolutely need effective tools to handle them in return.
However, my main concern is still centered on how strike aircraft are forced to interact with this high-tier anti-air umbrella. When facing heavily defended grid zones protected by systems like the Pantsir or ADATS, having to rely on Semi-Active Laser (SAL) guidance or manual coordinate workarounds puts Western platforms at a massive tactical disadvantage.
No matter how excellent the Eurofighter’s flight model or countermeasure count is on paper, being forced into high-risk profiles just to guide a missile completely changes the dynamic. If a modern 4++ generation platform is denied its historical active radar-guided MMW Brimstones, it simply lacks the true Fire-and-Forget, high-speed standoff capability required to reliably challenge top-tier SPAA networks. This is strictly a critique of weapon implementation and tactical equity, rather than an attack on the aircraft’s performance numbers.
If i remember correctly, the issues with it is that it would fully ignore smoke and you could sit behind cover and fire them without ever showing yourself.
With as bad as the kh38 is, at least the jet has to expose itself during the lock/fire process.
Adding the brimestone half baked was a dumb move and they do it with a lot of weapons. They add a nerfed version just to say that they added it. They really need to create conditions that allow for a weapon to be fully added before adding it.
Guys how do you deal with using spice + brimstones? Whenever i bring Laser + IR weapons pons on aircraft it’s unplayable because the laser becomes slaved to my cursor instead of the designated target point.
