I was playing around with the Rafale for a bit and noticed it had an IRST search/track mode. I also noticed how, in theory, it gives me all the information a radar lock would provide, but I’m not able to use it to lock my ARH missiles using IRST.
Of course, it makes sense—these are active RADAR homing missiles—so it’s logical that I would need a radar lock to launch and guide the missile. However, since the missiles have DL, wouldn’t it be possible to just give the missile the needed information before launch, have it launch based on the data from the IRST, and then go active immediately? I feel like this is something that should be possible. I mean, the missile still gets all the same information and should be able to at least use IOG for the time it takes to get off the rail and initiate the onboard seeker.
So, is this a thing IRL that isn’t modeled in WT, or is it something reserved for more modern missiles (Meteor, etc.), or is it not something that is possible at all?
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This is a thing irl, its just not modelled in war thunder yet.
Some examples are Rafale and Eurofighter, i believe some soviet and chinese jets based on the flanker and fulcrum platforms.
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It’s not even limited to these planes, any plane (or vehicle rather) that can shoot an AIM-120 can shoot it in maddog mode, which is active off the rails. You don’t need IRST for this or a radar.
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Not the same thing, what the OP is asking about is a conventionnal launch trough the IRST.
The Rafale, EF and some of the R-77 slingers should be able to to do it, but Gaijin denied adding the capability for now.
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He asked if a missile can be launched to go active immediately, which precisely describes maddog mode. Besides, IRST can’t provide targeting data to keep guiding the missile (otherwise, why would you even need a radar), so it basically boils down to it being the same as maddogging a missile.
It is possible, as reported and answered but the radar remains a more powerful and versatile tool, it’s just that if you’re gonna carry around the IRST anyway, might as well have a redundancy shall it ever be necessary.
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MICA-IR can be launched with IRST, radar MICA CANNOT. That’s what the radar is for, it is literally impossible for an IRST to provide targeting data to guide radar missiles, that’s not what it does. It can only provide basic info like location data for which a maddog missile launch is possible (and even without that data maddogging is possible).
It’s a form of LOAL on certain Fox-3s, although given gaijin’s stance on LOAL as a whole I don’t see it coming any time soon
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Sensor fusion is a thing, and Rafale makes full uses of it.
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the PIRATE’s TWS system is supposed to have the ability to guide an AMRAAM/Meteor in a 1 way DL
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I believe it supports full 2-Way datalink. AFAIK the distinction is less based on the targeting system and more based on the jets capability to both send and receive data, via datalink, in order to provide more accurate guidance.
AFAIK PIRATE should therefore support both, and I believe I read it does somewhere but I don’t have a source, so take it with a pinch of salt.
This is incorrect.
ARH missiles only require a track file to be launched.
The IRST is able to provide this through it’s LRF giving range, and the IR system giving azimuth.
The same holds true for every other “sensor-fuzed” system.
An ARH missile has no need for the host aircraft to have a radar at all, as long as it has a way to obtain a track file, IE datalink.
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