Logic behind the vertical notching

Game Discussion Realistic Battle
1

Hello, can someone explain to me the reason behind this:

If launched from below, notching vertically by going UPWARDS makes the missile seeker bite chaff quicker than notching downwards?

And when launched from above, notching vertically by going DOWNWARDS makes the missile seeker bite chaff quicker than notching upwards?

In horizontal notching, when a missile is coming at you head-on, it doesn’t matter which direction you crank into as both achieve similar results. This seems not to be the case for vertical notching. Thanks.

1 Like
2

There isn’t really a special “up vs down” rule.

A vertical notch works the same as a horizontal one: you’re trying to get your velocity as close to 90° to the missile’s line of sight as possible, reducing radial velocity.

If climbing or diving works faster in a specific situation, that’s mostly because the missile’s LOS is constantly changing, plus look-up/look-down clutter and chaff behaviour. The direction itself doesn’t have a hidden advantage.

:P