One more test, clouds hard-counter IRST tracks, might as well be a brick wall (Which I suppose is somewhat realistic since clouds are very cold and water diffracts light. I presume it can do similar to IR emissions?)
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That’s my experience. Even on rear aspect against afterburners, no good.
I think the problem is that the visual model of clouds does not match the physical model. I often have a problem with being out of a cloud (near-perfect visibility of the target) but still being unable to lock a target until I am much further away from the cloud. I think the problem is that clouds visually have zones that are fully dense and zones that are practically transparent. Those transparent zones act as though they were full clouds (?). I also suspect that the clouds server side and client side are not synced (had a few scenarios when I was in a cloud, but my squad mate said I was in the clear).
Well, a while ago someone put simply;
Clouds are less opaque to visible light, so if you can see through it (hardly)… an IR sensor may not. If you can’t see through it, an IR sensor CERTAINLY could not.
In any case, the video above kind of proves that war thunder’s IR seekers are handicapped in the presence of light fog at the very least. I agree clouds should cause problems, but that F-16 was a bright and hot target the entire time.
In a medium alt look-level/up environment free of obstruction, it seems like IRST should still have a pretty okay time tracking rear-aspect, even without AB.
F-14D pilot allegedly achieved a “190-mile” IRST lock and could differentiate different targets. Including one tanker (so turbofan which I think has a much lower IR signature than a turbojet)
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For all of you who use the radar with target cycling set to off:
https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/6D7Q7Au0q8Pp
tbh my problems with it are that
A: You can’t cycle and use cyclic at the same time, which is annoying when I want to rapidly acquire a target.
B: There is no option to change radar elevation relative to the aircraft, you can only use the tilt axis when constant elevation of radar is off. (I want the option to move it relative to the horizon rather than relative to the nose)
Every IRST is different, just like every pair of eyes are different.
Every camera cannot see and differentiate the same objects at same ranges, environments and weather conditions in that environment.
Do you need a source that says because one camera is better at distance does not mean that all cameras can see at the same exact differences?
You understand they talking about the F14D right?
Back to the Mig29, you think GJ put 10km in ACM mode for no reason?
yeah ofc, but still i’m pretty sure (not 100% as I have relatively limited IRST use) that something like look-down vs look-up ranges aren’t modeled. Even though i’m pretty sure a target contrasting with the warm ground vs a target contrasting with the sky would be vastly different lock ranges.
I think its relative to something like a non-afterburning mig15 at XXX KPH. Like, that’s the range the IRST should be able to lock. But for actual game purposes, yes its kinda pointless.
I think that correlates to the radar mode and it was overlooked when they added the IRST mode. IRST should not have a range limitation regardless, as shown in the manual. Only bug there is that it states a 10km limit in the GUI when there is none.
Not really, depends on the IRST of course. Some have multiple elements that allow them to differentiate between background radiation and that which they expect the target to give off. Pretty easy to do for jets.
lets talk about visible light for example. You can see someone with a flash light at night. Yes? However the farther they are, the smaller light, yes? Harder to see even at night, yes?
Now Switch it today. It gets really hard. Yes? Same exact principle with IRST. The farther an object is, the harder it is to detect.
Just because the camera may see something does not mean it can engage such a small object. It may not even register it as a target in the first place. Do understand this?
Let me remind you all there is more Infared light than visible light in the world around us.
We’re still talking about the IRST ranges right?
Well to follow the analogy. No, you’d have a hard time seeing a flashlight at range in the day, but you’d probably still be able to see a floodlight.
Isn’t an IRST (or IR seeker) fundamentally just an infrared contrast seeker that looks for ‘bright’ areas (of a given wavelength)? Certainly at range it won’t be able to make out that contrast as the infrared light dissipates, but the more light there is the further away it should be able to detect a contrast.
Like I thought before, wouldn’t be harder to find a ‘dim’ target relative to the warm, emissive ground than a comparably ‘dim’ target relative to the (not as?) emissive empty sky?
Sun is the flood light. Infinitely small objects flying under it’s shine in the infinitely vast sky are the handheld flashlights.
Even so, unless a target is flying into or away from an emissive point, like the sun, moon, ground, etc, would it matter?
Unless that ‘floodlight’ is directly in my field of view, I can still see the flashlights. Granted, some scattered light might make it a bit harder, but IRSTs have much smaller fields of view than the human eye.
Spoiler
(Granted, its thermal infared here but its the same idea)
Looking into the sun, or at the ground, trees, etc, you might have a hard time finding the ‘flashlight’ but contrasting it with relatively cold, dim sky would be easier, no?
Also do we have an IRST/IR topic on the forums?
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To get more on-topic again, isn’t the MiG-29 SMT missing:
- KAB-500L
- Kh-29L
- EOTS Pod
- A2G mode for radar
The SMT in-game is the definitive 9-19, so why is it lacking basic LGBs and the a2g radar function (that’s already present in-game on Su39)?
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Do we even have any aircraft (apart from helis) with A2G mode implemented?
SU-39 can fit Kopyo-25 radar pod which has A2G modes
And it has the integrated laser so can actually make use of it to an extent.
Because mig has nothing to lgb be guided by
I seem to have gotten the IRST’s laser rangefinder confused with a targeting pod.
They really never made a TGP for it?