Okay I tested it and checked sensor replay. You’re right. It gives the impression that radar doesn’t guide properly in terminal datalink because even if the radar is properly locked to the plane in narrow TWS, the missile locks on to the chaff in tracking mode instead of following the plane in IOG+DL and that takes authority over the plane’s radar.
@Panocek@Macron-Spokesman You two were right. The sensor replay does make a difference between IOG+DL and only IOG. I fired a test amraam and immediately turned away, the missile indication writes IOG only.
Pretty sure the current mechanics are purely for balance and counter play otherwise if we went full real, nearly all missiles fired inside the MAR would hit at high altitude.
Not being able to be Tracked doesn’t mean that when illuminated chaff wouldn’t have any impact, it would just be much less severe than it is, since it’s injecting the reflected energy from the seeker off to one side, and so would slightly bias the guidance a conical scan seeker such as the Echo Sparrows.
What would actually make chaff entirely redundant would be if range gates & return edge biasing were actually modeled for missiles that should have them.
Also the way around that would be to actually implement ECM (both podded and integrated) and proper off-board Decoys.
As it seems like ITEP was canceled due to the planned FARA airframe falling though.
Though it had been deployed on two test SH-60s. It’s likely to be held in reserve for a potential Interim AH-64F configuration should the Army be interested in future.
