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iBeta's Realism Patch 3, Merlin's B-1B Cockpit.
by Bob "Groucho" MarksWhile the AI radar (air and ground based alike) can still scan the entire scan volume allotted, that volume is now restricted proportionally to its real-world counterpart’s range / azimuth / elevation restrictions. An older radar, such as the RP-22 buried in the intake shock cone of the MiG-21, now has very limited (9.5 nm) range: that’s 64% of the default settings.
This is more in line with what you would expect of an aircraft armed only with IR seeking missiles and designed to be guided to the target by ground control intercept teams. The purpose built long-range interceptors such as the MiG-25, on the other hand, have a 47 nm range; that is, provided the ground crew didn’t drink the pure-alcohol avionics coolant.
Before you yuk it up about how the OPFOR aircraft and SAM sites have been de-tuned somewhat, be advised that iBeta has knocked the capabilities of the Viper’s radar set a bit. Effective range of the APG-88 has been knocked back 34% from 45 nm down to 30 nm, while the Su-27 receives a 10% bump up in range.
A particular radar’s resistance to losing a lock due to turning on the ECM, pumping chaff, of beaming (putting the source on your 3 or 9 o’clock and hauling tail) have also been reworked. The deduction of how this functions---hell, that it works at all---should once and for all put a stake in the heart of the “ALQ-131 ECM Pod: Tool or Nuisance?” debate. It does work now, as long as it's employed to break that nagging AAA or SA-2 lock from the requisite distance from the emitter.
The really cool thing is that now you can see if your countermeasure-du-jour is actually working before you get shot at. No longer do we have to wait until a missile is loosed to play with those wonderful toys (not to mention, see if those electrons will drag your happy butt to safety or not).
The end result is an electronic battlefield that actually makes sense. Tactics can be adjusted to the threat type: far more so than in a Pre-RP3 Falcon world. What can be ignored and what can not have now been spun on their ear. MiG-19s, for example, can now be treated more like rabid dogs---dangerous but disposable---than as an equal. And finally, that pesky Fishbed will not pick you out of the weeds while at 25 nm slant angle!
A side benefit to all of this tweaked radar performance is that distant fighters and SAM sites no longer blare at your RWR in an apparent attempt to annoy you to death.
Gotta love it.
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