5 Ways To Improve Air Defenses in DCS | Explained By A USAF Sim & Wargame Developer

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

Just in case anyone is interested in using the sites shown in the video, I've posted up the mission files. You will need the SAM Sites Assets Pack for these. Enjoy. Caucasus sites: drive.google.com/file/d/1Vl5bNRGN386tp1mNrWZwlrctgdGF4n0p/view?usp=sharing Syria site: drive.google.com/file/d/1XHVhsq6vi-k8jkCYgrUKYrP5FTMcHdkM/view?usp=sharing

[@staubsauger2305]

Another outstanding video with great information and very well structured and presented. Thanks for making these, Mike. You deserve a lot more subscribers already, I'm sure they'll come with time.

[@yappydawg8985]

Good points and much needed information. I have "hid" SAM sites by turning them off to start and using triggers to turn them on when aircraft get within strike range as a sort of low tech / no mods needed imitation of a network but I want to try out the mods you have suggested.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

Yeah, that's a perfectly fine way of doing it. I do recommend Skynet since its pretty easy to set up and does all the work for you.

[@rzr2ffe325]

How do you set skynet up?

[@militavia-air-defense-aircraft]

Just a small addition. The S-300 family can achieve the 5 min readiness time if they discard using any mast placed antenna. So in case of 5 min time the dedicated low level targ. acq. radar is not available. For S-300PT/PS this means the Clam Shell.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

That's true. IIRC that mast takes something like 45 minutes to raise and lower. So if they want to remain mobile they'll have degraded performance against low flying targets.

[@WilliamBrothers]

Very helpful. Ive been playing a lot of Command Modern Operations and it has given me more inspiration to make realistic sam setups like this in DCS

[@SQUID_2259]

Dude i've watched two of your videos so far and I'm just like where has this dude and this information been all my life!! Great job!!

[@haedubabaganush]

Mike, thank you for the great video and information. Perhaps as part of your series you could cover tactics used to kill IAD systems. The info on the proper use of decoys and jammers, tactics etc would be useful too.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

Absolutely. In the real world jammers and decoys are integral to a good SEAD strategy. When I get to my SEAD series we will definitely go over both of those and how they were used in real conflicts.

[@spartacusactual8344]

This was superbly informative, thanks Mike!

[@Marcin79W]

Thank you for the video. Adding AAA and short range SAMs to convoys is a great idea to, I guess. Often my convoys would have at least one AAA or SAM and sometime an escort of helicopters. It makes game much more interesting, not like shooting dummies on the range. I remember my friend surprised voice when he was attempting low level high drag bombing on a convoy and the hell has opened up on him from the very convoy. Have a nice flying!

[@preamp51]

Great video! Concise, to the point, and very informative! In fact, I will add a link to your video in the Discord server of our Virtual Squadron! I'm sure they'll like it too and you might get some more subs out of it, I think you deserve it! Cheers!

[@sasquatchycowboy5585]

Something I've been playing with recently is putting whole ass IADS in one group. I've found that they will run the search radar, bit keep the targeting radar cold until they are going to engage you. I've got one template with the whole 70's era IADS in it. SA-5, -2, -3 all in one group with a few extra P-19s. It's still easy picking for the HARMs but it also would be. I also just downloaded the higher digit SAMs pack.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

That's absolutely correct. I've tried that out too. It works out pretty well. The only downside I found was when I reposition the first unit then every unit in the country moves too. 🤣 So make sure you place that one correctly the first time.

[@sasquatchycowboy5585]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom absolutely

[@sasquatchycowboy5585]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom So I figured out the fix for this totally by accident, lol. Press left control and move unit one. It allows the unit to move without moving the group.

[@simonliin]

Great video, Thx a lot! I have missed this to be part of DCS the entire time. No more shooting range 🙂

[@janhruska4471]

Very nicely done vid. Next vid can be about protecting IADS SAMs against HARM attack. Or about air defence structure behind FLOT and deeper into own territory - NATO vs Russia. How to make SAM traps. Or how to handle similar Moose MANTIS script to control SAMs.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

I do have some videos on my to-do list for taking a deep dive into this area. It's a lot so it will be a series. This was a quick set of tips for mission designers to implement today. But we will go into detail in future videos.

[@boarnoah]

Thanks! This is really well put together and covers a lot. Do you happen to know of more open source material that goes over the ORBAT & ideally more of the tactics / equipment placement guide re: IADS sites. The FM 100-63 you showed I guess covers the ORBAT side, would be nice to have a few more templates re: how placement of actual equipment in a "typical" site, in addition to the ones you have posted. I am curious for example on how you would organize a convoy for moving a site from one place to another, would it leapfrog batteries etc... In general yeah, from DCS mission making point of view would love to see more variety in how SAM sites are built, lots of potential for interesting missions.

[@flywaldair4040]

thanks for featuring skynet 👍

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

It's an awesome piece of coding. I love it!

[@flywaldair4040]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom

[@ramtin-s8722]

Very valuable content here. Please keep it up!

[@alcmann]

Excellent video thanks for the time and the Upload. Will look forward to more content improving on DCS Mission creation. Keep up the great work . Subscribed !

[@ignaciobuhadla9342]

Amazing, very informative ! thanks a lot !

[@tobiasbecker9256]

Love the clip, lots of good tips!

[@OLIV3R_YT]

Another great video!

[@crazygmanssimstuff]

Awesome vid! Do you have any tips for setting up SAM sites for a 70s-80s timeframe for cold war missions

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

That's a lot to put into a YT comment. I do have videos planned that will go into more depth on SAM, IADS, & SEAD specifics. So keep an eye for those.

[@S3NTRY]

Great vid, thanks!

[@matswane]

I too would like to know how you integrate the Skynet-IADS into this. Could you perhaps share a brief video on this?

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

It's definitely on my to-do list. Unfortunately, it's quite a long list. But I will get there. I just don't have an exact time for its release. But I've been asked about it enough that it has a guaranteed spot on the list.

[@matswane]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom Thank you sir! Happy to wait.

[@Pukin-Dog]

I certainly have some tips. I have done a series of 5 videos on my tips, from radars which switch or move to Manpads which wont fire at your front quarter where you can often see them coming. kzbin.info/aero/PLvzF0eq1q93lPH0mA5hI9iHk9CQ9oWp3W Subsequent to my videos TIALD has become available and I see MP games where Blufor saturate SAM sites with them and force the AI to fire all their missiles so I have two counters to that 1) Always have a re-arming truck near launchers 2) Have some launchers inactive by way of unit emissions off or disable AI (depending on the launcher) and every few minutes which over so that a single swarm of TIALDs wont expend all of their ammunition. The switch needs to be about the time it would take for a TIALD to overfly that particular site.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

Those are some very useful tips. Thanks for sharing. Also, I found those videos intriguing. You did some great stuff with the out-of-the-box scripting.

[@Pukin-Dog]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom Thanks Mike. Lots of people are put off by scripting so I try to use as much as I can from the Editor itself. Im astounded that most people just use default settings and think that Air Defences are really easy to take out....just fire a HARM and it's done. Properly set up air defences in DCS should be lethal to anyone at medium to high altitude

[@sebywest3736]

big tnx.... 🤗👍👌

[@roostercogburn3272]

Are there any realistic missions you could recommend? Or even a multiplayer server? I own nearly all the aircraft, but I find myself rarely flying these days. The 1 time I tried multiplayer it was total chaos and more like a game than a simulation.

[@Solo6R]

So when you make a mission using Skynet you share it with the Skynet .lua files right? They're not baked into the .miz file somehow are they?

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

Those are great questions. You can actually find the answer by changing the file extension on a mission file from .miz to .zip. Then you can open it with your favorite zip app. Inside you'll see a folder called "l10n" and under that another folder called "DEFAULT". Any scripts the mission uses will be in there as .lua files. A Skynet mission should have a MIST lua and a "skynet-iads-compiled" lua inside. So to answer your questions the luas are inside the mission file and do not need to be included separately. This is also a sneaky way to look at how someone scripted a mission if you're curious how they did it.

[@ryanlegrand141]

Do you have any templates shared? I'd love to take some of these realistic emplacements and have them easily accessible!

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

That's a good idea. Let me see about saving some of the ones from this video. If I can get them posted someplace I'll leave a post with a link.

[@ryanlegrand141]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom Awesome! I really appreciate it

[@mudmover3279]

Cam you explain how to setup commamd center and power plant nodes in Skynet? Thanks in advance.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

That's a good topic for a future video. I'll add that one to the "to-do" list.

[@Dave_ess]

Very good and interesting video, I would love a follow up video where you may give some tips on how to tackle a very well flushed out Sam scenario from the cockpit

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

That is part of the plan. SEAD is definitely on the list and it will be a series. That topic is simply too deep for a single video.

[@Mark_Point]

👍👍

[@yappydawg8985]

One thing I have been realizing while researching the subject is that there are a LOT more SAM assets in a typical theatre than is usually portrayed in a DCS mission. Most DCS missions seem to have one or maybe two SA-2's and maybe a few short range SAMs. When I look at real life SAM deployments I often see four or six SA-2's around a single objective which means at least four search and track radars and up to 24 launchers all within a single umbrella of coverage. Then there is a scattering of low level SAMS along expected ingress routes and then there is AAA assets ... Basically, a realistic SAM deployment is often going to be far to strong to take on with you and a one or two flying buddies in a typical DCS mission.

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

Yeah, this is absolutely correct. In past engagements the USAF would tackle this by overwhelming use of SEAD assets early on. That's pretty much the mission on day one of a campaign. The point is to degrade not only the physical assets but the morale of the enemy SEAD commander. Even though a lot will survive they will be too afraid to turn on their radars after that initial beatdown, thus accomplishing the mission. Then regular Weasel patrols service the area as a reminder to anyone else that decides to go active. This is somewhat difficult to recreate in DCS since morale and a desire to survive aren't modeled. Even humans ignore the survival instinct because of infinite respawns. 🤣🤣

[@simonhouel1984]

The main problem for SP like me is that if I want to upgrade the SAM system, the AI flights and my wingmen will still be too dumb to coordinate and engage properly ...

[@laur.an01]

Do you know any server using all these techniques?

[@channelwright9137]

Is it possible for you to do a video on how to add skynet. It looks a little complex. There's no video tutorials showing how to enter the script..Thanks in advance

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

You're correct. It's not a one step process. But I thought Waldir did a pretty good job explaining it on the linked page. However, I will add this to my list. I'll make a video on how to do a simple Skynet setup. Just keep in mind I don't know when that will be since there are a lot of videos on that list.

[@oldfashionedwrx3574]

just use ECM to use glide bombs to attack your targets, and use HARMs to get them to turn off. with S300 you cant really fly in that area at all

[@lukas_2004]

I am sadly getting a Mission script error. It says something with string and "attempt to index global 'SkynetIADS'. Any idea why that might be?

[@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom]

The best way to get help on this is to head over to the Discord link I posted in the "How to create a basic IADS video". The creator of Skynet made that server and there are a lot of helpful folks there. They can take a look at your .miz and .lua files and point out what went wrong. Without seeing the files I can only guess at what happened. But my first guess is that Skynet lua wasn't loaded in the ME before you called your custom code. Here is the link to that Discord server: discord.gg/pz8wcQs

[@lukas_2004]

@@TheOpsCenterByMikeSolyom Thanks for helping out! It was indeed the load order of the scripts in the trigger actions. Thank you for responding and helping. Keep up the great content :)

[@falcon9983]

#6 high digit sams mod