The ground units - detection range

[Stealth2017]

Hi,

I would just need someone to explain me why some ground units are very hard to detect, you basically need to be flying over them and being just a few miles away to detect them. For example Iskander launcher has not been detected by any SAR onboard the Chinese satellites. SA-26 has been detected by J-20 being just 8.1 nm away, I had to fly as low as 610m in order to detect it. Another question, how can I improve downrange ambiguity? The certain weapon systems must have the exact position - tolerance is just 0.1 nm. I would appreciate any advice.

Regards,

[Grazyn]

The Iskander is literally just a big truck, I don't expect a satellite radar to be able to pick it up. Satellites are much better at detecting large things like naval groups. In any case you should do any test on a flat terrain, even small slopes can hide small mobile targets like those. Also, personally I don't use SAR to detect those things in the first place, I either do it visually with a recon flight from high above or through ELINT platforms if the targets are radiating. SAR is then used to pinpoint their exact location during the attack run.

[thewood1]

I think players have a very skewed view of what can be detected on land. I always go back to the SCUD scare during the first gulf war. Every available satellite and recon asset on the Allied side was out SCUD hunting. They were only detected when nearly overflown or immediately after launch. And a number of those were in open country with minimal cover.

If the unit is moving, that might be a different story. At that point there is a chance that sophisticated ground radars can detect it. Posting a svae will also help someone look at it and figure out if there is an issue.

[Lowlaner2012]

I agree TheWood1, if ground objects could be detected easily by satellite then why have J-Stars, Rivet joints and drones....Etc

I think one of the best parts of the game is sniffing ELINT signals out, finding threats and killing them... very satisfying

Cheers

[rmunie0613]

You hit the nail squarely on the head, TheWood1.
My own professional interest has been in that area, doing a lot of IMINT analysis as well as Strike Assessment/BDA.
I love the challenge of trying to find a unit on the ground, and the SCUD hunts are such an excellent example.

If anything, I have had some issues with the game here finding some things *TOO* quickly, such as periscopes 200nm away lol... but on ground units, yes the SCUD hunts make for some great scenarios still, with the player losing points every successful launch.
One of the methods I use is landing small ground teams with Laser target designators and doing ground recon... they seem better able to spot ground units, though (obviously) they do move much slower.