https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 9#p4986149
For AAMs like AMRAAMs (non-CEC), the behavior of shooting a missile with passive EMCON is very straight forward. The AI automatically turns on it's on-board radar, fires its missile(s), keeps its radar on target until missile goes in terminal phase, missile goes active, the AI automatically turns the on-board radar off.
With Tomcats shooting Phoenix missile with passive EMCON, the AI emulates "Time-Shared" behavior, which from my observation is: AI turns on-board radar on every 5 seconds, adjusting the missile during its mid-course phase. During each 5 seconds of radar downtime, the missile is blind, but this is okay, because radar comes on again which resets the 5 seconds "blind" timer. Missile goes active in the terminal phase, at which point AI turns on-board radar off for good.
This is all very fine and dandy, not to mention realistic and a great simulation. However, in my experience, the game engine drops the ball more often than not.
Sometimes, the radar "pulse" comes on too late, or fails to acquire the target on a particular pulse due to jamming or other reasons. This results in the missile going active and the Tomcat being treated as having "finished its attack". Since a missile that goes "blind" for more than 5 seconds is considered by game engine to have "lost guidance". This can happen well before the terminal phase.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, perhaps jamming, the missile goes active immediately after launch, even when the distance to target is way too far. I don't know if it's related to the above issue.
The above two cases happen more than half the time when a Phoenix is launched with passive EMCON. This leads me to believe that it's not an intended behavior, but instead a bug.
If it is in fact intended, I would argue the "5 second rule" should not apply here with the Phoenix's "radar-pulse" guidance, and that an exception should be made. IRL, I don't think the missile would go active (and ignore all further mid-course guidance) just because it missed a single pulse from the Tomcat's radar, otherwise the Navy would have something to answer for!
Or, perhaps, when faced with Jamming, the AI behaviour on passive EMCON should be changed to the standard behavior: automatically turn on radar, and keep it turned on until terminal phase, then automatically turn off.
In the save file attached:
The Tomcats in CAP1 engage incoming targets. Sometimes the "pulse-mode" works, and the Tomcat acts properly, cranks, and uses its radar every 5 seconds, with the missile going blind for 5 seconds before each radar pulse, until it gets to terminal phase.
Sometimes, the missile goes active well before terminal phase or goes active right after launch, which causes the Tomcat to go into afterburner, or turn back to its patrol route.
You can also test this by waiting for the 2-ship Tomcat squadron in CAP2 to get closer to their patrol zone, before launching a manual attack against the enemy Jammer with Phoenixes. A lot of the times, they launch the missiles and turn away immediately, with the missiles going active right away, instead of performing their "radar pulse" routine.
Build number:1.04.114742.00
