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Hello,

is there a way to prevent the use of sonobuoys in a ASW mission?

I have an helicopter with dipping sonar and I would like to force the use of the dipping sonar. Only if a contact is detected maybe change to use sonobuoys.

If a select a "maritime surveillance" loadout, then the helicopter flies with no torpedoes.

Thanks!

Good question, tuning in. Sonobouys are not an unlimited resource and we probably need to start tracking them.

mikerohan wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 12:39 pm Is there a way to prevent the use of sonobuoys in a ASW mission?

I have an helicopter with dipping sonar and I would like to force the use of the dipping sonar. Only if a contact is detected maybe change to use sonobuoys.
Thanks!

Not at this time.

There is a setting for dipping sonar in ROE options. It might be worth asking for a similar option in the request thread. Someone will have to figure out how to turn sonobuoys back on. Is it a time, range to contact, any contact, etc. Putting it in ROE lets it be set at game, group, unit, mission, or waypoint level.

thewood1 wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2024 12:55 am There is a setting for dipping sonar in ROE options. It might be worth asking for a similar option in the request thread. Someone will have to figure out how to turn sonobuoys back on. Is it a time, range to contact, any contact, etc. Putting it in ROE lets it be set at game, group, unit, mission, or waypoint level.

Ok. So far I did not aim for anything fancy for the reactivation, I assumed it was me activating them again, but then I realized that you could be thinking also on the AI side

Kushan04 wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 11:42 pm

mikerohan wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 12:39 pm Is there a way to prevent the use of sonobuoys in a ASW mission?

I have an helicopter with dipping sonar and I would like to force the use of the dipping sonar. Only if a contact is detected maybe change to use sonobuoys.
Thanks!

Not at this time.

Thanks!

mikerohan wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 12:39 pm Hello,

is there a way to prevent the use of sonobuoys in a ASW mission?

I have an helicopter with dipping sonar and I would like to force the use of the dipping sonar. Only if a contact is detected maybe change to use sonobuoys.

If a select a "maritime surveillance" loadout, then the helicopter flies with no torpedoes.

Thanks!

Just curious as to the reasoning behind this as to me the buoys would be the logical choice to provide area search and coverage and to use the dipping sonar to pin down and engage the contact. Seems just flying around a dipping the sneaky sub driver could slip by.

tylerblakebrandon wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2024 12:57 pm

mikerohan wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 12:39 pm Hello,

is there a way to prevent the use of sonobuoys in a ASW mission?

I have an helicopter with dipping sonar and I would like to force the use of the dipping sonar. Only if a contact is detected maybe change to use sonobuoys.

If a select a "maritime surveillance" loadout, then the helicopter flies with no torpedoes.

Thanks!

Just curious as to the reasoning behind this as to me the buoys would be the logical choice to provide area search and coverage and to use the dipping sonar to pin down and engage the contact. Seems just flying around a dipping the sneaky sub driver could slip by.

Sonobuoys are limited in quantity, specially if you're not the USA. For scenarios spanning a couple days or more it could mean a difference.

Buoy usage can get ridiculous even for Americans in the larger scenarios. My Longest Battle run is still on hiatus, but as of last count I had used 66,000 buoys and my usage was accelerating as more MPAs activated from reserve. I don't know how many of any given type of buoy have been produced, but I have to believe that I should have run out of at least the French and British ones and the new and expensive AN/SSQ-77B VLADs.

If press releases can be believed, the USN ordered almost 1M sonobuoys of all types from 2019-2023. The bulk is generally DIFAR, for obvious reasons. As far as I can tell, VLAD hasn't been specifically procured in over a decade - with the preference lately being the SSQ-101/-125 combination to support MAC.