gospadin Beta Tester

Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: 'Murica Posts: 1,948

Community A-4E Update, December 2016



"Merry Brrrrrrrrrrrrrtmas"





Hi everyone, and welcome to our December 2016 Community A-4E update. This month’s theme is Merry Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtmas.



However, before we get to the fun stuff, a quick announcement... DrMarianus has decided to step away from the team for a while, as he’s got too many other ongoing projects that need his attention right now. He’s been a good member of our team since the beginning and we wish him all the best!



First, a short list of the smaller refinements and improvements...

Unwrap and texture for the landing gear (this had to be re-done completely due to unwrap changes)

Fix for the pitch and yaw trim indicators, along with our own custom trim system and horizontal stabilizer animation to match. This makes level flight much easier at all speeds, independent of elevator and rudder authority in the SFM

Fix for rocket alignment to gunsight angle when attached to pylons 2, 3 or 4

Fix for the gunsight night/day modes and brightness knob

More cockpit control panel texturing, to get ready for system implementation

In addition to the above fixes, we finally are able to show off some of our modeling work, which is mostly in the weapons category.



WW-II bombs



We went ahead and implemented a number of WW-II era AN-series bombs, to round out the 500lb AN-64 that’s already available in-game. Ranging in weight from 100 pounds to 2000 pounds, the AN-series mostly saw use by A-4s early in the Vietnam conflict, or when the supplies of the low drag Mk-82 and Mk-83 bombs were low. They were also used for bombing practice by squadrons training in the US.



The models we implemented include:

AN-M30A1: 100 lb GP HE

AN-M57A1: 250 lb GP HE

AN-M65A1: 1000 lb GP HE

AN-M66A2: 2000 lb GP HE

AN-M81: 260# Fragmentation Bomb

AN-M88: 216# Fragmentation Bomb

The AN-M81 and AN-M88 are very similar, except the casing on the M88 is thinner allowing for 13 pounds of additional Comp. B explosive inside. These wouldn't be complete without some pictures, too:



AN-M30A1:





AN-M57A1:





AN-M65A1:





AN-M66A1:





AN-M81:





AN-M88:





Our AN-M66 and AN-M65, alongside ED's AN-M64:





While the AN-M30, AN-M65 and AN-M66 are limited to one per station, the fragmentation bombs and the AN-M57 are rackable on pylons 2, 3 and 4, allowing up to 18 to be carried at a time.



Mk 4 Mod 0 HIPEG



The next major weapon system we implemented was the Mark 4 Mod 0 HIPEG gun pod system. This system allows up to three gun pods to be carried at a time, on pylons 2, 3 and 4. The HIPEG system is charged and enabled by a special modular weapon control panel on the left hand console, just in front of the throttle. Each pod may be individually enabled or disabled as needed.



Each pod contains a pair of Mark 11 Mod 5 cannons with 375 rounds of 20x110mm ammunition each. We modeled the ammunition as well, with a default mix for each pod of 50% High Explosive, 25% Armor Piercing, and 25% Armor Piercing-Tracer.



3x Mk 4 Mod 0 pods and a pair of Mk-20 Rockeye cluster bombs:





3x Mk 4 Mod 0 pods and a pair of Mk-82 Snakeyes in flight:





Each Mark 11 cannon fires at 2100 rounds/minute, for a cumulative rate of fire of 12,600 rounds/minute and a total ammunition capacity of 2250 rounds. This offered a huge improvement to the CAS-capabilities of the A-4 against personnel and lightly-armored vehicles. These cannons also proved to be much more useful and reliable than the A-4’s internal guns, which while based on a similar action, only hold 200 total rounds of ammunition and frequently jammed.



Unleashing the HIPEG system on a column of trucks:







CBU-2/A



And finally, another weapon system that saw action in Vietnam was the CBU-2/A cluster munition system. It consists of a SUU-7/A dispenser that holds 360 BLU-3/B “pineapple” fragmentation bomblets. These bomblets are ejected from the 19 tubes on the back of the dispenser, where the vanes open into a high drag configuration as they exit the tubes. Each bomblet is intended for anti-personnel or light armor, and weighs 1.7 pounds, containing 0.35 pounds of RDX explosive and 250 steel pellets.



BLU-3/B fragmentation bomblet with vanes closed:





BLU-3/B fragmentation bomblet with vanes open:





This cluster munition is designed to attack soft targets spread in a line. They can be configured (on the ground) for a total delivery period of between 5 and 15 seconds. At 400 knots in the slow release configuration, this means they can cover a swath up to 3km long, and about 150m wide, perfect for saturating a convoy of trucks.



Additionally, we plan to implement the CBU-1/A cluster munition as well. Also intended for anti-personnel use, this system uses the same SUU-7 dispenser loaded with 509 BLU-4/B bomblets. Those bomblets weigh 1.2 pounds each, and contain 0.18 pounds of RDX each.



For performance reasons, we’ve had to adjust the bomblet unit count down by 5x (along with a corresponding 5x increase in explosive power per bomblet) since having 360 explosions in a few seconds crushes our frame rates. We’ll keep working on tuning as we go forward to come up with a good balance.



And now, we’ll end this month’s update with a video of one of the first tests of the CBU-2/A system.









Thanks for following our progress, and have a Merry Brrrrrrrrrrrrtmas!



--gos and the entire Community A-4E team Hi everyone, and welcome to our December 2016 Community A-4E update. This month’s theme is Merry Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtmas.However, before we get to the fun stuff, a quick announcement...has decided to step away from the team for a while, as he’s got too many other ongoing projects that need his attention right now. He’s been a good member of our team since the beginning and we wish him all the best!First, a short list of the smaller refinements and improvements...In addition to the above fixes, we finally are able to show off some of our modeling work, which is mostly in the weapons category.We went ahead and implemented a number of WW-II era AN-series bombs, to round out the 500lb AN-64 that’s already available in-game. Ranging in weight from 100 pounds to 2000 pounds, the AN-series mostly saw use by A-4s early in the Vietnam conflict, or when the supplies of the low drag Mk-82 and Mk-83 bombs were low. They were also used for bombing practice by squadrons training in the US.The models we implemented include:The AN-M81 and AN-M88 are very similar, except the casing on the M88 is thinner allowing for 13 pounds of additional Comp. B explosive inside. These wouldn't be complete without some pictures, too:While the AN-M30, AN-M65 and AN-M66 are limited to one per station, the fragmentation bombs and the AN-M57 are rackable on pylons 2, 3 and 4, allowing up to 18 to be carried at a time.The next major weapon system we implemented was the Mark 4 Mod 0 HIPEG gun pod system. This system allows up to three gun pods to be carried at a time, on pylons 2, 3 and 4. The HIPEG system is charged and enabled by a special modular weapon control panel on the left hand console, just in front of the throttle. Each pod may be individually enabled or disabled as needed.Each pod contains a pair of Mark 11 Mod 5 cannons with 375 rounds of 20x110mm ammunition each. We modeled the ammunition as well, with a default mix for each pod of 50% High Explosive, 25% Armor Piercing, and 25% Armor Piercing-Tracer.Each Mark 11 cannon fires at 2100 rounds/minute, for a cumulative rate of fire of 12,600 rounds/minute and a total ammunition capacity of 2250 rounds. This offered a huge improvement to the CAS-capabilities of the A-4 against personnel and lightly-armored vehicles. These cannons also proved to be much more useful and reliable than the A-4’s internal guns, which while based on a similar action, only hold 200 total rounds of ammunition and frequently jammed.And finally, another weapon system that saw action in Vietnam was the CBU-2/A cluster munition system. It consists of a SUU-7/A dispenser that holds 360 BLU-3/B “pineapple” fragmentation bomblets. These bomblets are ejected from the 19 tubes on the back of the dispenser, where the vanes open into a high drag configuration as they exit the tubes. Each bomblet is intended for anti-personnel or light armor, and weighs 1.7 pounds, containing 0.35 pounds of RDX explosive and 250 steel pellets.This cluster munition is designed to attack soft targets spread in a line. They can be configured (on the ground) for a total delivery period of between 5 and 15 seconds. At 400 knots in the slow release configuration, this means they can cover a swath up to 3km long, and about 150m wide, perfect for saturating a convoy of trucks.Additionally, we plan to implement the CBU-1/A cluster munition as well. Also intended for anti-personnel use, this system uses the same SUU-7 dispenser loaded with 509 BLU-4/B bomblets. Those bomblets weigh 1.2 pounds each, and contain 0.18 pounds of RDX each.For performance reasons, we’ve had to adjust the bomblet unit count down by 5x (along with a corresponding 5x increase in explosive power per bomblet) since having 360 explosions in a few seconds crushes our frame rates. We’ll keep working on tuning as we go forward to come up with a good balance.And now, we’ll end this month’s update with a video of one of the first tests of the CBU-2/A system.Thanks for following our progress, and have a Merry Brrrrrrrrrrrrtmas!--gos and the entire Community A-4E team

My liveries, mods, and missions for DCS:World

M-2000C English Cockpit | Extra Beacons Mod | Nav Kneeboard | Community A-4E __________________ Last edited by gospadin; 12-30-2016 at 07:00 PM .