DCS F-18 - Air to Ground Weapons

[VBF-12 Gosling]

This thread will cover each of the F-18. Air to Ground Weapons in groups. This post will list them individually with links to that weapon group’s post. It is also a cross reference to the weapon delivery methods to cover arming, delivery and communications. Each weapon will have a separate post. There are two types of Weapon Carrier to allow more than one weapons per station. These are:

Wepon Carriers

Carrier	Symbol	Wpn Pts	Use
BRU-22	<>	2	Wpn less than 1000lb each
BRU-41A	<>	6	Practice Bombs only
LAU-68 Pod	<>	19	2,5” Rockets only
LAU-10 Pod	<>	4	5” Zuni Rockets only

The F-18 Bombs are:

Bombs

Weapon	Store Code	Brevity Word	Delivery 1	Delivery 2	Delivery 3
BDU 33 Practice Bomb	76	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
Mk 82 General Purpose Bomb	82B	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
Mk 83 General Purpose Bomb	83B	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
Mk 84 General Purpose Bomb	84	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
GBU-10 Laser Guided Mk 84 General Purpose Bomb	84LG	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
GBU-12 Laser Guided Mk 82 General Purpose Bomb	82LG	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
GBU-16 Laser Guided Mk 83 General Purpose Bomb	83LG	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
Mk 82 SnakeEye Drag Vanes General Purpose Bomb	82XT	-	AUTO	CCIP	MAN
Mk 82Y Inflatable Balutte Chute General Purpose Bomb	82YT	-	AUTO	CCIP	-
Mk 20 Rockeye Cluster Bomb	RE	-	AUTO	CCIP	=
CLU-99 Cluster Bomb	RET	-	AUTO	CCIP	-

Rockets

Weapon	Store Code	Brevity Word	Delivery 1	Delivery 2	Delivery 3
2.5” Rockets	68R or 68S	”IN HOT”	-	CCIP	MAN
5” Zuni Rockets	10R or 10S	”IN HOT”	-	CCIP	MAN

.... More to follow .... vbf12.proboards.com/post/13498

Air to Ground Missiles

Weapon	Store Code	Brevity Word	Delivery 1	Delivery 2	Delivery 3
AMG-65E Laser Guided Maverick	MAV	”RIFLE”	Laser Designation by JTAC	-	-
AMG-65F Infra-Red Guided Maverick	IMAV	”RIFLE”	FLIR Designation	-	-
AMG-88C High-speed Anti-radiation Missile (HARM)	HARM	”MAGNUM”	Self Protection	Target of Opportunity	Pre-Briefed

Air to Ground Guns

Weapon	Store Code	Brevity Word	Delivery 1	Delivery 2	Delivery 3
Cannon	GUN	”IN HOT”	Straffe	-	-

[VBF-12 Gosling]

BDU 33 Practice Bomb (Mk 76) Practice Bomb

Weight: 25lb
Mounting: 6 bomb Carrier
Mechanical Fuze: Contact in Nose
DDI Code: 76
Brevity Word: “In Hot”
Delivery Methods: AUTO / CCIP / MAN

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Mk 82 General Purpose Bomb

Including: Mk 82 Snakeye, Mk82YT and GBU-12 Laser Guided General Purpose Bombs

Weight: 500lb
Casing: Streamlined steel
Explosive: 192lb of Composite H6 or PBXN-109 Tritonal (Thermally Insensitive) High Explosive
Far Mounting: Single Stations 2-8
Mechanical Fuze: Contact in Nose
Electronic Fuze: N/A
Guidance: None or GBU-12 Paveway II Laser Guided
Drag: Free Fall Fins, Snakeye Tail Retard Fins or Balutte Chute
Stores Code: 82B, 82XT, 82YT - Consider the 1st letter to indicate the shape of the drag mechanism (X = 4 fins, Y = triangular chute)
Brevity Word: “IN HOT”
Delivery Methods: AUTO (Preferred for Free Fall bombs) / CCIP (preferred for Drag bombs) / MAN



Variants:
- BLU 111/B - Filled with PBXN-109
BLU-111A/B – U.S. Navy BLU-111/B with a thermal-protective coating added to reduce cook-off in (fuel-related) fires.
- BLU-126/B – U.S. Navy Low Collateral Damage Bomb (LCDB). Smaller explosive charge and inert ballast to match the weight for the same trajectory.
- BLU-129/B – U.S. Air Force Composite warhead case which disintegrates upon detonation to minimize fragmentation, decreasing damage to nearby structures and reducing the chances of collateral damage. The carbon fiber composite shell achieves three-times less collateral damage by keeping the blast radius tight, while the tungsten-laden case high explosive has greater lethality in that blast radius.
- Mark 62 Quickstrike Mine – Naval mine.

Weapon Setup
Master Arm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ARM
Master Mode . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A/G
DDI Stores ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... MENU (B3) / TAC Stores (L1)
Select Weapon . ... ... ... ... ... ... 82B, (82XY, 82YT) (L1)
Select Fuzing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... MFUZ (L2) / NOSE (L3), INST (L2) - Instantaneous
Set QTY ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... UFC (R5) / QTY = 4 (U1 4 ENT) - Number of bomb to be dropped on single pass
Set MULT . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... MULT = 1 (U2 1 ENT) - Single bomb at intervals
Set INT . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... INT = 100ft (U3 100 ENT) - 100ft spacing between bombs
Set DRAG . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... DRAG (L4) / RET (L2) - For 82XT or 82YT

Aircraft Setup
HUD Height Ref . ... ... ... ... ... ... RadAlt
RadAlt Warner ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Set 250ft

Attack Profile
Attack Mode - CCIP preferred
Diving attack -
IAS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 550kts
Velocity Vector . ... ... ... ... Level Flight
Height .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 300ft

Training Video



In both his attacks he is at 400ft and 540kts however the CCIP caculates the impact point so pickling as the release marker passes the target ensures good hits.

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Mk 83 General Purpose Bomb

Including: GBU-16 Laser Guided General Purpose Bomb

Weight: 1000lb
Casing: Streamlined Steel
Warhead: BLU-110
Explosive: 445 lbs of PBXN-109 Tritonal (Thermally Insensitive) High Explosive
Mounting: Single Stations 2-8 or double carrier
Mechanical Fuze: Proximity, Instantaneous Contact in Nose
Electronic Fuze: Instantaneous, Deleayed
Drag: Free Fall, Retard
Guidence: Unguided, GBU-16 Paveway II Laser
DDI Code: 83B, 83LG
Brevity Word:
Delivery Methods: AUTO / CCIP / MAN

Image:

Description
The Mk 83 is a streamlined steel bomb casing containing 445 lbs of Tritonal high explosive. When filled with PBXN-109 thermally insensitive explosives, the bomb is designated BLU-110. The BLU-110B/B is a 1,000-pound class general purpose bomb. It has a relatively thin bomb case that is streamlined to reduce aerodynamic drag. The bomb produces blast and fragmentation effects and can be used as either an unguided, high or low drag weapon. When used with a guidance kit, it can be employed as a precision guided bomb. The Mk 83/BLU-110B/B warhead is used with the GBU-16 Paveway II laser guided bombs and the GBU-32 JDAM. The BLU-110B/B can also be fuzed with proximity, instantaneous or delayed fuzes to provide a variety of military effects.

Variants:
BLU-110B/B is used as the warhead for a variety of precision-guided weapons, including the GBU-16 Paveway laser-guided bombs, the GBU-32 JDAM and Quickstrike sea mines.

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Mk 84 General Purpose Bomb

Including: GBU-10

Weight: 2000lb
Mounting: Single Stations 2, 3, 5, 7, 8
Explosive:
Warhead: BLU-117
Mechanical Fuze: Contact in Nose
Electronic Fuze:
Guidance: Free Fall, GBU-10 Laser Guidance,
Drag: Free Fall
DDI Code: 84, 84LG
Brevity Word:
Delivery Methods: AUTO / CCIP / MAN

GBU-10 Laser Guided Mk 84 General Purpose Bomb


The Mk 84 or BLU-117 is a hard target penetrator bomb - the largest of the Mark 80 series of bombs. The warhead is used on the GBU-10 Paveway II and GBU-31 JDAM weapon system.

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Mk 20 Rockeye II (CBU-100) and CBU-99 Cluster Bomb

Weight: 490lb
Casing: Canister
Warhead: BLU-110
Explosive: with 247 Mk118 Shaped Charge Bomblets each with 1.32 High Explosive Charge
Mounting: Singles on stations 2, 3, 7, 8 or doubles using the BRU-22 Carrier on the same stations
Mechanical Fuze: Mk-339 timed fuze - V/T - Variable timed
Electronic Fuze: Not applicable - OFF
Drag: Free Fall
Guidence: Unguided
DDI Code: 20
Brevity Word: “IN HOT”
Delivery Methods: CCIP (Preferred) / AUTO

Description
The MK-20 Rockeye is a free-fall, unguided cluster weapon designed to kill tanks and armored vehicles. The system consists of a clamshell dispenser with a mechanical MK-339 timed fuze that burst the two half’s apart as a desired height (Default 1,500ft).
Cluster bombs contain 247 x Mk118 Bomblets each 1.32lb and has a 0.4lb shaped-charge warhead of high explosives which detonates on impact. This gives good armour penetration but almost no blast effect so is only useful against soft and amoured vehicles. It is NOT a weapon to use against dispersed unit like SAM sites or troops. This weapon has a default operation height of 1500ft to split and disperse the bomblets over 3,300 square yards.

Weapon Setup
Master Arm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ARM
Master Mode . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A/G
DDI Stores ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... MENU (B3) / TAC Stores (L1)
Select Weapon . ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 (L1)
Select Fuzing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... MFUZ (L2) / V/T (L2) - Variable timing
Set Disperse Height .. ... ... ... ... HT (Cycle L5) - 1500ft on Release Program (Space to enter)

Aircraft Setup
HUD Height Ref . ... ... ... ... ... ... RadAlt
RadAlt Warner ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Set 1,500ft

HUD Indications
DUD Que - if below 1,500ft before release

Attack Profile
Attack Mode - CCIP preferred
Diving attack -
IAS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 500kts
Velocity Vector . ... ... ... ... 25-30 degrees Nose Down
Release Height . ... ... ... ... Passing 2,500ft

Training Video



In this video his attack is well over 500kts and the velocity vector is well above 25-30 degrees Nose Down, however the release que is on the target so the munitions hit. I suspect waiting later and having a steeper dive is the correct attack (probably at idle - needs a test) but an increase risk of CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain!!!). The second attack is rushed as he is only at 6,000ft when he tips in.

[VBF-12 Gosling]

Rockets

Including: 2.75” Rockets in LAU-68 Rocket Pods and 5” Zuni Rockets in LAU-10 Rocket Pods

Weight:
Casing:
Explosive:
Mounting: LAU-68 Pod each with 19 x 2.5” Rockets on stations 2, 3, 7 or 8 or LAU-10 Pod Each with 4 x 5” Zuni Rockets on the same stations
Mechanical Fuze: Contact in Nose
Electronic Fuze: N/A
Guidance: None
Drag: Rocket propelled unguided flight
Store Code: 68 or 10 - Followed by S for single rocket or R for ripple firing all rockets from the selected pods (Mission Editor)
Brevity Word: “IN HOT”
Delivery Methods: MAN

Weapon Setup
Master Arm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ARM
Master Mode . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A/G for Air to Ground weapons
DDI Stores . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Stores Page - MENU (B3) / TAC / Stores (L1).
Select Weapon ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Select 10S (T1) - LAU-10 5” Zuni Rockets
Select Delivery Mode . ... ... ... ... MODE (L1) / CCIP (L2)
Select Salvo ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... SGL (L3 )ofor single rocket lunch or SAL (L4) for rockets from all pods of that type launch

Ripple or Single fire mode is setup in the mission editor giving 10R or 10S

Aircraft Setup

HUD Symbology

Attack Profile

Training video:

[VBF-12 Gosling]

AMG-65E Laser Guided Maverick

Weight: 641lb
Explosive: 300lb WDU-24/B - Penetrating Blast Fragmentation
Far Mounting: Single Stations 2-8 or Dual Stations using LUA-31
Fuze: Instantaneous, Delay 1, Delay 2
Guidance: Semi-Active Laser Homing Guidance - Requires the target be continuously illuminated
Propulsion: Thiokol SR114-TC-1 (or Aerojet SR115-AJ-1) solid-fuel rocket
Stores Code: MAV
Brevity Word: “RIFLE”
Delivery Methods: Laser Designation by JTAC

Description
The AGM-65E Maverick is the laser guided variant designed for close air support and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, air defenses, ships, ground transportation and fuel storage facilities. Although the ‘E’ requires a target to be illuminated by laser, once it is launched it is a “Fire and Forget” weapon allowing the aircraft to immediately egress.



Laser Maverick Format Page
MAV - Top Left - Weapon Selected (crossed out) has no valid target
Stn 8 - Top Left - Station number of selected weapon
CAGED - Top RIght - Seeker head is caged
Reticule - Centre - Seeker head direction reticule
X - Centre - Seeker head direction - Unlocked
Filled Square - Seeker head direction - Locked
Codes - Bottom Right - Laser codes loaded to each weapon
_____ - Bottom Centre - Seeker azimuth offset
STEP - Right - Select a particular Station
UFC - Right - Allow code setting via the UFC
INST / DLY1 / DLY2 - Left - Fuze settings



Weapon Setup
Master Arm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ARM
Master Mode .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A/G
Left DDI to Stores page . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Menu (B3) / Stores (L1)
Select Weapon ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... MAV (T1)
Left DDI to Maverick Format page . ... ... ... MAV (T1)
Right DDI to Stores page ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Menu (B3) / Stores (L1)
Set Laser Code ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... UFC (R4 - on either DDI) / UFC :CODE (U3 - 1688 ENT) - Selecting DDI UFC (R4) sets in sequence - All, Left Outboard (LO), LI, RI, RO, None, All, etc
Inbound Uncage Seeker . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... UNCAGE on control column
Check Lock . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Filled Square and MAV box (cross removed) on DDI / MAV LKD and MAV (cross removed) in HUD
Launch Weapon .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Weapon Release Key on control column

Aircraft Setup
Height Reference ... ... RadAlt
RadAlt ... ... ... ... ... ... Nominal 5000ft
IAS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Nominal 500kts

HUD Indications
Inverted Triangle - Centre - Seeker direction
MAV - Right - Weapon selected but not tracking (crossed out)
MAV - Right - Weapon selected and tracking (cross fremoved)
MAV LKD - Seeker tracking designated target

Comms Procedure
Communication with the JTAC is the only current method of employing AGM-65E Laser Guided Missiles. The AT FLIR Pod allowing self designation is a future modification.
Check In ... ... ... ... Comms Menu (\) / JTAC - Finger11 (F3) / Paytime +30min (F2)
JTAC Reply ... ... ... Information and “Advise when ready for 9-Line”
Receive 9-Line ... Ready for 9-Line (F1)
JTAC Reply ... ... ... 9-Line Brief and “Advise when ready for Remarks and Talk On”
Ready Remarks ... Ready to copy remarks (F1)
JTAC Reply ... ... ... Request weapon and weather
Read Back Tgt Grid ... ... ... Read Back (F1)
JTAC Reply ... ... ... “Read back correct. Report IP inbound”
at IP Inbound Call ... ... “Callsign, inbound” (F1)
JTAC reply ... ... ... A/C Callsign, Continue
Req Laser ... ... ... Laser On (F1)
JTAC reply ... ... ... Lasing
Post Launch ... ... “RIFLE 1”

Training Video:

[VBF-12 Gosling]

AGM-65F Infra-Red Guided Maverick

Weight: 641lb
Explosive: 300lb WDU-24/B - Penetrating Blast Fragmentation
Far Mounting: Single Stations 2-8 or Dual Stations using LUA-31
Fuze: Instantaneous, Delay 1, Delay 2, Ship
Guidance: Infra-Red Homing Guidance - Requires the target be a thermal contrast to the background thermal signature, either hot or cold.
Propulsion: Thiokol SR114-TC-1 (or Aerojet SR115-AJ-1) solid-fuel rocket
Stores Code: IMAV
Brevity Word: “RIFLE”
Delivery Methods: Thermal Tracking

Description
The AGM-65F Maverick is the infra-red variant designed for close air support and is effective against a wide range of tactical targets, including armor, air defenses, ships, ground transportation and fuel storage facilities. The AGM-65F requires the target have a distinct thermal signature from that of the background. Once locked and launched it is a “Fire and Forget” weapon allowing the aircraft to immediately egress. Infra-red seekers only work when very cold (-270 Deg C) and so on weapon system start up the missile’s compressor will take 3:00 minutes of cooling the sensor before an image is available (not applicable to an inflight spawn).

Infra-Red Maverick Format Page
This page is primarily the missile’s seeker head view relayed up to the DDI.
IMAV - Top Left - Weapon Selected (crossed out) has no valid target
Stn 8 - Top Left - Station number of selected weapon
<> - Top Right - TDC control of Weapon seeker head
STEP - Right - Select a particular Station
FOV - Bottom Right - Electronic zoom Field of View - Wide / Narrow
TRACK WHITE / TRACK BLACK - Bottom Left - White (Hot Target - White Crosshairs - Default) / Black (Cold Target - Black Crosshairs) Tracking
INST - Top Left - Fuze Setting Instantaneous detonation on impact
DLY1 - Left - Fuze Setting Detonation Delay to allow missile kinetic penetration
DLY2 - Left - Fuze Setting Detonation delay
SHIP - Bottom Left - Fuze setting expands the sensor crosshairs and tracks the thermal boundary between the ship and the sea for a waterline detonation



Weapon Setup
Master Arm ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ARM
Master Mode .... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A/G
Left DDI to Stores page . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Menu (B3) / Stores (L1)
Select Weapon ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... IMAV (T1)
Left DDI to Laser Maverick Format page ... IMAV (T1)
Select Narrow view (all Wpns) ... ... ... ... ... FOV (R5) / STEP (R3) / FOV (R5) etc
Allocate TDC to Left DDI . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Sensor Selectswitch - Left
Boresight targets . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Fly HUD Triangle over target area
Slew seeker head to target . ... ... ... ... ... ... TDC Depress (suspend thermal contrast lock) and Slew to near target
Lock target ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... TDC Release (Lock to nearest thermal contrast)
Reset Boresight ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... CAGE / UNCAGE as required
Launch Weapon .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Weapon Release Key on control column

Aircraft Setup
R DDI EW Display ... ... Menu (b3) / EW (B4)
Height Reference ... ... RadAlt
RadAlt ... ... ... ... ... ... Nominal 5000ft
IAS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Nominal 500kts

HUD Indications
Inverted Triangle - Centre - Seeker direction
IMAV - Right - Weapon selected but not tracking (crossed out)
IMAV - Right - Weapon selected and tracking (cross removed)

Training Video: