Are prowlers and other EW platforms automatically doing their thing when they're airborne, or do you need to turn on their surfce radar to activate the EW function? It seem sort of self-defeating to do this, but there was nothing else to indicate that the plane was jamming.

 

I realize this is a pretty basic question, but it's one for which I've been unable to find an answer since I started playing the old 360 version.

 

Love This Game

 

toorabid

Yup, you need to energize the radar to activate the jamming systems. And, I should add, if you're actively jamming in the way that the Prowler and other offensive electronic warfare platforms do, the enemy already knows you're there in a big way, so turning on the radar isn't a big deal. Hope this helps.

In earlier versions of Harpoon Classic, EW jamming was not implemented until January 2005. From what I had found it works effectively to degrade the contact that a ground based radar has on an attacking air group.

Yup, and Yup, and Yup

 

Clarification:

HC2002 and earlier had a basic standoff radar jamming capability, halving the range of opposing radars within the range of the jamming pod, if the radar was turned on and the die roll was correct. The protection was only afforded to units in the same group as the jammer.

 

Partway thru HC Gold the above functionality was disabled

 

For later WestPac betas and now into HCE what gkm says is accurate, standoff jamming works, and in a much more dynamic way than the halving range approach. Now jamming is strongest near the jammer, the jammers will protect neaby groups, two jammers are better than one (essentially the jammers jam for each other ). The jamming applies to both air and surface radars, not only can the enhanced radar model result in enemies sneaking up on you, add jamming and life can become entirely scary, even with AWACs and the right opponent!