What would the capabilities of an SA-9 Gaskin be,in H4.1 terms, at

night versus a UH-1N flying NOE just after going feet dry at a range

of 3,500m.

 

Since my understanding for the H4.1 Data Annex, there is no

associated Acquisition or Tracking Radars, and the missile guidance

is IRH. Since IRH Guidance, the helo would have to be in the Visual

Line of Sight of the SA-9. Would this mean that the Gaskin would

have to visually detect the UH-1N?

 

If the answer is visually, Surface to Air Visual Detection is 3nm

versus a Small Target such as the UH-1N. Since this is a

reconnaissance detachment insertion, the insert is going on a dark

dark "Clear Night", say during a "New Moon" 4.5.5 tells me "Air %

Vis" is 5. Would that calculation now be 3nm * 5% = 0.15nm with a

Sigma of +/- 0.5nm? So visual detection would be from 0 to 0.65nm?

 

With any dicipline, the SA-9 crew would generally not launch a

missile at the sound of helicopter as their forces also operate

helos in the area, although probably not at that hour (0115 local).

 

Am I on the right track?

 

Thanks in advance.

After conversing with the friendly people on the harpgamer IRC channel and re-re-reading the rules, H4.1 Rule 4.5.6 applies here. With the conditions as explained in the original post, visual detection should occur between 0 and 0.65nm. The Sigma this turn is 0.5. The SA-9 player would consult the Visibility Variation Table, roll a D10, and cross reference the die roll and the sigma.

 

For example, in this case if a D10 roll results in a "3" cross referencing 3 and 0.5 on the Visibility Variation Table results in -0.5. The result is added or subtracted, in this case subtracted, from the 0.65 maximum detection range. As a result, the detection range for this turn is 0.65 - 0.5 = 0.60. With the UH-1N at a range of 0.65nm, the helo is not detected.

 

Note that per the rule, the sigma is re-rolled each turn.

Thanks for posting this, Pete. Useful stuff. Would it be correct to make the same assumptions for most MANPADS ?

One wrinkle to all of this, but not a show stopper is that it has been pointed out to me that most all IRH SAM's have an IR channel for their optical sight. That being said, nighttime sighting would be overwritten by the IR Rules which start on Page 4-17.

 

Brad, I believe that the IR channel would hold true for IRH MANPADS as well.

That makes sense. Older non-IR guided systems, though, like Blowpipe, for example, would use the same optical sighting rules.

Correction: The IR rules would apply on to vehicle-mounted systems, not MANPADS. Shoulder-launched SAM's should still be restricted to visual sighting rules.

FINAL WORD

 

If not tied into a network with radar capabilities, the SA-9 is limited to the visual sighting of its crew or other pickets.