Another DCS World Weekend News Update is out and we’ve got a few new pieces of information to go over. The Easter Sale is ending, there are a few new DCS: F/A-18C Hornet details, and we’ve got some information on the S-200 or SA-5 ‘Gammon’ coming to DCS World. Eagle Dynamics is also talking a little about their future plans for air defenses – it sounds interesting. Let’s get to it.

Most DCS World content is 50% off

Less than two days are left in the DCS World Easter Sale. You have until April 28th to take advantage of the sale. Most modules are 50% off with a few exceptions. If it’s been out for a while then its safe to say that it’ll be 50% off. The F/A-18C and the Persian Gulf map are only 25% although I think both are a good deal at those prices (relatively speaking).

If you’re on the fence, you have another day and a half to think about it! Eagle Dynamics says their next big sale will happen sometime in the summer.

New Beta and F/A-18C features

A new DCS World Beta came out earlier this week with plenty of fixes and some new features. Notably, Heatblur introduced several fixes and new features for the DCS: F-14 including the paintkit which means that you’ll now see plenty of new F-14 skins poping up before too long.

RAZBAM also introduced damage modeling for the AV-8B’s systems including the INS, RWR, weapon stations and so on. Previously this was extremely simple but the AV-8B is now getting a more sophisticated treatment – all part of a renewed emphasis on the module.

The DCS: F/A-18C also got some updates this week:

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) now has improvements to the flight model/autopilot. With this enhancement, we can later add programming of terminal attack parameters like heading, impact angle, and velocity. We have also tuned its Launch Acceptable Region (LAR) logic, glide range, and corrected a crash bug related to quantity settings. The team is now hard at work on implementing the AGM-154 Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) and Multi-Sensor Integration (MSI) for Latent Track While Scan (LTWS) mode for an upcoming update.

DCS World Weekend Update

All of this is , of course, great news.

I’m most excited about the JSOW which will further add to the toolkit of weapons that the F/A-18C will be able to employ. JSOW has a range between 12 nm and 70 nm depending on speed, altitude and launch parameters. This will let the Hornet hit targets from an impressive distance.

SA-5 ‘Gammon’ comes to DCS World, new SAM threats

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The SA-5, NATO codename ‘Gammon, or the S-200 SAM system, is a high value target threatening long range SAM system with the ability to hit targets at 300kmh and 40,000 meters in altitude. It was designed in the 1960s and used in several more recent conflicts.

Its multiple booster rockets give it the appearance of a space vehicle, however, its targets are more closely associated with high flying aircraft and high value targets such as AWACs and heavy bombers.

More interestingly, Eagle Dynamics had this to say about their plans for future SAM system implementation:

In parallel to this effort, we are also designing support for Integrated Air Defense System (IADS) networks and more advanced air defence AI to include shared-time searches, counter-SEAD/DEAD tactics, and SAM traps. Together, DCS will provide the most realistic and challenging air defence simulation to operate in.

DCS World Weekend Update

Just as Eagle Dynamics ups the capability of several aircraft such as the F/A-18C (and future F-16C and JF-17) with anti-SAM systems, the arms race will continue with additional sophistication for air defenses. This should get interesting.

Read about all of this and more on the DCS World Weekend News.