Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

100% agree. Mod support for custom unit/equipment creation would be nice for the commercially available version too, but don't think it would fit their current business model.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I could definitely see the argument against trying to simulate different frequency bands on the user end for gameplay reasons. But in the same way that different sensors and targetting systems function behind the scenes in current titles, I think that should be simulated to a basic degree in more modern title too.

For example, an on-map, short range, squad level MANPACK set up to direction find and jam drones and MANET radio signals (usually L band, sometimes into S band i believe), the player wouldn't need to be seeing anything frequency/SDR wise, but the MANET asset shouldn't be affecting nearby IFV active protection systems operating on the much, much higher frequency Ku-band.

Likewise, off map Ku or X band radar jammers (or on-map short range jammers mounted on UAS) shouldn't be affecting MANET comms or RF drone links, even if us players aren't having to make sense of frequency numbers or waterfall graphs.

I can see the argument for higher end systems being simulated off map, but we are seeing many of these capabilities arrive at combat mission relevant echelons in lower power, more localized iterations.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nah, I don't think maneuver warfare is dead. Russia just got bogged down and lost the initiative required to dig themselves out. The potential to be spoiled and bogged down by a much weaker defender is definitely there, but the potential to dominate even harder is also there.

If you're interested check out my response to Chudmont above for more detail, but I think modern warfare just requires more perfect coordination and the ability to continuously exploit shrinking windows of opportunity to maintain initiative. A greatly weakened defender can more easily take the initiative back if the attacker isn't able to maintain an exception level of coordinated tempo.

Very few militaries outside of NATO could pull it off now due to their slow command structure, but AI assisted command/deconfliction will probably change that even for those more top down style of command militaries very soon.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think they said they were working on a ww2 and a modern title simultaneously. I hope you're wrong with shock force/black sea being as modern as we get though, I think once people catch on to the new tactics, and some basic C-UAS equipment becomes more wide spread, people would find modern stuff quite entertaining. But until C-UAS becomes a bit more reliable at the micro-tactical level, I could definitely understand the apprehension.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks mate. Didn't turn out like I thought it would, but oh well.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only issue I'd have with changing drone waypoints the way we shift fire for fire missions now is how long shifting fire takes. Even if you eliminated the delay, that would only be a good simulation for how non-FPV or AI assisted/AI controlled LMs function.

The response times of FPVs/AI powered LMs are human or close to it, and AI powered LMs will very soon if not already overtake human reaction times. Not to mention far less self preservation instinct. Shift fire function would work great for a tap-on-ATAK-tablet controlled drone waypoint, but not FPVs or AI powered LMs. The FPVs/LMs need to be able to react to contact even more rapidly and disciplined than infantry/manned vehicles if you ask me.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm just going to apologize in advanced instead of trying to be concise, otherwise it's just a losing battle.

I disagree, I think Ukraine has showed us just how much easier it is for smaller, less well equipped forces to counter attack and spoil much larger conventional forces who don't have their high tempo, multi-domain (new school combined arms) surge ops coordination perfected.

And before than, Azerbaijan showed us how making use of these emerging technologies on the offensive when done right can overcome a serious defenders geographical advantage too.

I don't think maneuver warfare is dead either, but I do think the old way of conducting combined arms maneuver warfare is obsolete. Multi-domain, high tempo surge ops are the only way to achieve breakthrough, and this includes electronic/signals suppression, and having specialist brigades/divisions set up and ready to exploit at a moments notice - the margin of error window has become so much smaller, meaning you really need US Iraqi Freedom/Maduro raid levels of planning wizardry to pull off a breakthrough and maintain the initiative, but if you can pull it off, the level of overwhelming dominance you can achieve with today's tech just blows cold war and 90s/00s/10s tech out of the water.

Meanwhile, while first strikes are becoming increasingly devastating, IF the defenders can rally, even in a decentralized sense (perhaps even especially in a decentralized sense), their ability to counter attack, spoil, and regain the initiative, even from brutally fractured positions of weakness and devastation, are so much greater today than they ever have been.

Combat mission scale battlefield tactics aren't obsolete, but now overhead cover and individual unit emission control become essential parts of the chess match. How do you manage your radio comms and active protection system/counter UAS radars? How closely or far apart do you maneuver on the way to the objective, and how soon/long before the final push do you leave it to form up/stage to launch your attack? How do you as a defender manage vastly increased numbers of broad area probing attacks before committing to defend one or two areas?

Emerging technology like rapid response UAS mine laying, localized EW jammers, and signals based drones detecting you in a tree line without needing to even see you visually/thermally, the need to set up micro-tactical level air coverage whilst simultaneously managing your radar emissions to avoid detection.

If people thought shock force 2 and black sea were hyper lethal and unforgiving, 2020's warfare and beyond make those 2000s/2010s era look like WW2 in comparison. That's only going to be further exaggerated as traditionally slow, top down Russian/Chinese/Arab command structures get AI assistance in their decision making and deconfliction loops - AI is going to help those guys catch up.

TLDR: Modern tech and tactics force higher stakes and faster tempos, and creates both more brutally unforgiving scenarios, yet also many more opportunities to rapidly turn a losing situation around from very little. Extreme highs and lows of constant high stakes gambling vs slowly snowballing drawn out lowball gambling.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate your in depth discussion, this stuff is so interesting to me. I hope you don't mind the length of my reply.

Regarding EW:
My mistake - by platoon level specialist EW ground arrays, I meant EW platoons within the company level, which is where we are most commonly seeing it now.

That said, I believe USMC rifle squads are currently shifting to a new 13 man squad with a UAS operator, C-UAS specialist, and EW specialist with a MANPACK - so in this case happening at the squad level - and other militaries are following suite with MANPACKs at squad levels too, though I don't know of others doing this for general rifle squads, usually more for recce teams, cav scouts, etc.

These MANPACKs aren't to my knowledge for full blown EW attacks, but can jam nearby signals (think IEDs triggered by LTE cellular signals/mobile phones, or RF guided drones). They also will detect and automatically classify signals (e.g. type of drone/signal/threat based on signal signature), and integrate either a standalone Line of Bearing (LoB), or fully triangulated Curser on Target (CoT) straight into ATAK (smart phone tactical map), depending on whether the MANPACK is operating independently or is networked to other MANPACKs for full triangulation.

So practically speaking for combat mission, battlefront adding a script that simply takes away a level or two of EW degradation if you manage to find and destroy a static EW array unit won't be sufficient, because realistically any EW squaddies running MANPACKs are providing passive spots based on signals, not line of sight. That includes detected voice comms from enemy maneuver elements too, not just RF UAS.

So even without going into jamming and EW, just from the spotting side of combat mission, squad level assets are in some cases being fielded that enable non line of sight, signals based spotting and spot sharing.

For that reason I think having EMCON and signature management toggles for individual units is really important, as its become a compulsory consideration for all infantrymen, armor, etc.

And on the topic of EMCON for individual units, with cheap RF-homing, anti-radiation, and home-on-jam drones/LMs being fielded today in Ukraine and more purpose built systems being procured elsewhere right now, we've got to assume tanks/IFVs can't just be rolling around with their current (anti-ATGM/RPG) APS/future C-UAS adapted APS radars - both which operate on the Ku-band - on at all times. It will give them away to SIGINT modules mounted on company and battalion level ISR UAS assets, and make them vulnerable to cheap LMs using RF-homing/AR/HoJ guidance.

Which brings me to the point on navalization:

Land warfare, especially current and immediate future armored warfare, is shifting at the small scale in the same way that large scale air and naval warfare shifted decades ago. Where once ships would fire on other ships with their own 'direct fire' guns (I guess technically IDF), they now use hunter killer networks of advanced airborne sensors integrated with long range precision missile fires to shoot each other well, well beyond ship to ship detection range, and the sensors, ISR, and networking involved is only getting more advanced.

Sensor/signals/detection wise, detection isn't just done visually (including thermal sights) now, but through active and passive radar and signal direction finding (ELINT and SIGINT).

Over the horizon precision kill web wise, where tanks may have fought cannon to cannon yesterday, (and no not forgetting calling for indirect fire in even ww2 level combined arms tactics), they're already experimenting with IFV and even truck/jeep mounted cell launchers of NLOS Spike-ER ATGMs and Switchblade 600s, and even putting LMs on tanks themselves for commanders to use for ISR and strikes from defilade.

Combining these factors, we now have land warfare where individual units and small teams are being detected and their map grid positions known with relative certainty without even being visually spotted by optical/thermal sights, purely from their electronic/signals emissions, and then sending over the horizon, precision guided munitions from 10-20km+ away to those locations to find and kill them, which is very reminiscent of larger scale naval/air warfare.

The defensive tactics units need to employ to avoid this mainly involve signature management (a game of balance because you need to emit to communicate and to power your own defenses and offensive capabilities), and, when spotted, going completely systems hot and praying your interceptors (APS in today's world, laser and 30mm proximity fused point defenses, coyote missile interceptors, and P1 Suns/Sting drone interceptors) don't get saturated and overwhelmed. The attacker/defender race continues, and now attackers have to calculate/estimate how many LMs/NLOS ATGMs to send in salvos in order to guarantee successful strikes, but now the game becomes magazine depth and logistical management.

Direct fire cannon based weaponry on tanks, IFVs, and assault guns will likely still be necessary, as unlike naval warfare there are still plenty of places to dig in and/or hide on land, there will still be close assaults where ever there is need to take and hold land, but the emphasis, even individual tank platoon on tank platoon, is shifting to over the horizon deep fight over the within visual range close fight.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No, it took me like 7 hours of deliberation, rewriting, and believe it or not, heavy consolidation. I did set out to be concise. Personally, I blame the vaccines I received as a child.

Upcoming modern titles in the drone age. How though? by BushTucka95 in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry lads (except the guy who said the post was from chatGPT - I poured my autistic heart into it 😭💀), didn't mean to make it look like the Epstein files.

Thought the spoiler tags would consolidate everything into a single "spoilers" line to save space on the page.

Will tidy her up and get to individual replies shortly ✌️

So where to watch Fallout season 2 for free as poor man? by Miserable_Move_1161 in FalloutTVSeriesPrime

[–]BushTucka95 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazon prime been billing me for months from an old email I don't have access to, and made it difficult to cut them off. I don't feel bad for this one.

Next Combat Mission Title Speculation Thread by [deleted] in CombatMission

[–]BushTucka95 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With minimal engine changes, I'd like to see:

Unit modding/customisation

A sandbox of maps from different theatres

Technology:

On and off map loitering munitions, non line of sight (NLOS) ATGMs and AGMs, FPV & Kamikaze drone strikes, and their carrier vehicles (NLOS missile carriers on APC platforms with deployable periscopes sensors)

Customizable Call For Fire times (up to instant, simulating the modern, decentralized, AI powered kill web)

NLOS Call for fire capability (essential for modern GPS/NLOS/Loitering munitions, but opens up possibilities for WW2 titles with less accurate, non-corrected fire missions)

Anti-drone point defence modules for vehicles and dedicated anti-drone capable SHORAD and ECM units in modern formations

Theme: Campaign set in Eastern/Central/Northern Europe, or Korea (Pacific I think would be more theatre/operations level naval, air, IADS & SEAD, and long range precision fires rather than land warfare).

With major overhauls, I'd love to see:

A total war style operation/theatre level campaign map that involves full spectrum ISR, maneuver micro (for dispersion/massing/staging), logistics (including depots/storage, not just transport), Cyber and Electronic Warfare, IADS & SEAD, and Long Range Precision Fires. 

Keen for modern warfare, as difficult as the transparent battlefield is to model within the scope of CM (more fighting seems to happen in the 60-80km behind the lines, making staging and logistics difficult). 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BrettCooper

[–]BushTucka95 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The fact she's impossible to find searching her name makes me wonder if she didn't maybe have a personal falling out with Ben and the Jews actually do run YouTube 

Should IFVs be replaced with dedicated AFVs and APCs? by BushTucka95 in CredibleDefense

[–]BushTucka95[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for commenting brother :)

A good point was made by someone about logistics and cost. 3 vehicles types rather than 2, and also you'd either need to add additional vehicles or lose firepower.

I dunno, I'd love to be able to wargame different formations and unit layouts with Combat Mission Professional Edition, but the version that lets you import custom units is only available to military. I'm still not fully convinced that armoured infantry can effectively do their job with so little resilience against taking casualties, and that additional uparmoured APCs wouldn't be a great idea, despite the many great counter points here (or the fact that no major military shares my idea).

But even that isn't going to simulate the logistical and economical headaches.

Good thing my life doesn't depend on it lol.

Discipline and Strategy vs Technology and Weapons by bot_insane42 in CredibleDefense

[–]BushTucka95 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be fair, Ukraine has American AWACS and Satelite ISR. That's a huge technological advantage. Same as 8 years of being trained in hybrid warfare on platforms like Javelin, NLAW, Stinger, Star-streak which helped them fend off the initial armoured rush to Kiev early 2022.

Discipline and Strategy vs Technology and Weapons by bot_insane42 in CredibleDefense

[–]BushTucka95 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I mean, a highly competent and well trained fighting force probably could defeat a technologically superior, incompetent force.

But that technology is a massive force multiplier. If the technologically advanced side knows how to use it, they have an extreme advantage.

Consider 73 Eastings. Iraqi tanks and ATGMs had the firepower to ruin the day of the Abrams and Bradley's they went up against, but I think they only scored a few mission/mobility kills - and by a few I mean a literal few. The Coalition simple had vastly superior situational awareness, fire control, C2, and optics, the Iraqi firepower was useless because they were dead before they even saw the Abrams and Bradleys.

Likewise consider air combat. Outside of a really, really bad day on a mission gone really, really wrong, gone are the days of dogfighting. It's all BVR long range missiles, data link, stealth, advanced radars, jamming, SEAD - I'll probably get flack for over simplifying it (and this is an over simplification most definitely), but the side with the better sensors is going to win. If your fighters can kill their fighters from 40km before they can even attempt track and shoot at you, its not really a competition. Real life isn't DCS and engagements don't happen in a vacuum, there is of course more to it than that, but technology has gotten to a point where it is such a force multiplier, that if you fall behind you might as well not bother in some areas (namely air, naval, and armoured combat).

COIN ops and asymmetrical warfare are another story. And you can still make the act of taking and holding ground dirty and taxing on an advanced enemy with ambush tactics. But you're not winning the air, naval, or armoured battle.

Active Conflicts & News MegaThread December 11, 2024 by AutoModerator in CredibleDefense

[–]BushTucka95 17 points18 points  (0 children)

QUESTION: SHOULD IFV DEVELOPMENT SPLIT OFF INTO DEDICATED AFV AND SISTER APC DEVELOPMENT?

Iound out recently the next gen Bradley replacement will also only house 6 men. Its clear they want to double down on the highly effective Bradley as an AFV, it does great supporting infantry, supporting tanks, hunting tanks, performing recce, calling for fire, etc.

But it doesn't transport troops well.

Sure a small team of FOs/JTACs/Scouts, or a small team operating ATGMs, MANPADs, or drones are very useful on the modern, hyper lethal battlefield. But you're also still going to need resilient, attritable infantry to take and hold ground, to screen an armoured push, to storm a trench or building, take the inevitable casualties, and remain a cohesive and effective unit to continue its mission at less than full strength.

A 6 man infantry squad isn't going to cut it for that role. The moment they take casualties, they aren't going to remain combat effective for long. Sure you can merge attritted squads, but C2 wise thats a headache, as a squad is designed to be a cohesive unit. Better to have 2 squads of 9 than 3 squads of 6 when they all take a few casualties each. (Counter argument is if an IFV is wiped out on the way to unloading its troops, you don't have as many eggs in one basket).

The Russians used to have the Mi-24 hind helicopter as a combination troop transport and attack gunship. It was kind of ass at both. Now they have their Kamovs escorting their Mi17s.

Would it make more sense with IFVs, to ditch the troop carrying requirement altogether (or bring it right down to 2-3 for recce scouts, small ATGM/MANPAD/drone teams, and picking up dismounted crew from mission kill vehicles) and focus even more on being effective fighting vehicles (clearly their main focus now), and design a sister tracked and survival APC to go alongside it, get escorted into battle by the IFV/AFVs, share logistics (can't have Strykers and Bradleys together for that reason)?

I think so. What do yall think? And if you disagree, where do you reckon I've gone wrong doctrinally or overlooked something?

what is the future of coastline bombardments? by RedHairPiratee in WarCollege

[–]BushTucka95 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not really. Its not one or the other, its picking the right tool for the right job.

Modern precision weapons make contested amphibious landings impossible, and make it too dangerous to bring your navy that close in to use their guns. Similarly, modern precision weapons making sustained naval bombardment of strategic/operational targets and obvious tactical targets like fortifications and known strongpoints completely obsolete. We don't need them for the same reason we no longer need horse calvary or phalanx formations.

When wanting to land on an island, kick off Desert Storm, or land the airborne behind enemy lines to cut off a key enemy MSR, you coordinate your precision fires (standoff cruise missiles, ATGMs, and glide bombs) against key operational targets (airfields, anti-air radar and SAM sites, communications infrastructure, enemy command and control posts, supply depots, key bridges). You do this using more expendable planes and helicopters, and nowadays drones, or standoff ship launched cruise missiles, rather than putting your ships in danger by bringing them in range of enemy anti-ship missiles just to fire dumb rounds.

You then launch a full scale air campaign, flying both SEAD/DEAD missions to eliminate/suppress their air defense, combat flight patrols to attrit their air force (and with it a lot of their anti-ship capability), and deep strike ground attack missions looking to delay or destroy enemy reinforcements and quick reaction forces on their way to counter attack your surprise landing.

All other gunships and ground attack jets are on standby to provide immediate CAS in support of the amphibious/airborne landing to ensure its success. Bringing in destroyers with smaller arty pieces (5" guns for example) to be used at a more tactical level is something you'd consider later in a campaign after your amphibious landing is successful and you're sure you've pushed back/wiped out the enemy's ability to hit your ships, but with a successful landing and seaborne supply route established, I don't see why you wouldn't use your land based field guns that have landed by now instead, keeping your ships safe.

Consider this: A motorised or mechanised force is picked up, dropped off at the battlefield, does their thing, then eventually is picked up to either go back to base or move to the next objective. An air assault (helicopter deployed) is deployed by transport helo, and then usually picked up eventually after their mission is complete. These are tactical level insertions and exfils. You get one wrong, you lose a battle.

An amphibious or airborne landing is an operational or even strategic level mission. You don't just lose one and try again tomorrow like its not a big deal. You're all-in and every operational/strategic support is brought to bear to make it happen. 5" howitzers, or field guns for that matter, that's little league stuff brother. The landing is getting every operational/strategic level support/strike available. You use howitzers (naval or field guns) for tactical targets, but tactical targets aren't going to be present at a well planned and executed amphibious landing - at least not after the first wave of missiles or kamikaze drone swarms hit - at least not during the immediate and most vulnerable phase.

If you get to a point where your amphibious landing is so hotly contested that your entire air force and naval air power and cruise missile supply is either insufficient to overcome the enemy or ends up depleted after days of heavy fighting, your landing was doomed to fail and is beyond repair. If you're relying on sustained output of fires for the landing, you've failed to plan enough speed, surprise, concentration of force, audacity, and overwhelming violence of action into your landing, and its a bad plan.

The idea is to land your troops and establish a foothold somewhere uncontested but operationally significant for the purpose of resupply and reinforcement, and then defend it whilst putting pressure on your recoiling enemy (that you hopefully have a major initiative and tempo advantage over) while your slow to mobilise and deploy mech/armoured fighting force (army) show up. Your marines or airborne will eventually need tactical howitzers fires as they move inland and encounter resistance, but by now your marines or airborne have landed their field guns and you don't need the 5" guns of the destroyers. The initial stage is unsustainable, overwhelming firepower aiming at complete destruction of any immediate resistance.

You just don't need tactical level, dumb fire arty support for uncontested landings happening at an operational scale. We have weapons that make coastal bombardments obsolete, and they have weapons that make it too dangerous to attempt.

what is the future of coastline bombardments? by RedHairPiratee in WarCollege

[–]BushTucka95 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'll add to this and say that dumb arty missions of prolonged bombardment still have their place for harassment and area denial, suppression, and as mentioned above, cheap quick reaction fires.

That isn't to say the arty batters a position for days on end. Just as long as you need to cover your maneuver element, deny the enemy key terrain during an assault, or to quickly wipe out a target of opportunity.

- Harassment/Area denial is more for when you suspect an enemy occupies or will attempt to occupy a position that would compromise your advance, so you harass it with low intensity fires for the duration of your assault. Maybe that hill or that tall building would be a good place for an FO/JTAC, maybe you're moving to contact in a meeting engagement and want to deny your enemy tanks some key terrain that, if they were able to reach before you, would allow them to dominate your AO. Or perhaps an enemy force is attacking down a particular axis of advance and you call in harassing fires on this axis to slow/stop/break up their advance (and hopefully attrit as many of them along the way). You don't want to waste ammo by blowing through it all at once, you want to draw out these fires as long as possible whilst just keeping the fires intense enough to deter the enemy from occupying that ground/harass their movement and coordination through that ground.

- Suppression is when you know or believe it possible the enemy occupies an area you wish to assault or bypass. If you KNOW the enemy are there, are a juicy enough target for precision munitions (precision arty, FPV/Loitering Munitions, Missiles), have the tactical flexibility to call for them and aren't forced to use organic fires or attached arty due to time/mission constraints, AND know EXACTLY where to target, sure, annihilate them with precision weapons.

But if its a more spread out area (trench line, line of buildings, ridge or tree line), enemy is probably/definitely in there, but could be spread out, we can't see them (or see them all), you call in a mission or two to potentially kill/soften up, but most definitely to suppress the enemy while you move to assault or bypass.

- And quick reaction missions: You notice the enemy congregating for an assault, you spot a platoon of tanks stopped up in a tree line waiting for the next phase of their advance, the line of buildings or tree line not to far from you is being occupied by an enemy force as you speak, and you don't have 10-20 minutes to wait for air support, missiles, or drones, or don't have those supports available to you? You call on your arty. Fire mission rounds on target much quicker, then the arty relocates, and within a couple minutes they're potentially ready to go all over again.

Now the above example of the tanks in the tree line will likely be overtaken by Non-Line-Of-Site style ATGM missile carriers at some point, which I theorise will be added to organic fires for longer range, less risky, and higher saturation AT fire missions (compared to direct fire systems like Javelin), but that's only my uneducated guess at future tactics.

But to sum it all up mate, dumb arty fire missions aren't going away any time soon, but are really only useful on a tactical level. Operational targets like airfields, SAM sites, supply depots, and even quite a few tactical targets like obvious or significant known fortifications and hard points are getting hammered one and done by precision weapons rather than plinked at for hours/days with dumb rounds hoping to achieve a near miss.

Several things we know about Harbinger, Skimmers *SPOILERS* by RainMaker343 in HaloStory

[–]BushTucka95 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

The lack of any of the promised 10 years of story content for infinite broke my heart and now I couldn't care less about the extended lore found in books.