EU 3 Artillery Guide

[Pancake]

Howdy, this is just gonna be a general guide for using artillery effectively and without ruining peoples fun on the EU3 server. I'll go over what I consider platoon and squad level support and the procedure for being called in when in those positions.

 

First off, platoon level support. Tends to be in the SPG and MLRS units, very destructive when on target which is why it should be down to command staff to call in strikes from them. Doesn't mean Squad leaders can't request it, just means command would have to authorize it.

 

The self propelled gun in EU3 is the M4 Scorcher (or Sholef, under AGM designations) and come with a variety of shells for different fire missions. This flexibility almost makes up for it's rather bad spread at long ranges, however the 155mm GPS guided and laser guided shells are very accurate for long range fire. Along with the commander seat, to kill any party ruining CSAT that try to get to you.

 

The multi launch rocket system is the M5 Sandstorm (or Seara in AGM) and is a fictional adaption of the Merkava chassis. It carries a complement of 12 230mm Titan rockets and has a reach beyond the current map. I'm not kidding, plonk one down on the central airfield and set it's zeroing to full then check the arty computer. Whilst it's limited in flexibility of it's fire missions, it is very good at what missions it can perform. It's also considerably more accurate at longer ranges due to being rocket powered to boot.

 

A typical fire mission request from command would look something like this

Command: /callsign/, this is command. Requesting 2 guided rounds and 1 mine cluster round on the "kill all the children" mark. What's the ETA on the rounds?

/callsign/: Copy that command, guided loaded, ETA is 50 seconds. spread is 150 meters on target (shows the default spread even with guided shells equipped, but it is about 90% more accurate. Also, this shit in the parenthesis wouldn't be said over comms.)

Command: Roger that, clear for fire.

/callsign/: Firing. -after firing rounds- Rounds complete, Splash in 38 seconds (Splash is often used to describe the impact of the rounds, could say impact or delivery instead if you preferred however).

At this point it's common courtesy to keep command updated on the time to splash and when all rounds have hit. If there's a chance a squad may get hit due to a freakishly inaccurate round and command hasn't warned the squad as such, I'd say you have the authority to get them to move away from the spread zone.

 

Now, on to squad level support. In terms of artillery, this tends to be the Mk6 mortar or yelling at command for heavy hitting fire on a mark, but I'll only cover the mortar in this post.

 

The Mk6 Mortar is some crazy future mortar that incorporates a complex-at-first-glance targeting computer and an artillery computer for shots out of your line of sight. Using the small 82mm shells, the punch it packs is a a lot smaller than dedicated artillery units but is more accurate at the closer ranges it will be deployed at and has the benefit of being man portable in a team of 2. It has a small variety of ammunition (smoke and flare rounds along with HE), allowing for some flexibility in fire missions. The fire mission request would be similar to the one shown above, however the mortar operator would either be a squad member of a deployed specialist rather than command itself.

Courtesy of Killzonekid for these images.

[JuX]

Usage of artillery fire missions isn't really job of command. (Probably operated by command to spare more players to the battlefield).

And its the boots on ground which request them, such as squad leaders and artillery spotters.

 

My opinion requesting them on radio should be something like this...

 

/Callsign/ requesting /number/ /type/ on /coordinates/ + marked on SAT (cause it's arma). Fire formation /formation/ to /air direction(bearing)/ with /spread/

/Badger/ requesting /5 mortar shells/ on /145045/. Fire formation /column/ to /NW(bearing)/ with /50m spread/.

                                                                                 Fire formation /scattered/ on /200m radius/

 

Most suited training for artillery crews and squad leaders / spotters is to know bearings within the map view for effective and accurate fire missions.

I personally dislike the fact every fire mission hit location is marked on map, rather then just marking the start of the fire mission.

[Nanne118]

Pancake, seeing as you know so much about this, would you mind writing a follow-up with the laser locking and GPS guided shells shells?

[Pancake]

Usage of artillery fire missions isn't really job of command. (Probably operated by command to spare more players to the battlefield).

And its the boots on ground which request them, such as squad leaders and artillery spotters.

 

That's all well and good, but CAS tends to fall under commands jurisdiction, so I feel that heavy artillery, which is just as if not more destructive, should also be called in by command when it's needed. As for that example request, my god I have no clue what half of that means. 1/10, 2 much realism 4 me.

 

 

Pancake, seeing as you know so much about this, would you mind writing a follow-up with the laser locking and GPS guided shells shells?

 

Sure thing, I'll even throw in a little IRL trivia about the shells with a little help from wikipedia. I'll start off with the easier of the two to explain, the M982 Excalibur GPS guided shell is significantly more accurate than conventional shells due to it's inbuilt guidance system. The real life counterpart also has increased range due to fold-out glide wings but I'm unsure if that's represented in arma.

The M712 Copperhead, more commonly known as a "laser guided round", is capable of locking onto a laser designation that is on the same firing line as the artillery unit (i.e. the arty unit is firing on bearing 303, that means the designator must also be aiming at bearing 303). After reaching its parabolic peak, the round searches for the laser designation then extend small wings to guide itself in with pinpoint accuracy.