Air Defence Units in DCS Part I: Anti-Aircraft Guns

Each system will see the same set of targets: a helicopter, a Tornado flying at 500 ft, a Sukhoi 25 flying at 3,000 ft, and an Antonov transport, high up at 10,000ft. I then noted the behaviour of the weapon systems: nothing too in-depth, just to give an idea of how they perform.

This overview will give a broad idea of how different systems behave, from the small and agile guns to the lumbering high-calibre batteries.

This video was originally meant to be quite different, but some interesting findings by a viewer, Chess, derailed the original intent. Those will be explained in the third piece of this series. In case you are wondering, I am referring to tracking bugs and various oddities.

AAA 25mm x 2 Type 96

The double Type 96 25mm guns make this system quite impressive. It looks terrible, but it is impressive nonetheless. In particular, the rotation and agility are noticeable, making the guns capable of pointing and tracking fast targets. Although, as we will often see throughout the video, these abilities change depending on the unit’s skill level.
The Type 96 can engage every target besides the Antonov at 10,000ft.

AAA 75mm Type 88 Flak

The Type 88 Flak is an odd one. Several high-calibre guns require assistance from radars or optical trackers to engage. I added all sorts of devices to the system’s group, but I was unable to make it work. If you know how to do it, please let me know.
As you can see in the video linked above, the gun briefly pointed at the Apache and then returned to the default position, never to be aimed again.

AAA 8,8cm Flak 18

The famous German 88 comes in multiple flavours, and I tested two of them. The first, shown now, is the Flak 18.
This gun needs no introduction, and it is extremely powerful. However, it is a World War II system too cumbersome to point at fast-moving targets and appears to have a minimum range. These characteristics prevent it from being a threat to most targets besides the Antonov.
The Apache was engaged as well, but only at certain ranges, and this target was not taking advantage of the terrain.

AAA 8,8cm Flak 41

The Flak 41, where Flak derives from the word “Flugabwehrkanone”, is a later variant of the mighty 88. In the familiar set of tests, this gun performed somewhat poorly, worse than the Flak 18, behaving oddly against the Apache.
As you can see in the video, the gun points oddly at the Su-25, and behaves as expected only against the Antonov.

AAA 80mm Type 3 Flak

Another “big gun”, the Type 3 has a calibre similar to the previously discussed 88. Once again, this weapon is ineffective. I wonder if it requires additional toys besides trackers and radars, or the cause is the speed at which aeroplanes fly, on top of the minimum range shown against the Apache.

AAA Bofors 40mm

Bofors is probably a familiar name to many players. This Swedish system was designed to fill the gap between the high rate of fire of small calibres and the slow-firing large guns. The result is one of the best triple-A in DCS: it’s agile, with excellent muzzle speed, good fire rate and range. Only the Antonov travelling at 10,000ft is safe.

AAA Flak 38 20mm

This mono-Fritz-driven quick-firing gun is quite peculiar. It has a good rate of fire and agility, but fires in relatively short bursts. Its main drawback is the calibre, as 20mm will not get far enough to threaten anything besides the Apache and the Tornado.

AAA Flak-Vierling 38 Quad 20mm

As mentioned earlier, the Flak 38, 20 mm gun, is a capable system. This quad system is the result of some designer’s intrusive thought who wondered what would happen if they strapped four of them together. The result is an impressive defensive system capable of throwing an incredible amount of firepower at aircraft flying nearby. However, it suffers from the same issue the Flak 38 does: it’s relatively small calibre.

AAA KS-19 100mm

This high-calibre gun entered service after the end of World War II. In DCS, it comes with an optional radar system that enhances its precision, reactivity and nullifies most issues related to weather and time of day.
Contrary to the German 88, this gun does not appear to have a minimum range, and it happily blasts targets flying from close range to medium altitude.
This is a must-have for all the pertinent air defence lines, adding much-needed range, whilst smaller calibres focus on volume.

AAA M1 37mm

This gun closely resembles the Bofors 40mm. The calibre is slightly smaller, and it seems to be lacking the same agility and muzzle velocity. Besides that, it shares the same effective range, and it is a solid system overall.

AAA M45 Quadmount HB 12.7mm

If the Flak-Vierling 38 is straight out of the 40K’s Orks codex, the M45 seems to have inspired the Urbanmech from Battletech. A funny-looking thing, a bit awkward, but with good firepower in certain range brackets.
The extremely low calibre makes it a threat only to aircraft crawling almost above it.

AAA QF 3.7″

This circa 94mm gun has many characteristics in common with the German 88. It is cumbersome and slow to point and aim, albeit less than its continental counterpart, and does not fire at close range.
Fast-moving targets, especially if low or masking, are a challenge for this World War II gun. Speaking of this period, it is a bit of a shame that one of the most innovative and performing guns is not in the game: the Italian 90/53.

AAA S-60 57mm

This classic Soviet design has seen numerous conflicts, from the Middle to the Far East, to Georgia and Ukraine. In-game is a solid and effective weapon. Its calibre allows the S-60 to inflict catastrophic damage, whilst maintaining a certain degree of agility. The good range and muzzle velocity allow this system to be a threat even to aircraft flying at 10,000 ft.
A peculiar incarnation of the S-60 is the ZSU-57-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun that will be shown in the next video.

AAA ZU-23 Emplacement

A LOMAC-era unit, this twin 23mm system has plenty of strengths: great rate of fire, agility and precision. The only drawback, common to guns that shoot similar projectiles, is the maximum range.
In this scenario, only the Apache and the Tornado were engaged, leaving the Sukhoi and the Antonov unthreatened.

Conclusions

To wrap this part up, the discussion should have shown why different calibres and systems are used together. Small, medium and large calibres tend, in fact, to complement themselves, offering different capabilities. This is a point worth remembering in case you are designing a mission, or want to make an existing scenario more interesting.