Made by @Guest
Similarly to the RHS A-10A, the RHS Su-25 doesn't have a targeting pod. However, unlike the A-10A, the Su-25 has no other form of camera for target acquisition. As a result, some may be confused as to why it takes laser-guided missiles if they can't be guided. Is RHS really that shite?
Not really. While the Su-25 doesn't have a targeting pod, it does have a laser designator that can be used to accurately guide missiles onto targets. It can be slewed around and stabilized.
The designator has a cooldown time proportional to how long it is kept on.
Pressing your "Next Target (Vehicle)" key (default "R") will activate the laser designator. A green light will appear on the bottom left of your HUD indicating the laser is on.
The yellow crosshair on your HUD indicates the position of the laser. When a laser-guided weapon is selected, you can slew the designator onto your target using the User Action 15 - 18 keys (found under "Custom Controls").
User action 15: Left.
User action 16: Right.
User action 17: Up.
User action 18: Down.
You will likely need to move the nose of your plane to more accurately place the crosshair on your target, but if you manage to slew it perfectly onto the target that works just as well.
You can stabilize the designator on the target using your "Stablize Turret" key (default "T". Make sure it isn't being overwritten by any other keybinds such as TFAR's "SW transmit additional" or "Lase Range"). This only tracks that area and won't follow the target if it moves.
The designator has fairly limited rotation. If you move the aircraft's nose too far off angle, it will lose track and switch itself off. Keep it on target until impact.
When within launch range, a yellow lamp will light up on the bottom-right of your HUD. A red lamp will light up underneath the green one when you're too close.
The missile locks on to the laser mark automatically and will follow it after launch.
You should only activate the designator after visually acquiring the target and deactivate it after missile impact to reduce the cooldown period. The green light will flash to indicate that the designator is cooling down.
Minimum cooldown time is 15 seconds. If you keep the laser on for longer, the cooldown will be 30 seconds long, and 60 seconds long if you keep the laser on for longer than that.
The laser designator automatically switches off after 60 seconds of use.
So, the process:
1. Activate the laser designator. (keybind: Weapons -> "Next Target (Vehicle)"
2. Select a laser-guided weapon.
3. Place the crosshair on the target, either by slewing it or maneuvering.
4. Stabilize the laser designator. (keybind: Weapons -> "Stabilize Turret")
5. Fire.
6. Deactivate the laser designator after impact. (keybind: Weapons -> "Next Target (Vehicle)")
Only the Kh-25, Kh-25ML, Kh-29L, and Kh-29ML can be guided this way.
Edited by ThePointForward