Backblast bug?

[Brent Pollock]

With all of the rockets (e.g. RPG) I've seen launched from buildings in CMSF, I've yet to see any ill effect on the firing unit or building. No comrade gets scorched and no furniture gets ignited.

Are the modern rockets that much safer to fire from confined spaces or is that just missing from the current version?

[Bradley Dick]

Even modern rockets have a danger area. It varies by the weapon systems. I only have training manuals on the Stinger and the Javelin though....

[Cpl Steiner]

Yeah, my Javelin crews always seem quite happy to launch their missiles through second floor windows and the like. Whenever I've seen one launched on the TV the crew has either been in the open or on a flat roof. Seems to me there should be some risk attached to firing them in enclosed areas. Even CMx1 had suppression effects for firing panzerschreks indoors.

[Bradley Dick]

I know you can fire a Javelin from inside a building. When I get back to the house, I'll look up exactly how much room you need (I'm thinking 8m). But basically, the launch motor is more troop friendly than the flight motor. Like the Stinger, it flies out of the tube a few feet and then activates its secondary motor. This second motor is the faster, more dangerous one(and the WOOOSH, you usually hear).

[Sig]

Hello,

If I recall, the Panzerfaust 3 can be fired from a confined space. Now, I haven't found (yet) the minimal volume for such a confined space .

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzerfaust_3

http://world.guns.ru/grenade/gl32-e.htm

[YankeeDog]

The RL answer varies immensely depending on the exact weapons system you're talking about.

Both US Man-Portable systems represented in the game can be used from fairly enclosed spaces.

To accomplish this, the Javelin uses a "soft launch" feature, that also makes it more difficult to spot the precise location of the launch. Bascially, the system uses a weak charge to get the missile out of the tube and a safe distance from the firer, before the main motor kicks in. This kind of system only generally works with guided systems like the Javelin, as otherwise the soft launch causes significant variations in trajectory that seriously degrades accuracy.

The unguided US AT4 is actually *not* a rocket, but rather a recoilless rifle. This means that in its original form it has a very large backblast. Firing such a weapon in an enclosed space would be decidedly unfriendly to the firer. But the US is now switching over to the AT4CS, a modified version that uses a salt water ballast to dramatically reduce the backblast. Since the AT4CS is already in service in Iraq, this *should* be the version of the weapon represented in CMSF.

On the Syrian side, a stock RPG-7 is actually a composite weapon -- it uses a gunpowder recoilless rifle-type launch charge to get the projectile out of the tube, after which the rocket motor kicks in at about 10m. So it has a substantial backblast, but not as bad as an AT4. Nevertheless, I don't think you'd want to use it from inside a small room. A big room with lots of windows behind you, maybe. I've never heard of a modification for the RPG-7 that allows firing from tight spaces, but it's possible the Russians have come up with something on the more advanced warheads.

I am not very familiar with more modern man-portable Russian systems, like the RPG-29. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the more modern Russian systems have soft launch and/or ballast systems to reduce backblast. Assuming such systems exist, I also don't know if the Syrians have any.

In all, I would be rather dissappointed if *all* IAT weapons can be used from enclosed spaces in the game, without penalty. At the least, you probably don't want to fire an RPG-7 from inside a broom closet. But many of the more modern ones probably should be capable of being fired from inside buildings -- since building interiors are abstracted, one can assume that the firer will take reasonable precautions, such as not firing the weapon with a wall immediately behind, which would reflect the blast right back at the firer.

Cheers,

YD

[jomni]

One of my Syrian recoilless crew got hit by back blast. But not sure if it was from the recoilless rifle or from enemy fire. But his position is right behind the weapon...