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AEGIS IADS Roadmap

Current: v0.8.0

What's In v0.8.0

  • Critical unit tracking — killing a SAM's tracking radar is a mission kill (surviving units silenced)
  • EW detection range override — per-EW range caps via DET name suffix or global config
  • High Digit SAMs (SA-10B, SA-12, SA-17, SA-20A, SA-20B, SA-21, SA-23) + CurrentHill mod support (SA-15CH)
  • Round-robin EW polling — spreads sector polls across time instead of spiking all at once
  • Activation range diagnostic logging (debug mode only)
  • SAM position coordinates in discovery log
  • Zone-aware activation range — NEZ/WEZ overrides adjust actRange automatically
  • Alert frustration cooldown — prevents yo-yo re-alert after frustration power-down

Previous Releases

v0.7.2 — Alert frustration, Nat 20 bravery roll, orphan PD promotion

v0.7.1 — HARM detection realism (8-12s crew delay), PB HARM EW detection delay (score-per-sweep), harmInbound flag, ECM jam effect revision (jammed EMCON cycling)

v0.7.0 — ECM jammer framework (AI + player discovery, F10 menu, jammed EMCON cycling, burn-through)

v0.6.2 — PB HARM network warning (trajectory projection), PD HARM defense, weapon-alive cooldown extension

v0.3.2 — HARM reaction policies (STAY_HOT, LAST_DITCH, GO_DARK), crew hysteresis (panic, multi-HARM saturation)

v0.3.1 — HARM detection (TOO/SP mode), contact filtering (aircraft + TALDs only)

v0.2.0 — Infrastructure dependencies (EW, PWR), EMCON cycling with jitter behaviors

v0.1.0 — Core IADS (EW-driven WEZ gating, point defense, naming convention, F10 debug)

Coming Next

SAM-as-EW Promotion

When all EWs in a sector die, the biggest SAM promotes to EW role — fires its search radar and feeds contacts to remaining SAMs. Creates a middle step between full integration and individual EMCON cycling.

Late Activation & Respawn Support

Late activation groups that spawn mid-mission will evaluate the current sector state and enter the correct degraded mode. Includes backup generator restoration for destroyed power sources.

AWACS / Airborne EW Feed

Airborne early warning aircraft feeding contacts to the IADS network.

Future Ideas

  • ECM EW jamming — jammed EWs drop contacts beyond burn-through range
  • ECM bearing corridor — directional jamming cone instead of simple radius
  • Home-on-jam — SAMs passively track jammer emissions and engage
  • NEZ frustration gating — NEZ SAMs use WEZ for frustration instead of actRange
  • Ship-based air defense — naval SAM integration with SHIP- prefix
  • Shot tracking / ammo awareness
  • Theater command (cross-sector coordination)
  • C2 hierarchy (cross-sector coordination, multi-parent PD)

Design Principles

  1. Naming convention is the primary interface. If you can't do it by naming a group, it should be doable with one API call.
  2. Event-driven, not poll-driven. Minimize DCS API calls. React to events, don't scan continuously.
  3. Degrade gracefully. Every infrastructure kill makes the IADS worse, not broken. The AI always has a fallback behavior.
  4. Trust the mission maker. If they named it NORTH, it's NORTH. Don't second-guess with distance checks.
  5. Keep it lightweight. If it adds per-tick cost, it needs to justify itself. One-time costs at init or on events are fine.
  6. Non-determinism over predictability. Human crews are not metronomes. Jitter, randomization, and adaptive behavior make SEAD harder and more interesting.