A TV Missile in reality
A TV Missile is a precision guided air-to-ground missile that carries a large payload. It is remotely controlled by the crew, with a camera mounted on the nose of the missile feeding closed-circuit TV to the operator, and the operator steering the missile from the launch platform.
Battlefield 2[]
The TV Missile is an alternate weapon for gunners on all attack helicopters.
The TV missile can be unwieldy, but it is an instant kill toward anybody that it hits. The gunner of any attack chopper has access to eight missiles. When in the gunner position, right-click to switch to TV mode. A black and white screen will appear. The player must click on it to adjust the missile and it will go to that exact point.
TV Missiles can be used for long-range attacks on MBTs and other vehicles, making a helicopter gunner have an anti-vehicle weapon while the 20mm should be reserved for light vehicles, infantry and helicopters.
It should be noted that TV missiles can be used against aircraft if one is precise in their aiming.
Battlefield 2142[]
The TV Missile is also available on both gunships as a gunner's alternate weapon. Each gunship can carry up to eight at a time. The TV missiles are powerful, but difficult to use because they sway a lot in flight. When the player stops controlling a TV missile it will continue flying straight.
The Northern Strike expansion pack added the Type-36 Hachimoto, a light hovercraft whose gunner seat also featured a TV missile as alternate armament. Compared to the gunship, the Hachimoto's missile has less range.
Battlefield 3[]
— Battlelog description
The TV-Guided Missile provides an Attack Helicopter gunner with a remote-controlled missile. Because it is manually steered and guided towards its target by the operator, it is not effected by electronic countermeasures such as IR Smoke, IR Flares, or ECM Jammers. It can also be used by the pilot of a helicopter should they have an empty seat and decide to switch to the gunner position mid flight.
The TV missile may become difficult to control, especially in servers or when players operating the missile encounter high latency and/or packet loss. Missile control guidance also becomes difficult if the missile is fired towards targets at extremely close proximity or against targets with a small silhouette.
For more effective operation, the pilot or gunner must aim the nose of the Helicopter towards the direction of the intended target with the guidance camera pod which contains a similar aesthetic appearance as the guidance camera of the Guided Missile. The closer the target is to the center cross reticle, the more easier it is to guide the missile towards the target.
TV-Missiles fired at aircraft leave a particularly blatant exhaust plume and missile streak which can be easily identifiable, especially vehicles equipped with secondary weapons which contain a magnification/zoom-in ability (such as the Laser Guided or TV Missiles), where it makes visually spotting the incoming missile from a further distance easier and thus, targeted vehicle drivers or pilots can act accordingly. The missile travels at a constant, very fast rate of speed up to about 1000 meters.
One missile is enough to instantly destroy all light vehicles and aircraft. The player can exit the TV Missile pressing Enter/Exit Vehicle if it happens to miss the desired target, or to guarantee straight flight towards a stationary or slow-moving target. However, the gunner should be careful not to press the key multiple times or they will risk unintentionally exiting the vehicle
In games in which the airspace is heavily contested, TV missiles are an excellent complement to Heat Seekers on the pilot, as the pilot can fly at high altitude and engage enemy jets while the gunner engages other targets with missiles.
On rare occasions, a TV missile will impact its own helicopter during launch, destroying the vehicle and causing a team kill and suicide. In even rarer cases, only the gunner will be killed, while the pilot and helicopter carry on.
Damage Statistics & Effects[]
The following is a list of effects and damage to specific vehicle types from impacts by the TV Missile. Vehicles not listed are vehicles which are instantly destroyed upon missile impact at any angle. Such includes aircraft of all types (exception of Transport Helicopters), Light Jeeps, Quad Bikes, RHIB Boats, MRAP (armored) Jeeps and Rhinos.
Damage resulting from impacts at an angle other than 90 degrees are not listed due to slight variations of damage at different angles of degrees of missile impact.
| Vehicle Type | Rear | Sides | Front |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Battle Tank | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled |
| Tank Destroyer | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled |
| Infantry Fighting Vehicle | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled |
| Mobile Anti-Air | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled | 61, Disabled |
| Mobile Artillery | 75, Disable | 75, Disable | 75, Disable |
| Transport Helicopter | 80, Disable | 80, Disable | 80, Disable |
Gallery[]
Video[]
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Battlefield 4[]
— In-Game Description
The TV-Guided Missile returns in Battlefield 4 as a secondary weapon option for the Attack boat and Attack jet, as well as for the gunner position of Attack helicopters. The missile has a large blast radius of three meters and can easily kill infantry without FLAK.
The TV-Guided Missile provides an Attack Helicopter gunner, Attack Jet pilot and Attack Boat drivers with a remote-controlled missile. Because it is manually steered and guided towards its target by the operator, it is not effected by electronic countermeasures such as IR Smoke, IR Flares, or ECM Jammers. Due to the game engine recognising the TV Missile as a piloted "vehicle" and not a 'projectile' type object, the TV-Missile has the ability to bypass Active Protection systems. It can also be used by the pilot of a helicopter should they have an empty seat and decide to switch to the gunner position mid flight.
The TV missile may become difficult to control, especially in servers or when players operating the missile encounter high latency and/or packet loss. Missile control guidance also becomes difficult if the missile is fired towards targets at extremely close proximity or against targets with a small silhouette.
For aircraft-based operations, the pilot or gunner must aim the nose of the aircraft towards the direction of the intended target with the guidance camera pod which contains a similar aesthetic appearance as the guidance camera of the Laser Guided. The closer the target is to the center cross reticle, the more easier it is to guide the missile towards the target.
For the Attack Boat, the TV Missile and targeting camera is mounted on a 360 degree swivel elevation mount, allowing the driver to aim and fire at any targets at almost any direction horizontally or vertically. In maps where air vehicles are commonplace, the TV missile on the Attack Boat provides an excellent attack and defensive measure against aerial threats, especially against Jets off all types making an attack run against the TV-Missile's launch vehicle. Due to the functioning and operational nature of the TV missile, the weapon will trigger no lock-on warning on enemy aircraft.
TV-Missiles fired at aircraft leave a particularly blatant exhaust plume and missile streak which can be easily identifiable, especially vehicles equipped with secondary weapons which contain a magnification/zoom-in ability (such as the Laser Guided or TV Missiles), where it makes visually spotting the incoming missile from a further distance easier and thus, targeted vehicle drivers or pilots can act accordingly.
One missile is enough to instantly destroy all light vehicles and Jets while critically damaging all helicopters. The player can exit the TV Missile pressing Enter/Exit Vehicle if it happens to miss the desired target, or to guarantee straight flight towards a stationary or slow-moving target. However, the gunner should be careful not to press the key multiple times or they will risk unintentionally exiting the vehicle
In games in which the airspace is heavily contested, TV missiles are an excellent complement to Heat Seekers on the pilot, as the pilot can fly at high altitude and engage enemy jets while the gunner engages other targets with missiles.
On rare occasions, a TV missile will impact its own helicopter during launch, destroying the vehicle and causing a team kill and suicide. In even rarer cases, only the gunner will be killed, while the pilot and helicopter carry on. Unfortunately, the TV Missile can (rarely) clip through the ground and thus be wasted, and sometimes, direct hits on vehicles and infantry deal zero damage.
Compared to the TV Missile's incarnation in Battlefield 3, the TV Missile flies slower, has less range, has worse handling, far less damage on vehicles, and a smaller blast radius. It also takes a significant amount of time to resupply.
Damage Statistics and Effects[]
The following is a list of effects and damage to specific vehicle types from impacts by the TV Missile. Vehicles not listed are vehicles which are instantly destroyed upon missile impact at any angle. Such includes Jets of all types, Quad Bikes, PWCs and Light Jeeps.
Damage resulting from impacts at an angle other than 90 degrees are not listed due to slight variations of damage at different angles of degrees of missile impact.
Damage results are gathered post-2015 Battlefield 4: Community Operations update and are subject to change without notice by game developers from time to time.[1]
| Vehicle Type | Rear | Sides | Front |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Battle Tank | 35, Critical Hit | 35, Critical Hit | 35, Critical Hit |
| Infantry Fighting Vehicle | 35, Critical Hit | 35, Critical Hit | 35, Critical Hit |
| MRAP Jeeps | 61, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit |
| Mobile Anti-Air | 35, Critical Hit | 35, Critical Hit | 35, Critical Hit |
| M142 HIMARS | 61, Critical Hit | 71, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit |
| Transport Helicopter | 61, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit |
| Attack Boat | 29 | 49, Critical Hit | 29 |
| RHIB Boat | 61, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit | 61, Critical Hit |
| Attack Helicopter | 91, Critical Disable | 91, Critical Disable | 91, Critical Disable |
| Scout Helicopter | 91, Critical Disable | 91, Critical Disable | 91, Critical Disable |
Patch notes[]
- Operators of the TV Missile, be it from Attack Jets, Attack Helicopters or Attack Boats, could instantaneously fire the missile the very instance the first one was detonated or destroyed. With the advent of the Battlefield 4: Night Operations update, users are forced to wait for a significant reload time before firing the TV Missile again.
Gallery[]
Video[]
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Trivia[]
Battlefield 2[]
- The TV missile's HUD originally had a white crosshair, but with Patch 1.5 it has been changed to black for better visibility on maps such as Dragon Valley.[2]
Battlefield 3[]
- While the gunner is controlling the TV missile, their nametag and health bar will appear on the missile instead of the chopper gunner seat. The gunner's character model may also disappear from the copilot seat, as they are considered by the game to 'exist' in the missile itself.
- Although the missile controls and camera cut out near maximum range, the missile will continue to travel for a fraction of a second longer.
- In BF3, TV missiles can be destroyed by gunfire.[3] No points are awarded for the effort. They can also be tracked by guided weaponry, though it is practically impossible to lock onto.
Battlefield 4[]
- Due to the nature of vehicles in the Test Range, the Jet aircraft of the operator equipped with TV-Missiles will self destruct for no reason 5 seconds after the TV-Missile is launched, killing the pilot. This bug does not effect TV-Missile use on Attack Boats or Attack Helicopters in the Test Range.
- It is possible to die while using the TV-Missile, if a player deals enough damage to it. By doing so it is possible to kill the driver of an Attack Boat, without destroying the boat.