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Smoke Grenades are throwable concealment/signalling devices.
Overview[]
Both the CSAT and NATO Recon JTACs are unable to see clearly through the smoke clouds with their thermal optics (ArmA 3)
Smoke grenades function as concealment/signalling devices for infantry and vehicles. Once a smoke grenade has been thrown or launched into the air, they will begin dispersing a plume of smoke (either in white or another colour) that can help obscure the enemy's vision. Unlike their lethal counterparts, smoke grenades cannot harm humans or mechanical objects.
They can also obscure infrared sensors and optical sights from seeing through the smoke, which can confuse infrared-guided missiles that are already in mid-flight from locking on through the cloud.
Depending on the game, the process of throwing a smoke grenade and availability of vehicle-mounted smoke countermeasures varies. It must either be equipped as a standalone "weapon" with the user adjusting the power of their throw, or is quick-thrown at the press of a button with the user only needing to point in the direction of where the grenade gets thrown. Likewise, not all vehicles have defensive smoke countermeasures; in the majority of cases, only armoured fighting vehicles and certain MRAPs will have access to smoke launchers.
Lastly, an important but often overlooked distinction with smoke grenades is that they DO NOT provide cover. Smoke grenades are only intended to conceal personnel and vehicles moving through them; just because you cannot be seen this does not mean you can't be shot at. This caveat applies to both AI-controlled units and players alike.
ArmA: Cold War Assault[]
Red, white and green smoke shells (Cold War Assault)
Smoke Shell[]
WIP
ArmA: Armed Assault[]
Green, red and white smoke grenades (Armed Assault)
Smoke Grenade[]
WIP
ArmA 2[]
Hand-thrown multi-coloured smoke grenades (ArmA 2)
Thermal imagers on the M1A1 and T-90's gunsights can clearly see through smoke clouds (ArmA 2)
Smoke Grenade[]
WIP
ArmA 3[]
Hand-thrown multi-coloured smoke grenades (ArmA 3)
Thermal imagers used by the Slammer and T-100 are unable see through the infrared-obscuring smoke clouds (ArmA 3)
Smoke Grenade[]
WIP
ARMA Reforger[]
Hand-thrown multi-coloured smoke grenades (Reforger)
AN-M8 HC[]
WIP
M18[]
WIP
RDG-2[]
WIP
Variants[]
ArmA: Cold War Assault[]
| Grenade name | Classname | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke Shell | SmokeShell |  |
| Smoke Shell (Red) | SmokeShellRed | |
| Smoke Shell (Green) | SmokeShellGreen | |
ArmA: Armed Assault[]
| Grenade name | Classname | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke Grenade | SmokeShell |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Red) | SmokeShellRed |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Green) | SmokeShellGreen |  |
ArmA 2[]
| Grenade name | Classname | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke Grenade | SmokeShell |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Red) | SmokeShellRed |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Green) | SmokeShellGreen |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Yellow) | SmokeShellYellow |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Purple) | SmokeShellPurple |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Blue) | SmokeShellBlue |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Orange) | SmokeShellOrange |  |
ArmA 3[]
| Grenade name | Classname | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| Smoke Grenade (White) | SmokeShell |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Blue) | SmokeShellBlue |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Green) | SmokeShellGreen |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Orange) | SmokeShellOrange |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Purple) | SmokeShellPurple |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Red) | SmokeShellRed |  |
| Smoke Grenade (Yellow) | SmokeShellYellow |  |
ARMA Reforger[]
| Grenade name | Prefab name | Icon |
|---|---|---|
| AN-M8 HC | Smoke_ANM8HC.et |  |
| M18 - Green | Smoke_M18_Green.et |  |
| M18 - Red | Smoke_M18_Red.et |  |
| M18 - Purple | Smoke_M18_Violet.et |  |
| M18 - Yellow | Smoke_M18_Yellow.et |  |
| RDG-2 | Smoke_RDG2.et |  |
Trivia[]
- In-game smoke grenades are modelled after various real-world smoke grenades:
- In Cold War Assault, Armed Assault, ArmA 2 and ArmA 3, smoke grenades are based on the "AN-M8 HC" (for white smokes specifically in Armed Assault and ArmA 2) and the "M18" (for all other colours).
- In Reforger, smoke grenades are directly based on the U.S. "AN-M8 HC"/"M18" (for BLUFOR smoke grenades) and Soviet "РДГ-2"/"RDG-2" (for REDFOR/INDFOR smoke grenades).
- Before Patch 1.04 for Armed Assault was released, smoke grenades did not get thrown instantly after the user primed the grenade. There would always be a short delay of approximately ~ 1-2 seconds before the grenade actually got thrown into the air.[1]
- At ArmA 2's launch (pre-Operation Arrowhead), vehicle-launched smoke grenades did not have the ability to properly break lock-ons nor confuse incoming infrared-homing missiles (they only visually obscured the sight of AI-controlled units and human players). This was changed after the expansion pack's release, which made it so that guided projectiles can be confused by vehicle smoke grenades.[2]
- Until the release of Operation Arrowhead, Blue and Orange smoke grenades in ArmA 2 did not have unique inventory icons as they simply reused the baseline white grenade's icon.[3][4]
- Prior to ArmA 2's latest Steam version patches, smoke grenades were completely ineffective in their intended role due to their extremely high deflection values. This would cause smoke grenades to bounce excessively after hitting the terrain even if the user applied minimal throwing power.
- The release of the Community Configuration Project would fix this, drastically reducing the deflection values of smoke grenades by two thirds of their original values so that they no longer bounce off terrain surfaces.[5]
- When ArmA 3 was initially launched as an Alpha, it was still possible to throw smoke grenades whilst the user was swimming below the water's surface. This was subsequently disabled after the release of Game Update 0.52.[6]
- Unless the panes were shattered by an explosion or gunfire, smoke grenades in ArmA 3 would simply bounce off glass windows even if they weren't classified as being bullet-resistant. Game Update 2.18 would fix this issue by making it so that regular glass windows will instantly shatter if a grenade is thrown at them.[7]
Config/script references[]
CfgAmmo (ArmA: Cold War Assault)
CfgWeapons (ArmA: Cold War Assault)
CfgAmmo (ArmA: Armed Assault)
CfgMagazines (ArmA: Armed Assault)
CfgAmmo (ArmA 2)
CfgMagazines (ArmA 2)
CfgAmmo (ArmA 3)
CfgMagazines (ArmA 3)
Base trigger components (ARMA Reforger)
Timer trigger components (ARMA Reforger)
Item components (ARMA Reforger)
Entity catalogs (ARMA Reforger)
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References[]
- ↑ Španěl, M et al. 2007, ArmA: Armed Assault: Version History, Bohemia Interactive Community Wiki, viewed 8 September 2024, <https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA:_Armed_Assault:_Version_History#Version_1.04>.
- ↑ Jennik_bi_wiki et al. 2010, Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead: Questions and Answers 2, Bohemia Interactive Community Wiki, viewed 8 September 2024, <https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_2:_Operation_Arrowhead:_Questions_and_Answers_2#Vehicles>.
- ↑ ARMA 2 2009 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \ca\weapons\config.bin, CfgMagazines >> SmokeShellBlue >> picture >> "\CA\weapons\data\equip\m_ANM8_white_ca.paa"
- ↑ ARMA 2 2009 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., \ca\weapons\config.bin, CfgMagazines >> SmokeShellOrange >> picture >> "\CA\weapons\data\equip\m_ANM8_white_ca.paa"
- ↑ Foltyn, D, Španěl, M et al. 2013, Roadmap - Arma 2: Community Configuration Project, DevHeaven, viewed 8 September 2024, <http://web.archive.org/web/20130627131748/https://dev-heaven.net/projects/arma-2-ccp/roadmap>. (archived link)
- ↑ van 't Land, J.J. 2013, SPOTREP #00001, Arma 3, viewed 8 September 2024, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-0001>.
- ↑ van 't Land, J.J. 2024, SPOTREP #00115, Arma 3, viewed 10 October 2024, <https://dev.arma3.com/post/spotrep-00115>.
External links[]
See also[]
| Equipment | |
|---|---|
| Non-lethal | Binoculars • Chemical Detector • Chemlight • Compass • Detonator • Entrenching Tool • Flares • Flashlight • Fuel Container • GPS • Infrared Strobe • Landmine Marker • Laser Designator • Mine Detector • Night Vision Goggles • Parachute • Radio • Rangefinder • Repair Tool • Resupply Pack • Smoke Grenade • Spectrum Device • Toolkit • UAV Terminal • Watch |
| Lethal | Explosives • Hand Grenades • Landmines • Underbarrel grenade launcher (Cold War Assault, Armed Assault, ArmA 2, ArmA 3, Reforger) |
| Medical | Bandage • First Aid Kit • Medikit • Morphine Injector • Saline Solution • Tourniquet |