Radar and TI in SP-SAM systems

[pdoktar]

When a SP-SAM has AAA radar and TI/GSR, does the TI/GSR affect in any way to its accuracy when firing against aircrafts?

For example Obat11 Russia, unit 288 SA-15 Gauntlet, has only Tor-M AA missile armament. It has AA radar 11 and TI/GSR vision rating 40. Does the system benefit in any way of its vision 40? OK, the system can see ground targets through smoke and thus can be used as a observing platform, but it has no direct-fire weapons to use against ground targets.

If TI/GSR is useless improving its capabilities against aircraft, should it be deleted thus lowering cost of the unit from 357 to 277 points?

I understand that those SAM systems with direct-fire capabilities against ground targets can use the advantage of TI when sporting an AA radar too. However seems to me that oob designers have included TI to units that in real-life have TI but gamewise do not benefit in in any way against aircrafts because such AA capabilities are factored already in the AA radar rating, no?

So what does TI/GSR rating do for a system which has an AA radar but only AA missiles as armament?

[Marcello]

What I remember from some tests I did some time ago is that antiradar missiles sometimes knocked out the AA FC (if you checked the unit screen it had dropped to zero), but leaving the unit intact and still capable of firing missiles. In such cases I guess TI could have acted as backup, enabling engagements in case of limited visibility (granted, the tests I ran had visibility greater than 40 but it should have worked). Some SAM systems do have backup optical sights so it did not seem all that unrealistic.