Procedures to engage a target

[Sailplane 0]

What the procedures to engage targets with RADAR in HARD mode?

 

 

Very thanks

[Emp_Palpatine 501]

Set your radar into range. If you can lock a target, you will have little hooks. Choose your target (check your keys), then attempt a lock. A little dot will raise to the target, and when it will be correctly locked, you'll have range circles for the weapan currently selected.

But you might have locked a friendly plane! You can emulate an IFF with crtl-R, but I don't think this as very realist. The other solution is waiting to be in visual range, that is doing it the way it was done in 'Nam. And loosing your sparrow advantage.

[+pato poli 73]

hello, mi english is not very good, but i will try

lets take for example an F-4 phantom, ok?

radar in mode search, for...100 miles

ok, we are in the 60s or 70s, so those radars have problems with the ground eco, the clouds, the ECM (both friends and FOE)

so we are looking and getsome ecos, those shorts lines, "blinking" ok?

now we are getting close, because at 50 miles we cant get a lock on, we must be closest, at max 20 miles (depending on what model of phantom)

now we are at aproximately 18 miles from a group of 3 bombers, if GCI is not wrong.

ok, now can be some change if you select anothers keys to work as command, but i didnt so using the "original config" of the game (in my case is strike fighters)

on the right side of the keyboard are a group of 6 keys, 3 below and 3 up, just bettwen the text keyboard and the numerick board.

using the center upper, you should be changing the selected target, and should see 2 littles lines, getting down and "lock" one of those ecoes, if you push the key againg, the lines will move and "get" another eco. do you understand?

now you got an eco, if you are in range to "iluminate" the target, the radar will change automatically to "iluminating mode" or something similar.

you will see a vertical line, a "beam" that represent the wave of the radar tring to get a full lock on the target, if it reach, the target selected will finished into the yellow box, and you can fire an sparrow, getting always that target in radar lock.

the misile can fail, can get lost, can lose guide because another phantom is using their radar, if the enemy dropp chaff the same. older the model, greater the posibility of fail, and that count for misiles and radar.

the another way is putting the radar into "dont move" or in italian "mirino del anima". i dont know how is called in english, but the radar in that case dont move the antena, it just get pointing in front of the airplane, and will lock with any target getting close to the aim at + or - 3 degress of it. be aware that will lock on at any target passing in front of you, and in dogfight even with yours wingmans.

now you will see the vertical line, and the yellow box into the target (maybe you gat targeted another plane, and get the lock on into a target without the red box)

again pay attention, try to select that target with the red box, if you cant, maybe you get a lock on a friendly.

if you get both, red and yellow box on the same airplane, you get a lock on an enemy, pay attention on what is that enemy (a bomber or a fighter)

getting a big cross on the radar screen is a signal of dont shoot, maybe you are too close, or maybe the angle between you and the target is out of misile performance.

move your plane, put the enemy in front of you, get a lock, bettween 5 and 10 miles is perfect for me, launch an sparrow and wait, if it fail, launch a second misile.

dont worry if you missed, those missiles are old sparrow models and dont amraams...was normal dont get a kill.

sorry for my bad english, have fun and good hunting!!!

[Sailplane 0]

Very thanks guys!!!!

Great groundschool.

 

Good hunting

[gbnavy61 1]

There's basically 4 A-A radar modes - Search, Track While Scan (TWS), Acquisition, and Boresight. Generally, when you use the radar you'll step the modes down in that order as you close with the bandits.

 

Search - gives you the longest range, allows you to see the "big picture" and is limited to something like 30 degrees either side of the nose and about 10 degrees above and below the nose. Selecting and locking a contact activates Acquisition mode.

 

TWS - This mode allows you to start tracking a single target, giving you info on that specific target, while still presenting the contact echoes from Search mode.

 

Acquisition - Once you've selected a contact, this mode engages automatically when you try to lock that contact. Now the info that is displayed changes. Your radar doesn't care about anything else except that one contact.

 

A wide vertical line appears over the contact's position that gives angle off the nose (L or R from centerline) and range info to the contact (based on what range you have selected, the target blip will appear at a proportional location - for example, if your range is set to 50nm, when the target blip is halfway down the scope it will be at 25nm). A thin horizontal line will appear on the vertical line and will give weapon's max range (so, when the target is above this line, it will be out of range, at or below = in range). There may be a min range tick, but I don't remember for certain. In any case, when you have gone inside your weapon's min range with a radar lock, you will get a big X across the scope indicating you can't fire because your weapon will not have time to arm, etc. before reaching the target.

 

A little dot also appears on the scope which gives the target's position relative to the nose (i.e. when the dot is near the bottom of the scope, you have your nose above the target, center of the scope = nose on the target).

 

Two circles also appear on the scope. The larger, outer circle has a break in it and, based on the clock position of the break, tells you if you are opening, maintaining, or closing distance with your target. 12 o'clock is maintaining distance, clockwise from there is closing, counterclockwise is opening. The inner circle gives you the limits of the seeker head for the missile you are using, I believe. The moral of the story there is to put the little dot as close to the middle of the circle as possible when shooting.

 

Boresight - Limited to 10nm range, this mode is best used in close-range combat (also why this mode may be referred to as ACM or Dogfight mode). Basically, the antenna is pointed forward scanning a thin horizontal slice (3 degrees L and R) but a larger vertical slice. As soon as a contact comes within the envelope of the scan, the radar kicks to Acquisition mode.

 

Some general radar takeaways:

- Depending on your settings, you can't always tell if you've locked a bandit or a friendly, so be sure you're not about to ruin your buddy's day.

- The longer the range setting, the bigger chunk of sky you're scanning. For example, scanning 30 degrees L/R at 10nm range covers roughly 5nm wide, whereas at 20nm you cover 10nm. Same for the vertical chunk.

- Chaff, ground clutter, and in WOI beaming, can break a lock by your radar. Be prepared to recaquire. If possible, engage a BVR target co-altitude or slightly below to avoid a look-down situation where ground clutter (radar returns from the ground) can interfere.

- Flying around with your radar on makes you more visible, so use it judiciously.

 

As the others have said, the basic answer to your question is: radar on, search, select contact with brackets, lock, when in range - shoot, make bandit go away.

Edited August 19, 2008 by gbnavy61

[Sailplane 0]

Great Gbnav, thanks a lot! Do you can explain to the Air-to-Ground weapons?

[kesegy 5]

try this great SimHQ article on A2G in thirdwire games ---> here