How do I use air to air radar?

[steelrfan85]

I cannot find the enemy aircraft on radar. I’ve talked to AWACS and got bearing and altitude. Nowhere will my radar pick up the aircraft but it shows up in my EW monitor. I can’t blow the jet up if I can’t get him in radar.

[KittyVCAW-1]

more than likely you don't have the radar antenna pointed at the right altitude. are you set up 1 bar, 4bar? Interleaved? What range are you scanning at? What altitude is your antenna scanning at. There are a lot of factors involving using the radar effectively. If awacs gave you altitude you should be scanning at that altitude and at a range long enough to include that area of the sky. I took me a little while to get good at it. I run mine usually at 4bar at 40 miles out and set the antenna to look between 0 and 30k. Pretty hard for an airplane to sneak through that as most seem to fly under 30,000ft from what I've seen. But I mostly play single player, I haven't got into multiplayer much at all yet.

[steelrfan85]

I have tried all the way up to 6B 80nm. Just trying anything. I’ve started at 1B though 40nm. I don’t know what you are referring to antenna altitude. I have come up from below pointing up at where AWACS states target is at. Nothing.

[KittyVCAW-1]

I should be calling it antenna elevation I guess. click sensor select switch right then move the TDC cursor around and it will tell you what altitude range you are scanning at whatever range the TDC cursor is at. Just jacking the settings all the way to the max isn't going to help because at closer distances to your plane there are huge areas you aren't scanning. I'm not the best at explaining how the radar scans, think of it as a rectangular cone shooting out the front of the plane. If you aren't shooting it in the right direction someone can fly above or below where you are scanning especially if they are in close. It takes practice, well it took me some time to figure it out. Make sure you aren't scanning at -20,000 ft or something like that. There is a good instant action mission where you can just fly around and track flights of F-15's coming in to land. Practice acquiring their signal and keeping it as they change altitude and your range between them increases/decreases.

Edited March 9, 2019 by Jonnie2Bad

[steelrfan85]

PRF just keeps bouncing between HI and MED.

[steelrfan85]

I check and it just bounces back and forth between Hi and Med.

[DutchCoolHand]

I read yesterday on Hoggit that the player's bubble is 60 miles around the plane. I tried to find the same message again but have not yet. It meant that you could not lock a plane further than 60 miles away. So how far did AWACS tell you the bandit was?

[steelrfan85]

Not sure. But close enough that he gets missile lock on me and fired. I have radar scanning at 140 degrees should I lower it? Shouldn’t they show up mission map?

[pimp]

Have you attempted to look at any of the radar academic videos posted by Wags or other radar tutorial videos? Do you know what the antenna elevation is and how to change it? Also, you have to make sure it's at the correct azimuth to pickup contacts.

[Ramsay]

I check and it just bounces back and forth between Hi and Med.

 

It does 1 bar at Hi, the next at medium - as the bars overlap, it covers the section of sky using both PRF modes at the expense of reduced detection probability, the Hi/Med scan order changes for the next top to bottom pass.

 

I'll initially use 4 or 6 bar with a 80° sweep to detect most targets, range will depend on size, aspect and altitude.

 

L-39ZA @ 26 NM / 17,000 ft

TU-142 @ 118 NM / 25,000 ft

 

Having an AWACS in the mission to populate the SA page via the data link and give BRA calls helps.

 

Please share a track where you can't detect targets.

 

Tested in DCS Open Beta 2.5.4.28090

Edited March 9, 2019 by Ramsay
spelling

[_mu110_]

The numbers on either side of the TDC cursor on the radar screen will tell you the altitudes between which your radar is scanning at the range your cursor is at. Use these numbers in conjunction with the radar elevation control to make sure that you are scanning at the right altitude to detect the target.

[Ramsay]

Not sure. But close enough that he gets missile lock on me and fired.

Sounds like you should have reset - if you haven't detected the hostile by 15 NM you should open up some distance before trying to reacquire (it's too easy for a hostile to get under your radar)

 

I have radar scanning at 140 degrees should I lower it?

In general, yes (the wide sweep makes the update rate slow).

 

Shouldn’t they show up mission map?

It'll depend on the mission settings.

 

There's a simple practice mission here

 

https://forums.eagle.ru/showpost.php?p=3712479&postcount=4

Edited March 9, 2019 by Ramsay

[steelrfan85]

Has anybody flown the F18 Prisoner v1.0 campaign and run into any of my problems?

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3301833/

[KittyVCAW-1]

Has anybody flown the F18 Prisoner v1.0 campaign and run into any of my problems?

 

https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/files/3301833/

ill try it maybe tonight or sunday and see what happens

[Anonymous User]

Target aspect is also a factor in detection range; a beaming contact will have a much lower detection range than a hot contact

[DeltaMike]

 

If you're scanning out to say 80nm you might get the feeling you are covering everything from ground level to angels 40. But in reality, if the target is closer than that, it's easy for it to be above or below the radar beam.

 

Search range doesn't affect the geometry of the radar beam, just affects what shows up on the display. But, if you keep the search range close to where you expect the target will be, it'll keep ya honest

[SFJackBauer]

I cannot find the enemy aircraft on radar. I’ve talked to AWACS and got bearing and altitude. Nowhere will my radar pick up the aircraft but it shows up in my EW monitor. I can’t blow the jet up if I can’t get him in radar.

 

The AWACS give you BRAA: Bearing, Range, Altitude and Aspect. You are perhaps not using the altitude and aspect components. You should use all four together.

 

Before starting, to simplify things set radar scanning to 140° and 6B (6 bars) to cover the maximum amount of sky possible.

 

1) Move the radar cursor to the Bearing and Range given by AWACS. It doesn't have to be super precise. You can double-check it by looking at the BRA indication on the radar itself. In the picture below, the cursor is on bearing 317 and range 19 miles from my aircraft:

 

 

2) Once the cursor is in the BRA vincinity, check the cursor indication of the minimum and maximum altitude of the radar cone scan at that location of the sky:

 

 

In this example, its 35 and 0, which means it will cover from 35k feet down to 0 feet.

 

If the Altitude given by AWACS is NOT inside this range, change the radar elevation controls (NOT by moving the cursor, there are separate controls for the elevation) until at that point of the sky the cursor altitude range encompasses the target range.

 

3) If you still can't see the target:

 

- Give it a few seconds so the radar can complete its scan. In the screen above it is 6B, which means it needs 6 full sweeps to cover the 35k - 0 feet range.

 

- Perhaps the target has changed altitude drastically, so you may need to play a bit with the elevation.

 

- The Aspect of the target may not be favorable. HOT (nose pointed at your direction) fighter-sized targets can be picked up as far as 50 miles. COLD (nose pointed away from you) will only be picked at shorter ranges, and FLANKING (moving laterally) may not be picked at all (go research "Radar Notch").

 

- Radar Cross-Section (RCS) of the target also influences the distance it can be detected. Roughly speaking the larger the aircraft is, the farther it will be picked by the radar.

 

REMEMBER

 

- Closer to you, the radar cone gets smaller and smaller. You can see it by keeping the radar elevation fixed and moving the cursor up and down the radar. The numbers on the cursor will indicate a progressively smaller volume of sky being covered closer to you, even in 6 bars. You need to operate the radar elevation more aggressively if you want to find closer targets.

 

- RWS mode the radar is gimballed to be always fixed to the horizon. You cannot just point the nose at the ground or sky and expect the radar to cover that area. In fact you need minimum maneuvering of the aircraft itself unless the contact is completely out of the radar lateral and vertical limits . You must always pay attention to the numbers in the radar scope, especially the cursor altitude range.

 

- The other radar modes (ACM aka close-combat modes) do not gimball the radar to the horizon. In these modes the radar is fixed in relation to the aircraft (except for the WACQ) so you must maneuver the aircraft itself to change the radar scan volume. They are only useful inside 7-miles.

 

 

There are of course many more nuances to radar operation (PRF, Jamming etc), but this should get the result you need.

Edited March 10, 2019 by SFJackBauer

[KittyVCAW-1]

i was able to find them and lock them up no issues, I bagged one but his wingman nailed me. I hesitated on the missile launch alarm and it cost me. I played mission one, I'm not sure which mission you did but the bandits are hot right in front of you when you turn to waypoint 4 to start your cap.

[PL_Harpoon]

I'd start by posting a picture of your radar screen.

[steelrfan85]

I played the first mission. At waypoint 3 I was told to turn to intercept. I was able to find one finally and my wingman shot done a couple then colt-1 F15’s came in towards the end to attack while I landed at Kutsami to refuel and rearm. It’s hard when I think I have an enemy lock it’s a friendly. Sometimes the locks will flicker between hastily and friendly. I never know when the mission ends though. AWACS had still called out a few but I decided to end and it said result 100. Must been the F15’s to go on. Each mission I never know when the end is. Must be something lacking from the user who created it.

[KittyVCAW-1]

i might try it again tonight, the briefing instructs you to run cap between 3-4 until you are relieved of duty. I think there was a tanker flying around so you don't have to land. I'm not sure how to pinpoint him without a TACCAN channel though. Anyway if I can survive long enough I'll fly around until they tell me to RTB or I fall asleep and let you know.

[steelrfan85]

Ok let me know. I have never done A/A refueling and also I was bingo fuel way too far from tanker. Barely could make it to base. Fun fact. If you run out of fuel the aircraft will not start again. I tried repair, ground power. Nothing worked. APU would start then shutoff. I had to end flight. That’s when I noticed I had apparently suceeded in the mission. Thankfully.

[ampentium2]

I played the first mission. At waypoint 3 I was told to turn to intercept. I was able to find one finally and my wingman shot done a couple then colt-1 F15’s came in towards the end to attack while I landed at Kutsami to refuel and rearm. It’s hard when I think I have an enemy lock it’s a friendly. Sometimes the locks will flicker between hastily and friendly. I never know when the mission ends though. AWACS had still called out a few but I decided to end and it said result 100. Must been the F15’s to go on. Each mission I never know when the end is. Must be something lacking from the user who created it.

Try to use the mission that came with the module to familiarize yourself with the radar. Prisoner of Caucasus is so heavy with triggers that if you don't fly by the set course the mission will definitely not be able to complete itself.

 

The way the mission is setup:-

1. Fly to WPT3, enemy spawn

2. You're asked to turn to intercept with ROE weapon hold

3. The enemy release a missile, you're told to engage (this trigger somehow I never got to trigger, thus mission never got to progress)

4. After the 2 tango splashed, another group spawn engaging you.

5. You're told to retreat and RTB.

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[steelrfan85]

Strange that I never got the retreat and return to base. The 3rd mission is to take out a fleet of Russian armor. Have to wait for a bridge to be destroyed but seems like at the first pass get bingo fuel so it’s impossible to destroy 8 or so tanks. The tanker is all the way on the other side so I have to land and just damage whatever I could and call it. Dropping bombs on the waypoint doesn’t seem to hit. So I have to go to rockets. They only damage some. I will figure it out

[steelrfan85]

I’m this mission waypoint 5 is target but the vehicles are near but not on the square where I am suppose to release bombs.