Memorizing SAM Radars

[The AMRAAMer]

A friend of mine told me that I should memorize the names and look of all the search and tracking radars of all the SAM sites like Fan Song, Low Blow and Flat Face, Bar Lock, Flap Lid, etc.

 

Is it necessary? Do real pilots memorize and know the names and visual look for SAM radars?

[Sandman1330]

A friend of mine told me that I should memorize the names and look of all the search and tracking radars of all the SAM sites like Fan Song, Low Blow and Flat Face, Bar Lock, Flap Lid, etc.

 

Is it necessary? Do real pilots memorize and know the names and visual look for SAM radars?

 

Yes, real pilots memorize this stuff.

 

We do a yearly exam on identifying it by sight, and have to know the capabilities and how to defeat individual systems. Which are IR, which are RF and the tactics for each, their ranges, min altitudes, all that stuff. It’s a full time job!

[Fri13]

A friend of mine told me that I should memorize the names and look of all the search and tracking radars of all the SAM sites like Fan Song, Low Blow and Flat Face, Bar Lock, Flap Lid, etc.

 

Is it necessary? Do real pilots memorize and know the names and visual look for SAM radars?

 

Depends as well who's designation you use, NATO or GRAU or the manufacturer of other countries too.

 

So if you fly in REDFOR, SA-11 doesn't help like a 9K37 M1 ”Buk” does.

You actually learn more with the more accurate designations than general NATO ones or their nicknames. Same thing is with aircrafts, like "Hornet" or "Falcon" doesn't tell much, like F/A-18C LOT 20 or F-16CJ/DJ Block 50D/52D does (and then even you need to know country or more exact unique unit that is being discussed).

 

Eventually you just need to learn the general differences etc. Was it a tankman crew who needed to know identify T-62 from T-64 by which side turret a IR search light was, or so on.

 

Your head will pop off you try to get all the data in too quick succession.

[delevero]

TIp..: put this image in your kneeboard folder and you can ingame while you fly read what the threat icons mean.. its a really great help

copy paste it here. ( in this example its for the fa18c hornet )

 

 

C:\Users\your-name\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Kneeboard\FA-18C_hornet

 

If you like it to be avaliable in another plane/heli then put it here

 

Select your plane/heli in this folder and copy paste the image and it work.

C:\Users\your-name\Saved Games\DCS.openbeta\Kneeboard\

[SFJackBauer]

A friend of mine told me that I should memorize the names and look of all the search and tracking radars of all the SAM sites like Fan Song, Low Blow and Flat Face, Bar Lock, Flap Lid, etc.

 

Is it necessary? Do real pilots memorize and know the names and visual look for SAM radars?

 

For some (a lot?) of us not real pilots there is a pleasure in approaching this hobby in the most realistic approach as possible. Which means, like the real dudes, studying for hours (as much freetime our other commitments in life allows).

 

Which means, yes, spending time reading about SAM, missile systems, radar systems, aircraft capabilities, air combat tactics etc. And for me personally, leadership and teamwork as well, since (unlike most of DCS public MP) you never fight alone.

 

For me this began in 1994 with Flight Simulator, learning about the simplest things in flight (whats the difference between barometric and radar altimeter? how to do coordinated turns?) and then step by step until mastering flying as civilian then transitioning into combat with Falcon 4.0 and onwards.

 

I can say that even the little things learned have been beneficial throughout the years and even today I sometimes revisit them under new light. And it even gives you an edge of interpreting real-world events out there related to the stuff we learn here. Therefore for me, its not a chore of "memorizing", its more like constant learning, which also is a skill applicable to real-world stuff.

[uri_ba]

Names are less Relevant.

However visually identifying them helps a lot when dealing with target priority for TGP/mavrick (and hopefully MITL weapons in the future). Mainly the FCRs

 

However, once you can ID them visually, you usually can remember names more easily, as they no longer a number on the RWR but a shape.

 

In DCS you only need 5 currently.

Fan song

Low blow

Straight flush

Snow drift

Hawk FCR (which has an acronym rather then NATO designation)

 

Square pair is huge and when to will come into play it'll be easy to find in the SA-5 battery

 

And in addition, visually ID SA-8 (osa), SA15 (Tor), Shilka, 2S6 and the two strelas (SA-9 and SA-13).

 

Again, all useful for CAS and DEAD priority

 

BTW, I left the tombStone radar out, because if you are good enough to be close to visually ID it, you don't need tips on what to memorize ;)

Edited May 3, 2019 by uri_ba

[Kang]

Considering the coming possibility of more integrated networks, the Dog Ear might actually become somewhat important as well.

[uri_ba]

Considering the coming possibility of more integrated networks, the Dog Ear might actually become somewhat important as well.

 

Dog ear is a short range AAA radar for 57mm batteries IIRC,

Hunting down EW P12 and P-15/18 will be more of a priority.

They are also in use in SA2 and SA3 sites as search radar.

 

Shutting that down will force batteries to fire up their FCR as a search radar.

[Kang]

I'm not saying it would be more important than others, but more important than it has previously been, once it can actually lead batteries of ZSU-23-4, SA-8 and similar units.

[TonyG]

I’d also remember the Big Bird (BB) radar found with the SA-10. The S-300 is a nasty piece of business that will reach out and tickle you up high and from a long distance away.

[The AMRAAMer]

BTW, I left the tombStone radar out, because if you are good enough to be close to visually ID it, you don't need tips on what to memorize ;)

 

I’d also remember the Big Bird (BB) radar found with the SA-10. The S-300 is a nasty piece of business that will reach out and tickle you up high and from a long distance away.

 

isn't the flap lid the fire control radar for the SA-10?

 

also, uri mentioned the square pair, i thought the SA-5 fire control radar was the bar lock?