Question: How do you survive in a complex aerial engagement?

[Doc3908]

Hi guys,

I need some guidance on how to survive a big aerial engagement while flying the MiG-19: I have a SP mission where twelve B-52s, escorted by four F-4Es and four F-5s, are intercepted by my flight of four Mig-19s and another friendly flight of eight Mig-21s. The MiG-21s get there first, so by the time my MiG-19 flight gets close, it's all a big mess. When approaching the armada, all I see is dots all over the sky. I can't tell who is who, and with no IFF I don't wanna take a chance of hitting a friendly. But by the time I'm close enough to visually identify an F-4, it's already shot an AIM-7 (or an AIM-9) my way. I have no problem tackling an F-4 or an F-5 one-on-one, but in the middle of such a mess of enemies and friendlies, I feel lost and usually end up dead. 

How do you guys handle multi-aircraft engagement in the MiG-19? I'm sure many of you fly online, where massive fights are commonplace. How do you identify friends and foes with no IFF (yes, I know there's an IFF switch, but that's just a transmitter)?

Thanks for any advice!

Doc

[TLTeo]

Honestly, for SP I just have a label mod that turns the labels on bandits either slightly blue or slightly red, depending on whether they are friendly or foes. In my mind it makes up for the fact that unlike real life there is hardly any useful communication among aircraft in the same area/furball (or with a GCI for that matter).

Edited May 18, 2021 by TLTeo

[Doc3908]

I find the 60s and early 70s era to be the most challenging. The WW2 warbirds and even the Korean era jets were relatively slow and did not have missiles, so you have to merge and visually identify the target before engaging. Since the 80s modern technologies have made situational awareness ever more immersive. However, during the 60s-70s the first missiles appear that you can fire from pretty far off, while radar, RWR, and IFF are in their infancy. You are absolutely correct that, without communication, situational awareness becomes a really uphill battle...