Situation awareness

[Hub]

Any help with SA in the F-4?

Tried some MP servers as I am getting more competent in flying the F-4.

I can’t tell what’s friendly or Foe with RWR. So I try to use IFF with Jester. Still can’t determine BVR who is who. RWR seems to be limited info, as well as enemy’s smartly turning their radar off. Jester never seems to find anything on his radar. I wonder what the hell he does back there? Not knocking the F-4 as it’s amazing !

I am finding I just blow up and never know anyone is there. The fixes in my mind would be getting a wingman and or having a ground controller . Which in most servers never happens and nobody seems to communicate well over SRS.

Is there anything I am missing to help with this? I am more of a WWII kinda fella and not as well versed in Jets .

Thanks !

 

 

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[razo+r]

RWR is not going to tell you what is friendly or not. It is simply not possible for the system to do that. However, what is possible is that if each side has it's own aircraft, you may be able to identify which symbol/sound belongs to what and with that you are able to distinguish friend from foe. 

And since the radar is seriously limited depending on how you fly and the AI in the back, you may have to resort looking out of the cockpit more often. And if you feel like you keep getting shot down out of nowhere, maybe it's time to think about how and where to fly. Check your six in regular intervals. Look back or do S-turns. Flying low may be able to hide you and your black trail from the enemy for a bit longer. Reducing thrust may reduce your black trail too. 

Having a wingman obviously helps, but there are multiple options you can do yourself to improve your survivability. 

A controller however may not help much. If the enemy is smart enough to hide from your RWR, he is most likely smart enough to fly low enough to hide from ground radars. 

And when it comes to building situational awareness, it just takes time. It is a complex competence that you cannot gain over night. You have to keep getting into different situations to build up your experience. In the meantime you can improve your survivability with better tactical flying and proactivly looking out the window. 

Edited June 7, 2024 by razo+r

[Czar66]

Don't push too much in awareness in BVR as the F-4 is weak in this regard. Trade more sensors dependence towards visual in comparison to 4th gen fighters.
Always assume you're being followed after crossing the front lines.

In my experience Jester eyes outperform the radar in medium ranges (sometimes). So you have to invert the priority towards eyes and only after, sensors.

I've found the Handoff function on the RWR can give you a few little extra SA with the audio queues if a plane pops behind you with the radar on, but visual is king on this plane.

Jester IFF buttom mapping can help you distinguish a friend or foe that you just acquired visually right in front without the need for locking up.

I'm still exploring the situational awareness in A-A so I'm pretty much bellow mediocre in that regard so far. I'm looking forward to what others can bring.

Edited June 7, 2024 by Czar66

[r4y30n]

Reducing thrust may reduce your black trail too. 

Wasn’t min burner the recommended tactic? I thought I read somewhere about some pilots going min burner on one engine and idle or near idle on the other when going slow.

[Hub]

Taking the advice , I Turned my radar ti standby and stayed low in the Caucus Blue flag.
My boy Jester called out a JF-17 at
8’ O clock . I swung around and was able to send an Aim 9 into him after some mountain maneuvering .
First PVP kill with F-4.
Thanks for the help, will be looking outside instead of at the radar.


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[Karon]

On 6/8/2024 at 4:11 AM, r4y30n said:

Wasn’t min burner the recommended tactic? I thought I read somewhere about some pilots going min burner on one engine and idle or near idle on the other when going slow.

Yeah, I read a few times about it. Someone called it "going stealth" or "hide", or other variants of the above.

About the original question, there are a few good points already. In particular, the focus should transition from a modern search radar and datalink to Controller and Mk I Eyeballs.
The AI controller is mediocre and not useful besides providing BRA or Bullseye, so a proficient human Controller is highly recommended.
Also, try changing tactics: there are many aircraft more agile than the Phantom, but the Phantom has acceptable thrust, but as the aeroplane becomes cleaner and as the fuel burns, TWR becomes greater than one, allowing you to maintain and recover energy very quickly, or bugout. Remember that blow-through is a legit tactic: the Phantom is one of the few aircraft with 8 missiles, and IRL things such as ripple firing in boresight actually worked sometimes.

I have put a few more thoughts in this video. I hope it helps.