Tips for using the Aim-7E/F

[Mike_CK]

Thought I’d offer a bit of unsolicited advice of something I’ve seen many having trouble with: Using the Aim-7s effectively. You guys may know these but I figured maybe one or two people out there might find it useful.

First, learn to use the Sparrow with an Aim-7M variant. You have to learn what the different range lines mean, what parameters you have to be in -and especially- how to use the Cage/Auto Acquisition. Hard to know if you are doings things correctly if even when you do everything right, the missile fails 70% of the time like the E and F seem to

The Aim-7M model is a VERY capable version. If you do everything correctly, you will most likely hit your target; not every time, but enough that you can get a feel for whether you are doing it right. Once you know you are doing it right, move to the E or F.

Secondly, when using Cage Radar with Auto Acquisition to lock an enemy, the radar “looks” at different areas of the sky depending on whether you have Heat, Radar or Guns selected. Select Heat while you are trying to auto acquire as with Heat selected, the radar looks right at the pipper (as opposed to the left or right of it). Once locked, switch to Radar. It will hold the lock. Which brings me to the last.

Third, the E variant (and I believe the F), you have to wait 4 seconds after lock to launch. That’s easy to remember when you’ve got Jester counting “1 potato, 2 potato.” However, when using auto acquisition to lock, Jester will NOT count; but you still need to wait 4 seconds. There have been dozens of times that i got a AA lock, switched to Radar and then excitedly launched before the bad guy can fly past me. I couldn’t figure out why I was out of parameters and had to switch off “CW” in order to get it to fire. I Finally realized that I was forgetting to wait 4 seconds. Of course, by the time I get the lock, if I wait 4 seconds, he’s past me. Brings me to the last point.

I find that  E and F variant pretty much blow at the “head-on” shots. However,  if you shoot at targets when you are 1-4 miles away between THEIR 8 o’clock and 4 o’clock, even the E model is decent. So use them after you merge 

Considering the Mach 4 closing speed of the missle, my guess is that the E and F variant either can’t make the high G turns necessary to match a target turning or the processors aren’t fast enough to compute the course change needed to intercept a head on target quickly enough to make the turn. Totally guessing.

But use the E and F for rear hemisphere shots and they really aren’t bad.

hope it helps. Others feel free to add OR CORRECT me please 

Edited June 27, 2024 by Mike_CK

[ustio]

From my experience using the E and F(MP that is) using flood mode with NOSE aspect has a better chance that the missile would guide compare to CAA and Jester lock.

 

I Never use CAA and jester lock again.

[Mike_CK]

Really? Hmmm…I’ve never used flood mode. But even with a good lock maintained the whole time, my missiles sail past the guy if I’m shooting head on (before merge). Not sure if flood would help but I’ll give it a shot 

Jester locking is a no-go. He can’t lock a damn thing; even when I can see it 6 miles in front. Not sure it’s him though, that radar gets awfully cluttered with clouds and such

[ustio]

Yeah try flood mode. Go to boresight, wait until the eadar went from vertical line to single contact then fire

[Zabuzard]

4 hours ago, ustio said:

would guide compare to CAA and Jester lock.

This is often down to players not detecting bad locks. The missile will guide well if you actually locked the target and not a sidelobe.

In the future Jester will ofc be able to detect this on his own. But until then, players have to interpret the radar screen symbology and repeat a lock if it is bad. To improve lock quality, make sure to not maneuver much when the lock is executed (so that cursor leading can be done proper) and the target is not next to clutter on the screen.

Bad locks are a common sight especially with CAA, tap the NGS button to reattempt quickly.

If the target is already within visual range, prefer CAGE/BORESIGHT. Lock quality is usually really good in that mode, unless the target is kissing the ground.

Flood shots are really low probability usually, since all it needs is the target changing aspect as it sees the missile and then its trashed. For targets flying very low, flood is often the only option though.

[Gianky]

Hey @Zabuzard how about a video about radar usage? I'm still waiting for part 2 of that feature video...

[BlackBaron46]

This may not be in keeping with this thread, but I've been having issues when carrying 4 Sparrows.

I can shoot two of them but the forward pair won't fire, and I don't have the RADAR weapon selection light.

Is there something I'm missing?

[=475FG= Dawger]

9 minutes ago, BlackBaron46 said:

This may not be in keeping with this thread, but I've been having issues when carrying 4 Sparrows.

I can shoot two of them but the forward pair won't fire, and I don't have the RADAR weapon selection light.

Is there something I'm missing?

You have something, probably a tank, on the centerline station. 

[Cab]

46 minutes ago, =475FG= Dawger said:

You have something, probably a tank, on the centerline station. 

Yep. I once spent ten frustrating minutes trying to figure this out. 

Edited June 27, 2024 by Cab

[Mike_CK]

Zabuzard, How can I tell if it’s a “good lock” with Auto Acquisition vs a bad lock on a “side lobe”??

Edited June 27, 2024 by Mike_CK

[Zabuzard]

You have to check all info shown on the screen whether they make sense.

Some examples:
* Is the steering dot stable and doesnt jump randomly
* Is the ASE circle not constantly growing and shrinking rapidly
* Is the Vc meaningful and not jumping, especially compared to how the target return moves on the screen
* Check that Vc isnt equal to your own speed
* Check that the antenna elevation moves with the target and doesnt for example stay while the target climbs/dives
* Check that the target return remains visible and centered
* does the screen line up with what you see visually (for example if the target moves left, but your steering dot doesnt change; or you follow the target but the steering dot and antenna suggest the target didnt move)

Bad locks can happen all the time, especially if not taking extra care to avoid them. Identifying a bad lock and reattempting quickly is a crucial step. Normally the WSO would take care of it and Jester will in the future do so as well.
Currently, Jester checks the SKIN TRACK lamp only, so he can identify completely bad locks, but not more.

[Gianky]

49 minutes ago, Zabuzard said:

* Is the ASE circle not constantly growing and shrinking rapidly
 

I'm not sure I understand this one: I often see the ASE not moving at all, just staying small, even with the steering dot not jumping around. Is that a sign of a bad lock? What should ASE do in a good lock?

[r4y30n]

I'm not sure I understand this one: I often see the ASE not moving at all, just staying small, even with the steering dot not jumping around. Is that a sign of a bad lock? What should ASE do in a good lock?

The ASE circle should grow as you approach the target, it just shouldn’t be abruptly changing size. Staying constant size is another sign of a bad lock.

[Gianky]

Copy that, R4y30n, thank you.

[HawkEXO]

Wait... we don't have to count for the 7M's !?!

Here I've been watching the bandit launch on me as I'm counting down Mississippi's for no reason

[SgtPappy]

8 hours ago, HawkEXO said:

Wait... we don't have to count for the 7M's !?!

Here I've been watching the bandit launch on me as I'm counting down Mississippi's for no reason

Right and to add to the OP, the AIM-7F only needs 2 seconds for wait time.

Then you can shave off 2 seconds of wait time of you lock first and then flip master arm to on. But I don't know how that works... would any be able to explain that?

[ustio]

On 6/27/2024 at 1:22 PM, Zabuzard said:

 

If the target is already within visual range, prefer CAGE/BORESIGHT. Lock quality is usually really good in that mode, unless the target is kissing the ground.

 

When you mean lock by Cage/Boreaight, you mean locking it with jester context in Cage/Boresight after getting positive return right?

[Zabuzard]

Yes, you enter CAGE mode (not CAA), press the context action and then put the target on pipper. Jester will lock him up as soon as the return is within 5° of the reticle.

At close ranges (1-10nm) this method of locking is usually fairly reliable and rarely gets sidelobes or clutter.

[Gianky]

@Zabuzard one thing about the context button (let's call it a wish):

reviewing the table in the manual, the command to lock is given to Jester by a long press in BVR combat, but a short + long press in Dogfight mode: I see no need to have two different way to command a lock, since there is no chance of confusion between the two, and considering that short + long press in BVR is used to drop the lock and keep focus on the contact, I'd say that makes for a needlessly complex list of commands, surely hard to remember, especially in the heat of combat!

So, bottom line: could you standardize the command to lock a target in A2A combat? Just the long press for both BVR and Dogfight modes.

EDIT: Ok, I see why you used short + long for locking/unlocking the target in Dogfight: I'm guessing it's because a double clik in BVR is used to drop the lock, while in Dogfight is used to exit the Cage mode. Might I suggest, then, for Dogfight: long press = lock the target, short + long = unlock the target, double click = exit Cage mode?

To other players, what do you think about this?

Edited July 1, 2024 by Gianky

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

1 hour ago, Zabuzard said:

usually fairly reliable and rarely gets sidelobes or clutter

In the Caucasus dogfight IA missions that technique actually has very little success for me.  The first attempt leads to a bad lock in 100% of the cases I tried it (even though Jester calls out the lock and starts the Mississipi-countdown). Re-acquiring a MiG-21 also doesn't work before the merge. Re-acquiring a MiG-23 does work (due to the larger RCS I reckon): I actually managed to shoot him in the face with an AIM-7E-2 but I only had about 1 or 2 seconds to spare before the flaming wreckage tumbled past me in the merge.

[Bazz_Mulder]

I never asked Jester to lock something in dogfight scenario, as for this we have Cage and CAA modes so for me context menu button is fine.

[Zabuzard]

4 hours ago, Gianky said:

EDIT: Ok, I see why you used short + long for locking/unlocking the target in Dogfight: I'm guessing it's because a double clik in BVR is used to drop the lock, while in Dogfight is used to exit the Cage mode. Might I suggest, then, for Dogfight: long press = lock the target, short + long = unlock the target, double click = exit Cage mode?

I believe you are misunderstanding the table. It is not a "+", it is an "or". Since the short action in this situation had no specific meaning yet (this changes in a future update).

Long is used in all modes to execute a lock.

4 hours ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

In the Caucasus dogfight IA missions that technique actually has very little success for me.  The first attempt leads to a bad lock in 100% of the cases I tried it (even though Jester calls out the lock and starts the Mississipi-countdown). Re-acquiring a MiG-21 also doesn't work before the merge. Re-acquiring a MiG-23 does work (due to the larger RCS I reckon): I actually managed to shoot him in the face with an AIM-7E-2 but I only had about 1 or 2 seconds to spare before the flaming wreckage tumbled past me in the merge.

Can you share a quick track? It works fine for me in that Instant Action.

[ustio]

5 hours ago, Zabuzard said:

Yes, you enter CAGE mode (not CAA), press the context action and then put the target on pipper. Jester will lock him up as soon as the return is within 5° of the reticle.

At close ranges (1-10nm) this method of locking is usually fairly reliable and rarely gets sidelobes or clutter.

do you need to wait for 2/4 seconds if jester acquired lock in Boresight?

[Gianky]

18 minutes ago, Zabuzard said:

I believe you are misunderstanding the table. It is not a "+", it is an "or". Since the short action in this situation had no specific meaning yet (this changes in a future update).

Long is used in all modes to execute a lock.

Aaaah, ok thank you, I definitely didn't pay much attention to what was in the middle! My bad!

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

3 hours ago, Zabuzard said:

Can you share a quick track? It works fine for me in that Instant Action.

Sure, here you go (it's a track from the entire fight so feel free to end it at the merge):
 

F-4E boresight MiG-21.trk