correct as is F/A-18C Terrain Avoidance AG radar mode

[Crossmann]

Summary of Issue

 

The newly implemented Terrain Avoidance (TA) radar mode in the F/A-18C appears to lack inertial stabilization. The radar beam orientation remains fixed relative to the aircraft’s body axis (pitch) rather than being INS-stabilized relative to the horizon, which causes erroneous terrain depiction when the aircraft is not in level flight.

 

Observed Behavior

 

When the aircraft changes pitch (e.g., climbs at +10°), the radar beam follows this change:

 

The scanning pattern shifts upward, no longer referencing the terrain ahead as relative to the horizon.

 

The TA page under-reports or omits terrain elevation returns, particularly those that were previously marked as dangerous (lime color for terrain above aircraft).

 

This creates a false sense of safety, as terrain hazards may disappear from the display simply due to the pitch angle.

 

Expected Behavior

 

In real-world terrain avoidance and following systems:

 

The radar scans with beam angles stabilized against an earth-referenced frame, using INS attitude data.

 

Terrain is detected and classified based on its absolute elevation relative to the horizon and current aircraft altitude, not pitch-relative attitude.

[Muchocracker]

This is by design and is how the TA mode works, it's not meant to be a terrain following system stabilized to the horizon like LANTIRN or other TFR systems. The antenna is roll stabilized to the horizon but is aircraft stabilized in pitch and will depress with the velocity vector during dives. This is so the antenna has visibility of terrain protrusions when diving down. 

Edited 12 hours ago by Muchocracker

[BIGNEWY]

Hi, 

if you have any public evidence to support this please DM me. 

thank you 

[Crossmann]

Hi again,

After further testing and reviewing the behavior of the TA mode in DCS, I realized that I had misinterpreted the terrain display behavior during pitch changes in dives.

It now seems clear that what initially appeared to be incorrect behavior (e.g., terrain display tilting during a dive) is actually consistent with the description in the real F/A‑18 documentation, where the terrain display is intentionally tilted to match the flight path in such situations. I also observed that this behavior does not occur during climbs — which is consistent with the expected conditional behavior.

I apologize for any inconvenience or noise caused by my earlier message, and I sincerely appreciate the time and openness of your team in considering community feedback so thoughtfully.

Best regards,  
Crossmann / Corsair

[BIGNEWY]

thanks for letting us know