th TrainingSquadron 56

FighterAcademics

Part1

AirCombatPrep
Lesson1 Radar&HUD

ThislessonisabasicguidetotheF16sairtoairradarfunctionality.Amuch moredetaileddiscussionofthevariousAAmodesandhowtousethemwillbe goneoverlateronintheAirCombatcourse.Severaloftheslidesinthislesson haveadditionalinfothatwillappearasyouclickyourmousetocontinue.Linksto differentsectionsarealsoprovidedandwilllooklikethis. Justclickthemwithyour mouseandyoullbetakentothespecifictopic.

Radar
Overview&GeneralDescription Use,Functionality&Operation

HUD&HSD
RadarrelatedinfodisplayedontheHUD&HSD

AN/APG68Radar
Display,Use,Functionality&Operation
Overview FireControlRadar(FCR)Display Range Azimuth BarScan Elevation LockingTargets TargetInformation

AN/APG68Radar

Overview&GeneralDescription
Beforewegetintoradarmechanizationandsymbologyinthepit,abasic overviewoftheradarandhowitoperatesisinorder.Ivefoundgoingoverthe basicsofhowtheradaractuallyworks,helpspilotsbetterunderstandand operatethecomplexavionicssystemsinFalcon4.0. AllcurrentUSAFcombatreadyF16susetheAN/APG68v9radaror equivalentupgradedunit.AsfarasIcandeterminetheradarversionmodeledin currentpatchversionsofFalcon4.0isablendoftheolderAN/APG68v5and thev9. InFalconthefightersyoullencounterwillbeequippedwitheitheraPulse (olderaircraftsuchastheMig21)orPulseDoppler(neweraircraftsuchasthe MiG29,Su27,F18)typeradarunit.TheAN/APG68usedintheViper,isa PulseDopplertyperadar.Inlayman'stermsthedifferencebetweenthetwo typesisthattheolderPulseradarsdonothavelookdowncapabilitywhile PulseDopplertypesdo.InotherwordsanaircraftequippedwithaPulseradar cannotdiscriminatetargetsatloweraltitudesagainstthegroundclutterpickedup bytheradar.PulseDopplerradarshaveagatethatfiltersoutgroundclutter andslowmovingobjects.Thisgivesthemalookdowncapabilityenabling trackingandfiringontargetsatloweraltitudes.OneadvantagetheolderPulse radarshaveoverthePulseDoppler,ishighresistancetonotchingtechniques. NotchingagainstaPulseradarequippedaircraftrarelyyieldsthedesiredresults. PulseDopplerradarsbycontrastaresusceptibletonotchingtactics.Illgoover notchinginmuchmoredetaillateroninthislessonseries.

Primaryradarunitsinfighteraircraftaremountedinthenoseofthejet.The noseismadeofspecialfiberglassassemblywhichisdesignedtobeinvisibleto radarwaves,andprovidesawindowsotospeak,fortheradartolookthrough.The F16sradomeismadeoffilamentwoundfiberglass(asareradomesonallmodern U.S.fighters)whichprovidessuperiorlookthroughcharacteristics.Asapointof interest,whenIrepairradomes,specialcareandtrainingcomesintoplaytoensure therepairisdonesoasnottoimpairtheradomesabilitytoletradarwavespass throughseamlessly.Ifnotdoneproperlyarepaircouldaffectradarcapability. Typicallymotorsmovetheantennaassemblyleftandrightandupanddownto providemaximumcoverageofairspaceinfrontoftheaircraft.Thisiscommonly referredtoasradarsweep.Ifyoureferencethepicturesprovidedearlierinthis lessonyoucanseehowtheantennaintheViperismounted,andtheswivel assemblyandmotorsthatallowtheantennatomoveupanddownandleftand right. Radarassembliesconsistoftheantennaandmotorassembliesaswellas hardwareandsoftwarethatisusedtosendoutandreceiveradarenergy,interpret anddisplaytargetreturns,aswellascontrolscanarea,volumeandscanintensity. IntheF16AirtoGroundandAirtoAirradarreturnsandinfoaredisplayedon eitheroneofourMFDs.Youcantellyouareinaradardisplaymodebychecking thebottomofyourleft(defaultforradardisplay)MFDwhereyoullseeFCR(Fire ControlRadar)highlighted.TheradarforbothAGandAAmodestiesinto,or communicateswithseveralotherinterfacesavailabletoussuchastheHSD,HMS, andcertainweapons/displaypages.

TheAN/APG68hasatotalcoverageareaof120degreesleftandrightandupand down.

Youllcommonlyseethisreferredtoas +or60degreesazimuth(leftandright)

and+or60degreesvertical(upanddown).

Theradardoesnotscanitscompleteareaofpossiblecoverageatalltimes.Its importanttorememberthattheradarhastosweepormoveleftandrightandupand downtoscanairspace.Thistakestimeandtherearemanycontrolsandmodes availableforyoutousetotailortheradarsscanpatterntooptimizeittoyourneedsat anygivenmoment.AllAirAirradarmodeshaveanazimuthandvertical(BarScan) modesettingtheydefaultto.Youhaveoptionstotailorthesetoyourneedsinalmost allmainradarmodes.Youcantilttheradarantennaupordown,adjustthewidth (azimuth)ofthescan,slewtheradarleftandrightandsetthevolumeofspace coveredvertically(Barscan).Insimplesttermsthismeansthatyoucansettheradar toscanspecificlargerorsmallerareasofthesky.Largerletsyouseemore,and smallermeansaquickerscan.Thisisanextremelyimportantconcepttograsp.Most virtualpilotsdonotknowhowtogetthemostoutoftheirradarequipment.Whengoing upagainstanexperiencedaircombatpilotwhodoes.moreoftenthannotthey inevitablyfindthemselvesblownoutofthesky,and/ordanglingintheirchute.

TheradardisplayintheF16ispresentedinwhatsknownasaBScopeformat vs.theolderarcorAScopetypeofformat.ThepieorAScopeisaverystraight forwardidea,itsimplyreproducestheradarreturnsinsidearepresentationofthe horizontal(orvertical)coverageoftheradar.TheAN/APG68howeverusestheB scopeintheairtoairmodes.Thiscarrieswithittheadvantagethatclosertargets donotclutterthedisplay,makingiteasiertouseinclosercombat.Thedifferences betweenthetwodisplaytypesareshownbelow.

AScope
Thistypeofradardisplayispopularbecauseit isveryintuitivetouse.Howeveritsmain disadvantageisthatclosertargetsbunchup together,makingitdifficulttodiscriminate targets.

BScope
Themostimportantthingtoremember withaBScopedisplay,isthattheentire lengthofthebottomofthedisplay representsyouraircraftsnose.

TheBScoperepresentsalimitedoverheadviewofthevolumeofairspacethat yourradarsweeppatterniscovering.Asshownpreviouslythecloserandnarrower partoftheradarsscanisstretchedoutalongthebottomoftheBScopedisplay.

Itsimportanttorealizehowthisworkssothatyoucanaccuratelyinterpretand actonwhatyoureseeingontheBScope.Studyofthepictureaboveshould clarifyhowwhattheradarisseeingisdisplayedinthepitontheBScope. TargetsattheverybottomportionoftheBScopedisplayareeitheronorvery closetoyournoseeveniftheyareallthewaytotherightorleftofthedisplay.

Wecoveredpreviouslythefactthattheradardoesnotcoveritsentirepossible areaofcoverageallthetime.Evenifitdiditwouldtakeliterallyforever(inair combatterms)tocompletethescan. Wedohavetheabilitytodefinewheretheradarislookinginairspace,and howmuchvolumeofthatspaceiscovered.Rangesettingsareavailabletoadjust howfarouttheradarscans.Azimuthsettingsareavailabletoadjusthowwidean areatheradarissearching.BarScansettingsareavailabletoadjusthowmuch verticalspaceiscovered,andElevationsettingsareavailabletoadjusttheblockof airspacebeingsearchedupanddowntosearchhigherandlower. TostartoffwithwelllookattheFCRdisplayontheF16MFDandthenRange, Azimuth,BarScanandElevationsettings,explaininghoweachworksand graphicallydepictinghowthesettingsyoumakeaffecttheradarsscanareaand volume.Finallywelltakealookathowtolocktargetsandsomeoftheinfoprovided anddisplayedwithalock.

FCR(FireControlRadar)Display

UsetheOSBadjacentto adisplayitemtochange thevalueormake settings.

RangeSettings
Rangewilldoubleeachtime youpresstheOSBtoincrease rangeandhalveeachtimeyou presstheOSBtodecrease range.TheF16radaris arguablythemostreliable, accurate,tenaciousandprecise outthere.Howeveritsability locktargetsatextremeranges islimitedcomparedtothelikes oftheF15andF14.Larger targetssuchasbomberscan bepickedupat80+miles.Non jammingfightersizedtargets usuallyarenotdetectableuntil insideof6040miles, dependingontheRCSand electromagneticemissionsof thetarget.

Targetsrangecanbedetermined,evenwithoutalock,ataglance bynotingwheretheyareonthedisplay.Ifin40milerangetargets atthetopofthedisplaywouldbe40milesout.Halfwaydownthe displaywouldbe20milesout.The3bluehorizontalbarsalongthe righthandsideofthedisplayarearangescaletohelpyou determinetargetranges.Inthe40milerangeviewabove,the middlebarequatesto20miles,thetopto30andthebottomto10.

AzimuthSettings
WhenyoufirstgetinthejetyourFCRAzimuthsettingistothefullwidthof120 degrees.Thisisexpressedindegreesleftandright.TherearethreeAzimuth settingspossibleinthedefaultRWSmode:A6is60degreesleftandright(120 total),A3is30degreesleftandright(60total),andA1is10degreesleftandright (20total).InthejetinFCRviewontheMFDinRWSmodeyoullseeA6displayed abouthalfwaydowntheleftside.PressingtheOSBnexttoA6willcyclethrough toA3andA1.

Hereswhateachsettinglookslikeinthejet.

Noticethatthenarrowed scanisindicatedbythelarge gatelines.Itsimportantfor youtounderstandthatthese gatesarecenteredaround, andwillmoveleftandright with,theradaracquisition cursors.

TheblueTatthebottomof thedisplayisanazimuth indicatorthatshowsinreal timewheretheradaris pointingasitscans.The Verticalgreenlinesalongthe bottomareanazimuth referencescalein10degree incrementsleftandrightof center.

Onlythearearepresentedin betweentheAzimuthgatesis scannedbytheradar. HoweverwheninA3(Azimuth 30)andA1(azimuth10),you canslewtheradar/scanleftor righttotheradarsfullgimble limitstoscanspecificareasof thesky.Notethatinthe defaultA6(Azimuth60) settingtheradarisalready conductingafullscanupto gimblelimits,hencenogates.

BarScanSettings
TherearethreeBarScansettingspossibleinthedefaultRWSmode:4Bar,2Bar and1Bar.Thebarscansareprettymuchwhattheysoundlike.ThedefaultisBar 4,shownontheFCRdisplayasB4.B4startsinascanatthetopoftheselected elevationrange,thendropsdown2.2degreesandscans,dropsandscansect,for atotalof4sweeps,orbars.B1justdoesonesweep,coveringmuchlessarea,but alsotakingmuchlesstime.Itsatradeoffdependingonyourneedsatthetimeand istotallycontrollablebyyou.InthejetinFCRviewontheMFDinRWSmodeyoull seeB4displayedabouthalfwaydowntheleftsidebelowtheAzimuthsetting. PressingtheOSBnexttoB4willcyclethroughtoB2andB1.

Hereswhatitlookslikeinthejet.

ThischartgraphicallyshowstheBarScansas wellastheAzimuthsettings.

TheblueTlocatedalongtheleftsideof thedisplayisaBarScanindicatorthat showsinrealtimewhatbarofthescanthe radarisin.TheHorizontalgreenlines alongtheleftsideareaBarScan referencescale.

ElevationSettings
Elevationsettingsadjusttheblockofairspaceyourradarissearchingupand downtothefullgimblelimitsof120degrees.Thats60degreesupand60down. Youcandothisonyourkeyboardoronyourstickifyouhavetheoption.The keystrokesare:F5=Down,F6=Center&F7=Up.EachtimeyoupressF5orF7youll steptheradarsearchincrementallyupordown.F6centersthescanbacktothe default,orlookingstraightahead.Dependingonyouraltitudeandradarrange setting,youmaynotbescanningtotheground.Itsusuallybesttohavedifferent membersoftheflightscandifferentaltitudeblocksfortotalcoverage.

LockingTargets
Imsureeveryonereadingthisknowshowtolockatargetontheradardisplay. HowevernoteveryoneknowswhatBuggingthetargetorlockinginSAMorSTT means.CommonterminologyforthesetermsisSoftLockandHardLock respectively.Bugging,SAM&STTwillbeexplainedindetaillaterinthiscourse.For nowwelljuststickwiththecommontermsandthebasicdifferencesbetweenthem. AsoftlockinRWS,thedefaultAAradarmode,isaccomplishedbydesignatinga targetoncewithyourjoysticksdesignatetargetbutton,orthe0keyonyour keyboardsnumberpad.Doingthiswillgiveyoualtitudeandheadinginfoonthesoft lockedtarget.Yourazimuthscanareawillalsoautomaticallybereducedregardless ofinitialsetting.Thisisdonetofacilitategettinginfoonandtrackingthesoftlocked target.Ittakesextratimeandradarenergytodothissoazimuthisreducedsoscan andothertargetreturnsdisplayedcanbeaccomplishedinatimelymanner.Again, thevariousradarmodeswillbegoneintoindetaillateron,butfornowImgoingto keepthingsverysimple. Advantages:SoftlockinginRWSgivesyoutheadvantageof:stayingmorestealthy andnottrippingthetargetsRWR/TWS(RadarWarningReceiver/ThreatWarning System),gettinginfoonthelockedtargetwhilestillbeingabletosee/trackother targets,andbeingabletofireonthetargetundetected(whenusingmissiles capableofbeingfiredinSAM)withhighprobabilityofmaintainingastealthylock. Disadvantage:Theonlyrealdisadvantageisthatasoftlockisalittlelessreliable thanahardlock&anditseasierforthebandittobreakthelockvs.ahardlock.

AhardlockinRWSisaccomplishedbydesignatingasecondtime.Doingthiswill focustheradarsscanandallitsenergyonlyonthetargetandnothingelse.No othertargetswillbedisplayedandnoothervolumeofspaceislookedatexcept thatimmediatelyaroundthehardlockedtarget.Hardlockinggivesyouthe advantageofanextremelysolidlockandpositionalinfo. Advantages:Alittleharderforthebandittobreaklock,verygoodpositionalinfo. Disadvantage:Thebanditwillknow: 1) youhavehimlocked, 2) whenyouhavelaunchedaradarmissile 3) yourgenerallocationifhehasaRWR/TWSunit. Youwillonlyseeandgetinfoonthehardlockedtarget,allotherreturnswillbe ignoredandwillnotbedisplayedortracked.

TargetInformation
Imnotgoingtogetintoabsolutelyalltheinformationtheradargivesyouon targetsjustyet.WellhitmostofwhatsdisplayedinRWSmode.Whatwedontgo overherewillbegoneoverlateronandwouldonlyconfusethingsifexplainedright now.Theeasiestwaytodothisistoshowyouwhereeverything'satontheMFD andwhatitmeans.Illdothatusingpicturesandnotes.

40,000Feet

10,000Feet

4Targettracksatabout2628miles. Thealtituderangebeingcoveredatthe acquisitioncursorslocationofabout26 milesis40,000downto10,000feet.Notice thatwhentheacquisitioncursorsare placedoveratargettrackthatthetargets altitudeisshownjustbelow.Current altitudeforthetargetwiththecursorsover itisAngels25,or25,000feet.Practice movingtheacquisitioncursortothetop andthenbottomoftheMFDandnotehow theuppertoloweraltitudereadings change.Rememberthatyourradarsscan isgoingoutfromyournoseinawedge shape.Lessareaiscoveredclosertoyou andmorefurtherout.

TheBullseyereadingisforwhereverthe acquisitioncursorsarecurrentlylocated.Inthis situationthecursorsaresoftlockedonthetargetand thebullseyereadingisforthetargetslocation. Bullseyeisreadheadingandmilesfrombullseye.For thissituationitwouldbetargetlockedatbullseye 060for125.

Onceyouhaveatargetsoftor hardlocked,variousinformationwill bedisplayedaboutthattarget.This includestargetspeedandthe closureratebetweenyouandthe target.Inthepicturetotheleftyou canseethatthetargetlockis indicatedbythetargettrackbeing depictedasatriangleinsteadofa solidyellowsquare.Noticeaswell thatthereisaline(knownasa vectorline)comingoutofone cornerofthetriangle.Thisindicates whichwaythetargetisheading andthefasterthetargetsspeedthe longertheline.Inthisexamplethe banditisheadingtowardyou.The targetscurrentspeed,andclosure ratebetweenyouandthetarget, areshownintheupperrightofthe displayaslabeled.Thisisallcritical infothatwillgainimportancefor youaswemovefurtheralongin thiscourse.

HUD
Symbology&Use

ThissectionwillgooverinformationintheHUDasrelatestotargetsyouhave lockedontheAAradar.Illgoovermostinformation,buttheinfothatisrelatedto weaponsandtheiremploymentwillbegoneoverinanotherlessonblock.Illalso gooverinfothatsdisplayedonyourHSD.

Milestoselected steerpoint

ThisiswhatyoullseewhenintheAAmastermodewithoutaradarlock.Radarrangeis setto40miles.Theacquisitiongatesareataround34milesandthecurrentradarscan elevationatthatrangeandthecurrentaltitudeofangels25,isfromangels46downtoangels 4.

DLZBracket Thisindicateswhen youreinrangetofire theselectedmissile. Whenthe>iswithin thebracketyourein range.

Inthisviewatargetissoftlocked.NoticethataTDBoxisdisplayedaroundthelockedtargetintheHUD.Ifthe targetisfarenoughtotheleftorrighttofalloutsidetheHUDatargetlocatorlinewillbedisplayedcomingoutofthe flightpathmarkerandpointinginthedirectionofthelockedbandit.Thetargetscurrentrangefromyouisalso displayedasnoted.Inthissituationtherangetotargetis26.2miles.Agraphicdepictionofthecurrenthorizontal areabeingscannedbyyourradarisdisplayedontheHSD,aswellasanytargetsyouoryourflighthavelocked.

Heresanexpandedviewofthe HSDtobettershowthetargetyou havelockedandthetargetyour wingmanhaslocked.Thisis extremelyusefulinfoforsorting targets,helpingtoavoidfireing missilesatthesametargetsandat timesgivingyouinfoontarget locationswhenyoucantfindtargets ontheradarbutaflightmemberhas targetslocked.

TheHSDinFalcon4.0simulatesLink16capabilitiesenjoyedbymanyU.S.and NATOaircraft.Link16isbasicallyasystemthatgivesaircrafttheabilityto communicatewitheachotherviadatamodemandintegrateswithAAandAGradar andcertainweaponstoprovideinfofromandsendinfotootherfriendlyaircrafton thelink.InfoisdisplayedontheHSDaswellasradarandHMCS(ifused)display. TheHSDinFalcon4.0isanapproximationofthistechnology.Exactlyhowit worksandhowinfoisdisplayedingamedependsonthepatchversionyoureflying. ItsanincredibleSAbuildingtoolthatprovidesusefulinfoinaneasytounderstand display.Graspingjusthowimportantthistoolistoyourcombatflying,andthen implementingtheknowledgeandskillsgainedinreferencetoincorporatingtheHSD intoyouroperations,isanimportantobjectiveofthiscourse.

PuttingItAllTogether
TheAN/APG68hasamazingflexibility,controllabilityandfunctionality.Youhave atyourfingertipsanextremelypowerfultool,especiallyonceyoulearnjustwhatits capableofandhowtocontrolit.Youlldevelopyourownstyleandtechniquefor workingtheradar.Youdonthavetousealltheoptionsallthetime,butknowing whatyoucando,howandwhentodoit,andhowtointerpretwhatyouareseeing, willmakeyouamuchbetterandmuchmoredeadlyvirtualFighterPilot. RememberthatreducingthescanvolumeineitherAzimuthorBarScan,canbe usefulbyreducingthetimeittakestheradartosearch,butthatyourealsolooking atalotlessairspace.Therearetimestodoafullscanandtimestonarrowthings down.Theskillislearningwhentodowhat.Agoodexampleofwhenyoumight wanttonarrowyoursearchiswhenyouknowwherethebanditsarealready. Anotheriswhenyouneedtoclearaspecificareaofthesky.Experimentand practiceandyoullstarttogetthehangofthingsanddevelopyourowntechnique.
Totherightisalistingofall theAAradarmodesandsub modesandtheavailableAzimuth andBarScansettingsineach. NotethatinACM(commonly referredtoasDogfightmode) AzimuthandBarScanareset andnotadjustable.Allofthese modeswillbediscussedindetail lateronintheAirCombat Course

th AirCombatCourseandPresentationby: 56 th

56 VFW

Thumpper
th VirtualFighterWingwww.56thvfw.com 56

Vipertown
Sendquestionsandcommentsto:

USA
freycat@yahoo.com

ICQ56609485