Veterans Gaming server: Server is set to KTO with 4.34
CONNECTION DETAILS:
IP: 205.161.30.10
Recommended BW: 1500
IVC ON
CONNECTION INSTRUCTIONS: http://veterans-gaming.com/index.php…public-server/
FAC(A) on station NORTH-WEST of DMZ between
0800z to 2000z GMT+00
AV-8B II (non-radar-equipped version) from VMA-255 out of OSAN
CHECK IN frequency:
UHF 309.000
CONTACT POINT:
n3710405e12803133
CALLSIGN:
setter11
IDM: 19
AUTHENTICATION WORD:
COMPATIBLY
Laser designator pod equipped
Altimeter on station:
2992
–-----------------------------------------------------------
Basic tutorial for CAS pilots checking in:
check in the FAC(A) frequency only when close to 10 miles from contact point, if you contact too soon, the RADIO may be out of range and UNREADABLE unable to understand
get ready to challenge the authentication and be challenged back. Authentication procedure example is: authenticate word for this example is “jupiter”; you say to the FAC(A) pilot “PAPA, TANGO”, the FAC(A) pilot has to correctly answer “INDIA”, because that is the letter between the 2 letters you just said. The FAC(A) pilot will challenge your authentication also.
At this point the CAS pilot has to declare what he comfortable with doing, if he is CAS qualified he should just do a normal check-in, if you are not CAS qualified and want to use simpler instructions then declare that at this point.
After authentication the FAC(A) pilot will give you the QNH for this control, the unit of measure (that is a random common easy to understand object or map reference to be used as a “meterstick”, usually worldwide most common used is “football field” or “soccer field” because it is a very easy to recognize 100 yards in lenght." You then go for normal Check in if CAS qualified
CAS check in:
MISSION NUMBER
NUMBER AND TYPES OF AIRCRAFT
POSITION AND ALTITUDE:
ORDNANCE: LASER CODE:
PLAYTIME: (how much time before bingo do you expect, in hours, minutes)
CAPABILITIES: (are you CAS qualified? do you want to use simplified bullseye calls instead of coordinates?
ABORT CODE: (this is the word that the FAC(A) has to use if calling you to ABORT so that you can be sure it is the FAC(A) calling you and not some enemy saboteur in the same frequency.) IDM: this is the number of you IDM, my FAC(A) IDM will usually be 19, you have to tell me yours so I can spot in IDM and you have to have your A-A DATALINK in UHF, and if you want to receive DATA MARKPOINTS you need to have it correctly set to XMIT 10 and use the same radio UHF)
The FAC(A) pilot will give you a KEYHOLE or ECHO POINT coordinate and and that is a point that will be a temporary special bullseye for the mission, and your orbit points, and points of interest for IP push will be given as “ALPHA 10” which means “NORTH of ECHOPOINT 10 miles distance”; ALPHA for pure NORTH, BRAVO for pure EAST, CHARLIE for pure SOUTH, DELTA for pure WEST. It can easily also be “135 20” which is exactly like a normal bullseye call but relative to the echo point.
You will be directed to a holding or orbit point for example “PROCEED TO CHARLIE 10 blocks 20 to 22 and report established on orbit/racetrack EAST/WEST” you should call when you are established in that point
Situation report will follow where teh FAC(A) pilot will provide broad perspective from macro to micro, from big picture to small picture to the main objectives for that mission
When its time for GAMEPLAN you need to be ready to type down coordinates and weapon parameters that may or may not be necessary. The FAC(A) pilot may want to confirm you understood, or punched in the correct parameters by requesting a read-back
GAMEPLAN:
TYPE: (1 means the FAC(A) has to fly alongside you close by and confirm your actions visually besides complete control, 2 means a complete control but without the requirement of watching you visually from the IP to PICKLE, 3 is a very broad control, where the FAC(A) may not be in visual contact of you or the target area, this is used sometimes for SHOW OF FORCE supersonic passes at low altitude to scare away enemy forces or to boost morale of friendly troops)
BOMBS ON: Bombs On Coordinate BOC, or Bombs On Target. (If BOC do NOT press TMS UP to “lock on” to target. This is a common mistake even among experienced pilots, do NOT press TMS UP if using BOC, your sensor may be locking on to a wrong target, and you will fail the bombing run, the coordinates are carefully chosen for MAXIMUM EFFECT and that also means putting the coordinate sometimes slightly offset so your bomb may damage/destroy nearby targets. BOT Bomb On Target means you have to “lock on” and confirm visually with FAC(A) that you are on the right TGT
WEAPON TYPE: (1xmk82 or whichever example 2xMK77 which means 2 NAPALMS either PAIR or RIPPLE
ARMING DELAY: if necessary
FUZE TYPE: if necessary
BURST ALTITUDE: if necessary
RIPPLE QUANTITY: (if necessary)
RIPPLE DISTANCE: (if necessary)
BLOCKS: 20 to 22 for example, means you must not fly lower than ANGELS 20 or higher than ANGELS 22
FAC(A) pilot will tell you his position while you are attacking, example: SETTER11 will be on blocks 16 to 18 monitor EAST of tgt area
9 LINE:
1. IP (position of the IP and the heading you are to exit the IP at) example: "BRAVO 20 blocks 20 to 25
2. HEADING: 090 plus 10" (plus 10 means you can choose a heading between 090 plus 10 degrees, that means from 090 to 100 azimuth, but NEVER outside of that
3. DISTANCE: (distance from IP to tgt)
4. ELEVATION: MSL of tgt
5. DESCRIPTION: may include number of tgts and types
6. LOCATION: example: NORTH 3836488 EAST 12851306, you have to punch this into your target point in your system. SYSTEM READBACK means you have to READ BACK from what is INSERTED in your SYSTEM, so the FAC(A) can confirm your guidance computer has the correct coordinate.
7. TYPE MARKING: FAC(A) will tell you what he can use to mark the target if you request it: normally always INFRARED & LASER, sometimes also a BOMB or NAPALM, WillyPete
8. FRIENDLIES: where you can expect friendlies to be at, so you can make a mental note where in an emergency you must not drop anything including drop tanks, or where, in case of emergency you can eject or fly tree level to avoid an enemy attack
9. EGRESS: this will be a critical instruction where and how to exit the attack after pickle, either exit left right, and to what point at what altitude blocks, EXAMPLE: "EGRESS HOOK RIGHT TO ORBIT on CHARLIE 10 blocks 20 to 25"
REMARKS & RESTRICTIONS: there will be some repetition of some critical parameters maybe final attack heading, your speed you need to fly at usually a boundary such as “high subsonic, minimum mach 0.75” TTT or TOT, Time To Target is a common instruction and if FAC(A) pilot says “1 min to PUSH” that means in 1 minute you should start your PUSH for the IP, which means you fly to the IP at that point in a trajectory that allows you to enter the IP at the instructed heading. WX weather information will be detailed if available at the target area to tell you what you can expect ti be easy to see the target or a cloud base may make it difficult
REMARKS:
1. FINAL ATTACK HEADING; SPEED
2. HAZARDS
3. BLOCKS and location of FAC(A)
4. TIME TO TARGET or TIME ON TARGET
5. WX WEATHER
RESTRICTIONS (from above section) this is a critical piece of information which will include a minimum floor for your attack, and may include a imaginary line that you must not cross for example: “stay clear of EAST WEST line 10 miles SOUTH of target coordinates”
After all this after you call “PUSHING for IP” and after you are calling “OVER IP heading XXX” you will be:
CLEARED IN = this means you are cleared to fly to attack but
does NOT mean cleared to FIRE. Clearance to fire means clearance HOT, and that may only be given after a solid visual confirmation of the targets.
After visual confirmation (depending on type of control) you will be
cleared HOT, that means weapons ARMED and you should call when you are about 10 seconds to pickle by saying “10 seconds” on the RADIO, FAC(A) should respond something like “Copy 10 seconds” and after you call “pickle, out over left/right side to EGRESS POINT” the FAC(A) should answer something similar to “Copy pickle, SETTER11 is monitoring” so you know the FAC(A) will be doing the job of recce confirming you got impacts and the effects of the impacts.
The CAS pilot does not have authority to re-attack, or even maneuver in a way for a re-attack without being ordered to, that is a confusion that some may be tempted to do, but that will put the CAS pilot in danger, and the FAC(A) pilot in danger, and possibly ground troops in danger, do not confuse FAC(A) as an open restaurant menu where you order what you want, the objective here is to 1st of all guarantee safety of all friendlies, just because you think you saw the target hit, you have to confirm with the FAC(A) Bomb Damage Assessment who will have the proper time and safety distance to look carefully and take note of what happened, the CAS pilot should only be concerned with Egressing safely and staying out of danger.
This is a simplified tutorial, but should be enough to start, and there is more to look out for on other websites if you want to look further into it.
It is not vitally important if anyone joins the FAC(A) mission or not, about 90% of the behind the scenes work of the FAC(A) is already complete before anyone joins, so my training is already complete regardless if anyone joins or not, it can take 30 minutes just to become ready to support and control CAS pilots who check in, there is a heavy workload to make the attacks possible with some degree of safety and control, the result is a very efficient attack where the CAS pilot does not have to worry alone about safety, and does not have to worry or waste time trying to scan the target area to confirm if the target is hit or not. This is a team effort, but the the control and responsibility is on the FAC(A) side.
This is a passive mission, nobody is forced to join it of course, it should not interfere with any other mission, even though it is very important that CAP Air-To-Air pilots help defend the target area to help make it possible for both the CAS and FAC(A), and it is also important for SEAD pilots to help the target area by suppressing SAM sites.
But not OBLIGATORY. Everyone has to decide for themselves if they want to support or not.
P.S.: try not to use the words “REPEAT”, use “SAY AGAIN” or “READ AGAIN”, or “CALL AGAIN”, repeat is used by artillery commanders to repeat the same artillery attack, and if you want to use realistic RADIO words, avoid using “REPEAT”. if ordered to re-attack, that will be “re-attack”, if that is ordered.
P.S. II : the first suggestion before trying out those procedures would be to go ahead and practice on your own how well you can manipulate reference points on your HSD, pushing them to a different coordinate in-flight. The better you are at manipulating coordinates in-flight, the easier everything else becomes. It is important to be well trained at the different meanings of where to change coordinates, and how to check if they are good or not, all in the INS traning manual about steerpoint and steerpoint manipulation. A suggestion for you would be to have a free reference point on your HSD DTC saved pre-flight, so in your ramp start you can go ahead and enter the new coordinates for that reference point using the CONTACT POINT coordinates and inserting them via the DEST page on your DED. That way you can see in your HSD when you can start to contact the FAC(A). After a succesful check-in, you should enter new coordinates for that reference point using the ECHO POINT coordinates now. Now you should have a visual reference on your HSD of where your ECHO POINT is.
